Plagiarism Policy
Curtin adopted a new 
plagiarism policy in November 2005, aiming to make actions and decisions more consistent across the University. In particular, the changes support a more consistent approach to establishing the seriousness of an incident of plagiarism, and more explicit procedures for dealing with a plagiarism incident, imposing penalties and keeping records. The policy also requires faculties to have a plagiarism management plan that is consistent with the policy and to conduct an annual review of their plagiarism management procedures.
Briefly, any incident of plagiarism is classified into one of three levels of seriousness. This level also determines who manages the incident and subsequent actions. This is clearly illustrated in the flowchart of actions to be taken in Staff guidelines for managing plagiarism.
Level I plagiarism (low level) is identified and dealt with at the unit/course level. The student will be required to undertake a remedial/learning exercise and given the option to revise and resubmit their work. No mark penalty is imposed.
Level II plagiarism is confirmed and dealt with at the school/department level. The student may be interviewed. A penalty will be imposed for confirmed incidents, and the student may also be required to undertake a learning exercise.
Level III plagiarism (high level) is confirmed and dealt with at the Faculty or University level through a Faculty Hearing or a Board of Discipline. A significant penalty may be imposed if the student is subsequently found guilty.
An important aspect of the new policy is recognition that not all plagiarism is intentional or involves cheating. Students are learners and the skills of appropriate scholarly research and attribution require time to learn. Most students will plagiarise in some way as they endeavour to develop scholarly competence. If students are not learning as expected, they need to be made aware of their difficulties and helped to improve. Those who deliberately choose to cheat by way of plagiarism, however, must be identified and dealt with accordingly.
