CAUT should be commended for its public statements about Turnitin.com. Students and faculty members share benefit from resisting technological fads.

In an era where cutbacks and shrinking university budgets are the norms, educators and students should be wary of the Turnitin.com craze. Containing larger class sizes and maintaining adequate levels of teaching staff are the keys to battling plagiarism, not untested software.

Chances are if a reasonable teacher to student ratio is upheld (and recycled essay questions are avoided), plagiarism can be stemmed the old-fashioned way - by ensuring students know their academic work will receive the attention, not notoriety, it deserves.

Ian Boyko
National Chairperson, Canadian Federation of Students