Steps to stop cheats 1

The article "Staff ignore cheating" (June 23) puts a negative spin on the work of an institution and a school that have spent four years campaigning for better and more consistent plagiarism policies and handling procedures. Our only mistake: we have used the academic conference route to share our findings to help others and to learn from them.

This work-in-progress report discusses one school's responses to the university's holistic action plan introduced in 2004-05. The figures quoted in the article were largely before the introduction of the plan, not "despite" it. More recent figures suggest increased engagement.

Nowhere in our report or presentation was the generalisation made that "academic conduct officers were failing to carry out their responsibilities".

The report is part of an approach that offers education, prevention, detection and discipline in appropriate measures to support our students and to ensure that the university responds to the challenges of the 21st-century learning environment.

Christina Mainka and Scott Raeburn

Napier University, Edinburgh