At Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), we uphold the highest standards of academic integrity, honesty, and originality. Plagiarism, the act of presenting another person’s work, ideas, or words as one’s own without proper acknowledgement, is considered a serious academic offence. This policy outlines how OOU prevents, detects, and addresses plagiarism to maintain academic excellence and ethical scholarship across all faculties, departments, and programmes.
Definition of Plagiarism
Plagiarism at OOU includes, but is not limited to:
- Copying or paraphrasing another person’s written or digital content without proper citation.
- Submitting work wholly or partly produced by another student or an external party.
- Reusing one’s previous work (“self-plagiarism”) without approval or acknowledgement.
- Using materials from websites, articles, theses, or AI-generated content without proper attribution.
- Failing to use quotation marks or referencing styles when directly quoting others’ words.
Scope of the Policy
This policy applies to all members of the university community, including:
- Undergraduate and postgraduate students submitting coursework, projects, or theses.
- Academic and research staff preparing publications, reports, or grant proposals.
- Collaborative research partners and external contributors are working with OOU.
It applies to all forms of assessment, research output, and publications.
Prevention of Plagiarism
OOU is committed to preventing plagiarism through education, awareness, and support. To achieve this, the University:
- Provides training on academic writing and referencing techniques.
- Promotes the use of standard referencing styles such as APA, MLA, or Harvard.
- Encourages supervisors to guide students on proper citation and originality.
- Integrates plagiarism awareness sessions into orientation and research methodology courses.
Detection and Verification
All academic submissions, including projects, dissertations, and research papers, are subject to originality checks using approved plagiarism detection software. Departments may use platforms such as Turnitin or other institutional tools to verify the authenticity of submitted work.
The acceptable similarity index for academic work shall be determined by the University Senate, depending on the nature of the submission and discipline.
Consequences of Plagiarism
Plagiarism is treated as a breach of university regulations and academic ethics. Depending on severity, sanctions may include:
- Rejection or resubmission of the affected work.
- Deduction of marks or failure of the course.
- Suspension or expulsion in severe or repeated cases.
- Withdrawal of the degree or certificate for proven post-graduation offences.
Appeals and Review
Students or staff found guilty of plagiarism have the right to appeal the decision.
Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Registrar within the timeframe specified in the disciplinary notice. The appeal will be reviewed by the relevant committee for fairness and compliance with university regulations.
Responsibilities
- Students are responsible for ensuring the originality of their submissions.
- Supervisors and lecturers must educate, guide, and check for plagiarism.
- Departments and faculties must enforce compliance and report breaches.
- The ICT and Data Protection Unit will support electronic verification processes.
Contact Information
For enquiries or further guidance on academic integrity and plagiarism checks, please contact:
ICT and Data Protection Unit
Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU)
Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria
Email: enquiry@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng