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Abstract Background Plagiarism is a very serious offence in academic institutions. Yet there is some reluctance to address plagiarism by educators as its enforcement can require a significant time commitment if not handled wisely. Handling plagiarism at scale has the potential to exacerbate this problem. Objectives This article explores the challenges educators face when it comes to enforcing plagiarism from within the course environment, presents a solution that addresses these challenges, and provides guidelines for preventing and detecting plagiarism in our at‐scale courses. Methods A workflow is shared which was created from our experience of handling plagiarism within our large online computer science graduate level program. We present an empirical study of this workflow that shows the overall prevalence of misconduct. Results and Conclusions Results demonstrate this workflow being effectively and efficiently applied to address plagiarism across four courses and three semesters by a single individual working half time. We have observed that warnings on low‐stakes assignments can be very effective at deterring future misconduct. We have also observed that cases come to a quicker resolution when students readily acknowledge their own misconduct after being promptly notified. Takeaways from the study Plagiarism should not only be managed through institution wide policies, but also through effective strategies implemented in the course environment. This is particularly important when handling plagiarism at scale. Addressing plagiarism starts in the course and therefore effective strategies for handling it there are needed.
Adkins et al. (Mon,) studied this question.