‘Systemic’ plagiarism at institute
Rampant plagiarism, overcrowded facilities and course completion rates as low as 30 per cent at an international business school prompted a no confidence rating from an academic watchdog.
A recently-released New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) report into Linguis International Institute criticised its performance over the last five years and said the school, while committed to improvement, had not demonstrably achieved it.
Linguis’ director said such shortcomings, especially plagiarism, were ‘‘unacceptable’’ and changes were made to better the institution in the future.
Linguis, which caters largely to Chinese and Indian students, struggled to manage a remarkable growth in enrolments from 158 students in 2012 to about 1000 three years later.
In May last year it agreed to limit its Indian student enrolments to those who passed internationally-recognised English proficiency tests but NZQA expressed concern ‘‘language levels remain a significant barrier to learner achievement for some currently enrolled students’’.
The Canterbury earthquakes appeared to put added stress on the institution. Formerly Christchurch-based, Linguis relocated its head office and established an Auckland campus that now hosts roughly three-quarters of its students.
By 2014 its Christchurch campus was overcrowded, the report said. Classes had up to 64 students and a shortage of furniture. One site also had ‘‘inadequate washroom facilities’’.
Course completion rates in Christchurch dropped to 30 per cent for Level 6 business diploma students in 2012. Although other courses averaged 92 per cent completion, NZQA found them a ‘‘questionable’’ measure of success given ‘‘systemic’’ and ‘‘undetected’’ plagiarism at the school.
Evaluators’ interviews uncovered plagiarism rates of up to 50 per cent and, in one sample, 23 of 24 assignments showed evidence of plagiarism.
‘‘Some Linguis staff seemed unclear about what constituted plagiarism’’ and failed to follow their own referencing guidelines, the report said. It said there was ‘‘no reliable evidence’’ to substantiate the school’s assurances it had resolved those issues.
In a written statement, Linguis director Mike Dawson said anti-plagiarism software and specialised staff training had since been introduced.
He expressed regret over the degree of student plagiarism but was confident such changes would support the school’s ‘‘continuous improvement and educational excellence’’.
‘‘Linguis recognises that New Zealand itself has been a victim, as has been its Government, its immigration service, NZQA, its providers both state and private, and last but not least, the Indian students themselves.
‘‘Linguis wishes to work with all parties to overcome these difficulties.’’