Plagiarism in Written Assignments

Plagiarism in Student Papers

The procedure for checking student papers for plagiarism at HSE University is governed by the Regulations on Checking Student Papers for Plagiarism and the Publication of Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s Theses on the HSE Corporate Website.

What Student Papers are Included in the Written Papers Category?

Student papers include all works prepared by students in writing during ongoing, interim and final assessments as per their respective course syllabi, and during the final state certification process, including homework assignments, reports, essays, in-class assignments, examination tests, term papers, and theses.

All written papers shall be prepared by students independently, as per the requirements under the Procedure for Taking Disciplinary Actions for Violations of Academic Standards in Student Papers at National Research University Higher School of Economics (Annex 2 to Student Internal Regulations at National Research University Higher School of Economics).

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism refers to the appropriation of another person’s text or any other intellectual property (copyright) published in hard copy or electronically without reference to the author (i.e., providing the author’s name and the source of borrowed materials), or the cases when a reference is provided, yet the nature and scope of the borrowings cast doubt as to whether the paper, or one of its main sections, has been written by the student on an independent basis.

Plagiarism may take 2 (two) basic forms:

• repeating another person’s text word-for-word, and fully using any other intellectual property item;
• paraphrasing another person’s text with different words and expressions, yet without changing the overall contents of the borrowed text.

Violation of academic standards shall entail the following types of disciplinary sanctions:

• admonition;
• reprimand;
• expulsion.

Expulsion as a disciplinary measure can be taken against a student upon HSE University’s initiative if he/she has committed academic misconduct, both before progression to final state certification and after admission to final state certification, including before and after their thesis defence.

Specific aspects and procedures for taking disciplinary sanctions are specified in the Procedure for Taking Disciplinary Actions for Violations of Academic Standards in Student Papers at National Research University Higher School of Economics (Annex 2 to Student Internal Regulations at National Research University Higher School of Economics).

Checking for Plagiarism

The following papers must be checked for plagiarism at HSE University: term papers, theses, and the final examination papers prepared in English under the Academic Writing course.

Final drafts of papers shall be uploaded by students to the LMS by the deadlines established by their respective degree programme/faculty and verified for plagiarism. Requirements with respect to the format and title of files, abstracts of theses, the procedure for posting abstracts and full texts of theses in an electronic form on the HSE University website (portal) are described in the Regulations on Checking Student Papers for Plagiarism and the Publication of Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s Theses on the HSE Corporate Website. 

Starting in January 2024, the plagiarism detection system has incorporated a plugin specifically designed to identify AI-generated text. The guidelines for submitting papers to the LMS clearly outline the process for declaring the use of artificial intelligence.

Written home assignments, reports, essays and in-class tests can be checked for plagiarism to identify the percentage of borrowings at the discretion of a respective course teacher. When using generative models in writing assignments, the student or group of students must ensure that their assignment includes a dedicated section, where they have to state the purpose for using the model, identify the model by name, provide its internet URL or describe an alternative source for the model, and explain how the model was applied in the work.

Important: Failing to appropriately cite the use of generative models as required is considered a violation of academic standards.

Important: If a final thesis version uploaded by a student to the LMS differs from that submitted for the thesis defence, disciplinary sanction for the violation of academic standards in student papers shall be applied to said learner, in accordance with the procedures established at the University.

Important: Expulsion as a disciplinary measure for academic misconduct can be applicable to students at HSE University’s initiative, if the instance of misconduct was uncovered before or after final certification, including at the defence of the final graduation paper (thesis).   

Procedure of Checking Students’ Term Papers, Theses and Academic Writing Course Final Papers for Plagiarism

Click here for a detailed instruction of how to upload student papers to LMS

1. Within the time limits prescribed by a relevant directive, but no later than 7 (seven) working days prior to the scheduled defence of a thesis, students shall:
   • verify the details provided in their personal account in the LMS, including their personal profile, information on their academic supervisor;
   • verify the title of their paper in Russian and English as per the directive on approving topics of term papers and theses and setting the deadline for submission of final versions of their paper;
   • upload the final version of their paper;
   • fill in the abstract fields in both Russian and English;
   • confirm that the paper is original and complies with the Regulations;
   • indicate whether they have used artificial intelligence and describe how exactly if they have;
   • express their position on the publication of the full version of the thesis on the University website (portal).
2. Based on the results from checks of this information, registration forms shall be automatically generated in a student’s personal account in the LMS. He/she shall be required to print out the form and submit it to their respective programme office along with a full version of their thesis.
3. Information on the papers whose original content falls below 80% shall be forwarded by the programme coordinator to the head of the HSE University subdivision where the academic supervisor of a term paper/thesis/final examination paper is employed, with a copy to the relevant academic supervisor (in case of thesis checks - no later than 5 (five) working days prior to the scheduled date of a thesis defence).

A final decision as to whether or not copied material in student term paper/thesis/final examination papers was used appropriately shall be made by the academic supervisor of each paper under consideration, respectively, on the basis of reports presented by programme coordinators.

4. Academic supervisors of theses must verify texts for originality no later than 3 (three) working days prior to the scheduled date of a thesis defence, provided that an initial technical verification has identified over 20% in respective borrowed material. If plagiarism is detected, academic supervisors must follow the procedure established by HSE University’s bylaws (Procedures for Taking Disciplinary Action for Violations of Academic Standards in Student Papers at HSE University (Annex 2 to Student Internal Regulations at National Research University Higher School of Economics). If the total percentage of borrowed material is acceptable, academic supervisors shall write a review of student theses with their opinion regarding the originality of the text. Such reviews shall be submitted to local SCB secretaries.