JISC-ANNOUNCE archives -- January 2002 (#6) | Procurement of Plagiarism Services - National Detection Service:

In 2001, the JISC commissioned a project to review the use of electronic detection products and their use in the HE and FE communities. This project made several recommendations, including the establishment of a national advisory service, which included access and training for a national detection facility. Procurements for the advisory service and detection facility are being carried out simultaneously.

This document outlines the requirements for the detection facility. Expressions of interest are sought to provide this service for the UK further and higher education community. Funding in the region of £500,000 (inclusive of VAT) over two years will be provided.

The Detection Service will be expected to provide:

• An online electronic detection service, for potentially, all further and higher education institutions in the UK
• A service that has the capability to compare students work with Internet sources to identify possible plagiarism
• A service that has the capability to review student's work for possible collusion or sharing of text.

Jeez! Do they really have any idea of the scale of the effort required to deploy a National Detection Service?

Not forgetting the National Advisory Service:

This document outlines the requirements for the national advisory service. Proposals are sought to provide this service for the UK further and higher education community. Funding of up to £300,000 per annum including VAT is available.

The main role of the Plagiarism Advisory Service will be to provide tools to support institutions in their endeavours to prevent and detect plagiarism. This will be achieved by the commissioning of generic guidance, support material and case studies to be made available via the service web site. In addition to this, the service will manage and support institutional access to the electronic detection service being procured in parallel.

The Advisory Service will oversee the day-to-day operation of its programme to ensure that it provides value for money through cost-effective operation.

The Advisory Service will be responsible to the JISC Services Division/ Directorate and will also report, via a Steering Group, to the JISC Learning and Teaching Committee. A Steering Group will be established to guide the work of the Advisory Service, and members of this committee will act as advocates for the academic community.

The main tasks of the Advisory Service will be to:

• Commission generic material relating to good practice in plagiarism prevention and detection.
• Identify particular problem areas and/or areas of particular interest to ensure the service fully meets the needs of the community.
• Liaise with the community to provide the advisory service and ensure it is fit for purpose
• Provide and maintain a user-friendly online interface to the resources outlined.
• The management of the electronic detection service contract and the training of sites on its use
• Organise workshops for the community in the area of plagiarism. These may include discussion/presentations/training on specific issues.

Well, at least they're taking plagiarism seriously!