Student letter to dean addressing plagiarism and academic misconduct

¶ … Dean of Students,

As I prepare to meet with you this coming week, I do so with a full understanding of the seriousness of my offense. However, this is an understanding that I have truly only gained during the last year and as a result of my own regrettable actions. Last year, I was accused of plagiarism for failing to properly quote and cite some of the sources that I used to complete a research paper for a Geography 100 level course. I am sorry to say that I am guilty of this offense.

However, I hope to make it clear to you in our meeting that this offense was not committed out of malice or dishonesty. It was a simple error in judgment and one that I will never make again. After enduring this process while simultaneously attempting to remain on top of my current studies, I have gained a much greater appreciation for the importance of proper citations. Likewise, I now recognize the role that academic integrity plays in the school's ability to effectively evaluate its students.

In this age of expanding web access, the wider availability of un-credited texts on the internet often makes for a confusing research experience for the student. As I come to learn with greater clarity that standards are changing with the changes occurring in our technology, I can honestly say that I have a far greater understanding of the challenges presented to students, teachers and schools alike. Certainly, the last thing I intended to do was to create any further obstacle that might undermine the important goals of formal education.

As I reflect now on the mistake that I made a year ago, I feel a great sense of remorse. While I know that ignorance is not innocence, I simply was not aware of the gravity of my actions at the time. Like many students who are genuinely dedicated to their studies, I was under a great deal of pressure at the time to complete a heavy workload and attend to a wide array of additional responsibilities in my private and professional lives. As a result, I found myself short on time in the completion of one lengthy assignment. While working toward completion of the assignment, I made a number of errors in citation and presentation of information that I now know rendered my work inconsistent with the high standards held by our university.

I hope very much to continue to be a productive and valued member of our campus community. I will use this opportunity to further the process of my personal enlightenment, a process which has in an ironic way been accelerated by my own mistakes. Quite certainly, a part of the learning and growing processes is for one to stumble but to rise back to one's feet with a greater understanding of why he stumbled at the outset.

I have stumbled considerably, and I recognize this. However, I can also tell you that I am a different person for having done so. I take full responsibility for my actions and submit this letter not as an excuse but as an explanation for my actions. As I rise back to my feet with hopes of putting these events behind me, I am far wiser for my mistakes. These are mistakes which will never again be repeated.