Though the University lacks any concrete statistics, administrators estimate that up to 10 percent of GW professors use Turnitin.com, an online plagiarism prevention service. The company allows professors to use a database to compare student papers to previous, unpublished works and works available on the Internet. While this system is a valuable asset in the fight against academic dishonesty at GW, concerns about the use of the service remain.

Part of the effectiveness of the Web-based tool is the fact that any paper submitted by a user is kept for future comparison and consideration. While students enroll in classes with the knowledge that their work belongs to the professor and is subject to review for plagiarism, some may be unaware that their work is making an appearance online.

The Internet is a fast-growing source of information, and more and more professors may turn to Turnitin.com to ensure academic integrity in their classes. As such, an increased number of students may unknowingly find their work open to a large audience on the World Wide Web.

As the use of Turnitin.com increases at GW, the University administrators should encourage professors to notify students that their paper will be submitted to the plagiarism-prevention service. Doing so would make students fully aware that their work will be sent to an online database where it could potentially be accessed by future professors, employers or other students.

Academic integrity is an important goal for the University and its students, and Turnitin.com is a useful resource in helping to prevent cheating and plagiarism. The nature of this technology, however, requires that professors notify students that their work may make an appearance in an Internet database, rather than just in the professor’s filing cabinet.