Plagiarism Detection: UNC Charlotte has contracted with SimCheck for plagiarism detection services. Use of SimCheck (or another plagiarism detection service) is entirely in the discretion of the instructor, but use of such services requires:
- that you provide advance notice (via syllabus) to your students that you are using such services and
- that you obtain a signed consent form from each student.
Generative AI Detection: It is important to obtain a signed consent form when submitting student work to a generative AI detection tool. Note that while the use of generative AI detection tools is not prohibited by the University, such tools are not necessarily accurate and should not be relied on as presumptive of the use of generative AI in completing an assignment.
The consent form is necessary because both copyright rights and FERPA rights of students may be violated by disclosure and use of their works by submitting them to plagiarism detection services or AI detection tools. For more information, see University Policy 402, Student Records, and University Policy 315, Copyright Policy.
The consent form must be signed voluntarily, or it is ineffective. If a student elects not to sign a consent form, it is not advisable to submit their work to a plagiarism detection service or generative AI detection tool but instead to offer alternatives, such as (i) requiring a short reflection paper on research methodology; (ii) requiring a draft bibliography prior to submission of the final paper; or (iii) requiring the cover page and first cited page of each reference source to be photocopied and submitted with the final work.
In order to assist you in the correct use of plagiarism detection services or generative AI detection tools, below are several suggested syllabus policies. Note that you are not required to use such suggested syllabus policies, but if you plan to use SimCheck or another plagiarism detection service, or if you plan to use a generative AI detection tool, you are advised to at least notify the students in advance and obtain signed consent forms from the students, as noted above.
Suggested Syllabus Policy Option 1: If you plan to use SimCheck or another plagiarism detection service and/or a generative AI detection tool for ALL work/papers submitted in your class, you should include the following (or your own variation thereof) in your syllabus:
As a condition of taking this course, all required work/papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to SimCheck (or another plagiarism detection service) for the detection of plagiarism and/or a generative AI detection tool for detection of unauthorized use of generative AI. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the SimCheck (or other plagiarism detection service) reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. No student papers will be submitted to a plagiarism detection service or a generative AI detection tool without a student’s written consent and permission. If a student does not provide such written consent and permission, the instructor may: (i) require a short reflection paper on research methodology; (ii) require a draft bibliography prior to submission of the final paper; or (iii) require the cover page and first cited page of each reference source to be photocopied and submitted with the final paper.
Suggested Syllabus Policy Option 2: Alternatively, if you do NOT plan to submit all papers to SimCheck (or another plagiarism detection service) or to a generative AI detection tool but plan to submit ONLY papers that you SUSPECT contain plagiarized works or unauthorized use of generative AI, you should include the following (or your own variation thereof) in your syllabus:
As a condition of taking this course, all work/papers that the instructor in good faith suspects are in whole or in part plagiarized may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to SimCheck or another service for the detection of plagiarism. Such works will be included as source documents in the SimCheck or other plagiarism detection service reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. No student papers will be submitted to SimCheck or other plagiarism detection service without a student’s written consent and permission.
Likewise, as a condition of taking this course, all work/papers that the instructor in good faith suspects are in whole or in part created with the unauthorized use of a generative AI tool are subject to submission to a generative AI detection tool. If a student does not provide such written consent and permission, the instructor may: (i) require a short reflection paper on research methodology; (ii) require a draft bibliography prior to submission of the final paper; or (iii) require the cover page and first cited page of each reference source to be photocopied and submitted with the final paper.