– The paradox is that she is unable to rejoice over the verdict in the Court of Appeal. She is still very broken because she was unjustly banned from her studies, and unjustly had the answer to the assignment cancelled, says lawyer and legal representative Magnus Stray Vyrje. When the student at Høgskolen i Innlandet was banned for two semesters, this was on the grounds that the college thought she had plagiarized herself on an accounting exam. The student had used two paragraphs from a previously failed home exam within the same subject, without disclosing this. The section referred to a textbook in the subject, and the student had correctly referred to this. The college’s committee for student affairs found that this was in breach of the current examination regulations and therefore had to be regarded as cheating. That was also the opinion of the Joint Appeal Board, the Ministry of Education, and the Oslo District Court. The student appealed, and the Borgarting Court of Appeal has ruled that the exclusion was invalid. Probably not a leader for others. The student has received support. As many as 331 employees at universities and colleges signed a petition to support the student, according to VG. Her lawyer says the case has gotten to her, and that she has not had the strength to discuss the case in public. – She does not have the ability to be happy about this massive support she has received. Both from the legal profession in Norway and large parts of academia. She is still strongly affected by what she has been through, says Vyrje. He tells news that he believes the verdict in the Borgarting Court of Appeal is correct. Vyrje has written to Khrono.no that the verdict “underpins what he has been leading all along”: that the students have been without justice in cheating cases about self-plagiarism. Vyrje says to news that the Court of Appeal has decided the case on a concrete basis, and that they do not resolve a general legal issue. Therefore, according to the lawyer, the case will probably not lead to other students who come up in a self-plagiarism case. – The Court of Appeal’s verdict is of great importance for this student who has won, but the Court of Appeal’s decision probably has limited value for other students who come up in a self-plagiarism case, says Vyrje. Will not apologize yet On Khrono.no, Vyrje has replied that he expects the management at Høgskolen i Innlandet to “take care of itself and give the student an apology without delay”. – I think it is natural, if the judgment becomes legally binding, and it is established that the student has had his entire course of study destroyed on an incorrect basis, and has been branded out of academia as a cheat, that it is only reasonable that the university takes responsibility, and puts forward an apology without delay, says Vyrje to news. He also says that the university should say it is willing to compensate the financial loss the student has suffered. Vice-rector education at Innlandet University College, Stine Grønvold, replied to news in an e-mail. There she writes that the judgment from the Court of Appeal is not legally binding, and that the Ministry of Education has not decided whether they will appeal the judgment. – The Court of Appeal is also asking for a new hearing of the case in the Joint Board of Appeal. A possible apology will come after a final decision has been made in the case, and it will come directly to the wrong student and not indirectly through the media, says Grønvold. The Ministry of Education informs news that they are now considering the verdict, and that they have not decided whether to appeal yet. The appeal deadline is in January. Does not believe in appeal Vyrje tells news that he finds it difficult to believe that the judgment will be appealed because he cannot see that the case is of principle importance, precisely because the Court of Appeal has decided the case on a concrete basis. He also says that a prerequisite for appealing must be that one believes the Court of Appeal has used the law incorrectly. – Here, the legal usage on which the Court of Appeal is based is exactly the same legal usage that the ministry uses as a basis in the draft of the new University and College Act, says Vyrje. Vyrje nevertheless believes that the entire system for such cases must be changed, and that cheating cases about possible plagiarism and self-plagiarism cannot be treated as rigidly as in this case. Høgskolen i Innlandet writes on its pages that the Court of Appeal finds it natural that the Joint Board of Appeal makes a new assessment of the case, based on the legal understanding that the Court of Appeal has laid down: – Decisions in the Joint Board of Appeal and from the courts are an important basis for all universities and university when examination regulations are drawn up and in the practice of these. It also applies to us, says vice-chancellor Stine Grønvold. – We have started a revision of our own examination regulations after a proposal for a new law on universities and colleges has recently been submitted, she says.
ttn-69
Student was supported in case of self-plagiarism – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
