Abstract
Internationally, student plagiarism is on the rise despite
measures introduced by universities to detect its occurrence
and to institute actions to prevent and address this practice.
One of the reasons that may contribute to this problem is the
reluctance of faculty to report student plagiarism. Through the
medium of a disguised South African case study, this paper
advances reasons to explain this oversight. Such reasons include
psychological discomfort, opportunity costs, lack of procedural
clarity, administrative bureaucracy and a prevailing culture of
managerialism. Recommendations are furnished to faculty
alerting them to practices of which they must be aware when
intending to report student plagiarism. Recommendations are
also proposed to university leaders and administrators with
regard to leadership support for those who report student
plagiarism, the development of clear policies and procedures,
the reduction of bureaucratic red tape, support to students
whose first language is not English and reflection on the
institutional moral context within which students study.