University of South Africa: Successful Plagiarism Awareness Workshop Hosted in Eastern Cape Region

The Dean of Students, together with the RSRC and the Directorate: Student Assessment Administration (DSAA), hosted the Plagiarism Awareness Workshop on 25 April 2024 at the East London Regional Office. The event aimed to promote academic integrity among students.

Eastern Cape Regional Director, Motale Nkgoang, delivered the welcome address. He emphasised the negative impact of plagiarism on a student’s academic journey. He also highlighted the importance of organising events to raise awareness and understanding of the issue. “By educating students about the definition of plagiarism and teaching them how to properly cite their sources, we can prevent such incidents in the future, and help elevate the academic work of students to a higher standard,” he said.

Thereafter DSAA representatives discussed various topics including examination proctoring tools, examination processes and student disciplinary processes. National SRC Deputy President, Clarence Mabutla, gave a detailed explanation of the role of the SRC in the student disciplinary process and how it works within the framework of the university’s policies and procedures.

Sisanda Ndizana, a student doing her Advanced Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, shared her thoughts on the informative and insightful workshop: “Being a first-time student at Unisa, I was initially quite apprehensive about the upcoming examinations. However, the workshop helped me to gain a better understanding of the online examination process, and more importantly, it gave me the confidence I needed to tackle the examinations with ease.”