I would like to see together if we could not adopt a fair position in a very sensitive matter

Careers for decades in the academic environment were made by plagiarism, by harassing those who signaled the plagiarism, by blocking the development of the university career, and some victims were cleared. The proof of a plagiarism or a case of abuse or sexual harassment extends over the years, and their universities and commissions are subjected to a real ethical test, says university professor Marian Popescu, expert in ethics and academic integrity. He raises a problem that he says “will not like many.”

• Marian Popescu, professor of the University of Bucharest, led the University Ethics Commission that demonstrated the plagiarism of Victor Ponta
• He is a foundation of the Center for Action, Resources and Training for Academic Integrity of the University of Bucharest (Carfia).

What I will write next will not please many. It will seem unacceptable. It will cause, perhaps, reactions in the academic and research environment which, as a rule, is cumbersome and (or) inefficient in reacting. However, I would like to see together if we could not adopt a fair position in a very sensitive matter: fraud, deception, theft from the academic and research.

“I know what a university means becoming vulnerable through plagiarism and sexual abuse.”

I started to know this Dark Side of the Moon What is the deviation from the Academic Norms and rules of 2012, when I led the Ethics Commission of the University of Bucharest, until 2016. As a student, I had been trained by our profits from Bucharest philology in relation to the correctness, honesty of the research (even though I had, as a student, to accidentally discover the plagiarism of a renowned prof). So, for me and my generation, maybe after us, these were assimilated issues, they were normality: to give credit through footnotes, exact citation, exact attribution to the authors who inspired you and who were then found in the correct bibliography from the end of our works.

In 2017, I set up the Center for Integrity of the University of Bucharest (Carfia), and the following year I became a member of the Bureau of Fraud Research and Plagiarism Institute in Geneva (Irappa), where we opened new lines of action, of thinking, conceptualization in terms of an movement and one FIELD What could be born: integrity sciences.

I stop here. I just want to assure you that, often, I know what a university means it becomes vulnerable, mainly through two evil actions: plagiarism (together with the manufacture and/or handling of data, database theft, academic CV tricking and sexual harassment.

As in several other countries, the academic environment in Romania knows them. And the way in which both the university and the justice treat them is often imperfect, sometimes embarrassing, any unsatisfactory. Although some significant steps have been made to bring things to the right path.

“There is no register regarding academic fraud”

When hiring, anyone is asked for the record. You have to get it. In other countries, the employer directly contacts the police and gets the information before hiring. When engaging in the university, however, few know, a document issued on the basis of Law no. 118 of June 20, 2019 regarding the National Automated Register regarding the persons who have committed sexual crimes, to operate some people or to minors. This is as a result of both the efforts of NGOs that have reported skids of some teachers (sexual harassment), but also of some journalistic investigations that have decided in such situations.

In other words, the law obliges to prove that you are not in that register, which, until then, guarantees that you have not diverted from an adequate behavior provided by the Charter and the Code of Ethics of the University or the Law of Education (newer of higher education).

However, if you are proven as a plagiarist or author of other types of fraud in the academic environment, you can “solve” the problem in several ways: as far as I know, the guilt loses its track, transferring or leaving for another university, laboratory, etc. RAR is fired (in the position and provisions of the employment contract). But those who are about to hire you, I do not know that you have committed those facts. And I give you credit, access to grants and, so you take it from the beginning! It happened (I speak because I know), it will happen again.

There is no national register on academic fraud. The only existing tool, a database of plagiarism suspicions, is Plagiat.ro (the index of plagiarized works suspicions in Romania), a platform created by Prof. Dorin Isoc and the Graur Group.

Although it is not brought to date, it can be seen that very few doctor titles have been withdrawn in years. The ethics commissions of the Romanian universities expose, differently, the plagiarism cases and their resolution, with as few details and without a purpose: if they found the plagiarism and the university made the proposal to withdraw the title of doctor, we do not know if the title was withdrawn.

A poorly thought out operation

The turbulence of the Law on the existence and operation of CNATDCU have contributed, not once, with a good time, to the “fog” designed on the issue of the doctoral plagiarism and of the responsibilities, the final responsibilities of the various institutions and academic structures. Although over three years have passed since the Order of Minister through which the universities have been allocated to create a new internal structure (office, service) to pass the doctoral theses and check them to plagiarize, no one knows what is the stage of this operation, poorly thought out, without a clear methodology regarding the allocation of human resources and financial and financial methodology.

The completion of a case of plagiarism or sexual harassment in universities requires qualified staff. Universities almost do not invest in this. They do not evaluate the consequences of a plagiarism that affects the victims of the plagiarism, the institution, the magazine/publishing house (if accepted) is obliged to withdraw the work with plagiarism, the confidence in the correct scientific approach.

A real case, one among others I know, shows this: a plagiarism in the doctoral thesis and the book that followed, the University Commission, with difficulty, and to a certain insistence and from some foreign authors (the plagiarized), starts the analysis of the notification and, finally, the high -year -old, and a great technical, and doctor.

The decision also appears on the website of the research structure of that university where the person who plagiarized was a member, had a grant contracted with the university. The University validates the decision and submits to the ministry the proposal to withdraw the title. That was three years ago. The first measure: the publishing house of that university withdraws the book with the plagiarism he had published. Further? Nothing.

The plagiating person starts from that university, and on his site the researcher's profile remains and the decision of the Ethics Commission has simply disappeared! A classic, shameful whitening. But, surprise: the plagiarizing person comes out of the Romanian sphere and we find it at another university, accessing a grant and etc … the people there, in fact, I do not know who he is. But if I know, this is complicity and … favoring the offender.

How we get to “but this was known in college”

Between a case of sexual harassment, proven by the ethics, the predator acted quickly, resigned and … disappeared. But he had a contract in progress with a university in another country. It was communicated to that university with whom they are dealing with and the reaction was fast by terminating the contract. Sometimes you don't know who you are a colleague. Or, if you have suspicions, do not communicate them and, so, we come to: “But it was known in college.” It was known, but it was not acting.

Careers for decades have been made by serial plagiarism, by harassing those who signaled plagiarism, blocking the development of university or research career. Some victims have clarified: repeated hospitalizations or painful decision to start another road.

What I mean is that the proof of a plagiarism or an act of sexual harassment is consuming specialized effort, it extends in years, and their universities and commissions are subjected to a true ethical test. How many have passed it? Then, those accused of plagiarism and sexual harassment become, almost without exception, aggressive and harass, threaten, hire lawyers, etc. and throws a difficult discretion on the universities.

“If I can, universities delete the traces”

If they finally manage to get rid of such “colleagues”, they will find another academic pasture where they appear pure, innocent: because those who will give them credit there do not know who they are dealing with. And the universities that have completed the procedures for proof of facts, have no interest in … beat the drum. If I can, I delete the traces.

Of course, it can be objected: there are few cases, however … as in plagiarism (“it is only 3, 5%”, that is … little), it is not about number, size, but fact as such. A plagiarist, a pugker is a poisonous apple: he pollutes a community that had accepted him.

Normally, the academic communities should have access to a European profile database, so as to avoid errors that will have high costs by employing a plagiarist from Bucharest or Paris. I realize that, legally, this poses serious problems about the rights of the person. But not insurmountable. I initiated (in Carfia) or contributed (to Irappa) to the effort to make the academic norms compatible. For often, what a commission of ethics is considered as theft (plagiarized, that is), the law does not recognize it as such. And the frequent appeal to the argument “at that time was not in the law with the quotes” becomes more and more infantile. About the quotes you learn from school, you do not get to the doctorate by pretending that you do not know what it is.

“Is the University prepared to face the new world that opened with the use of artificial intelligence?”

Many of the above are longer or shorter concerns in other countries. To them are added the concerns about the extensive use of Ia, not always correctly. But is the University prepared to face the new world that opened with the use of algorithms, LLMs?

For now, I find that the number of analyzes, scientific communications, books on these topics is increasing: but when you look at what the universities do in this regard, you realize the gap. Technologies “move” much faster than legislation.

In order to cope, you probably have to radically change the way of transmitting knowledge, evaluation of students, integration, under the flag of interdisciplinarity, different disciplines. The scoring from 1 to 10 has clearly proved inadequacy to our world today. What is the difference between note 3 and note 6? Or so many points, so many credits? Sometimes, it's like with the “point” of pension: he is small, but the desire is to be as big as possible.

In the fall, I will resume the course of academic ethics and integrity (EIA). I wonder from now on, although I have been doing it for years, I have changed it, of course: how to start it? Living all in a society where ethical vertebra is totally decalcified, and moral values ​​seem to be some rhetorical ornaments of an outdated discourse, to engage with students a discussion of EIA seems risky. Because I have to convince that it is worth succeeding through your own merits, through normal behavior. In Romania or other countries where they want to arrive.

The text originally appeared in contributors.ro.