Fewer student swindlers suspended for cheating
A tighter control of plagiarism across the Swedish education system is thought to be working after the number of students suspended on grounds of cheating at colleges and universities fell by 15 percent last year.
In 2009, 355 students were suspended after being caught copying papers or swindling exams compared to 409 in 2008.
Stockholm University, one of the country's largest educational institutes with over 50,000 students, has reduced the number of suspensions from 46 in 2009 to 26 in 2008.
But not all of Sweden's established seats of learning have had the same success.
Lund University, the country's second oldest, has seen an increase from 41 student suspensions in 2008 to 42 in 2009.
Meanwhile, the capital's prestigious Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) has also expelled more cheaters, rising from 33 to 35.
The figures also suggest scholars at the Stockholm School of Economics (Handelshögskolan) are some of the most virtuous in the country with no suspensions on record in the past two years.
Södertörn University, near Stockholm has seen its number of student cheater drop by nearly half in the last year.
Eva-Carolina Säfvelin, Södertörn's student right’s officer says that both the number of reported cases of cheating and those pursued with disciplinary action has reduced.
She believes an increased awareness of plagiarism at Swedish high schools has contributed to the downward trend of cheating.
"Students are being taught how to handle their sources now," she told news agency Siren. "And teachers are working actively to prevent plagiarism by better informing students what it means."
According to Säfvelin, plagiarism accounts for the highest number of suspensions, but cases also include unauthorized notes taken into examinations.
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In 2009, 355 students were suspended after being caught copying papers or swindling exams compared to 409 in 2008.
Stockholm University, one of the country's largest educational institutes with over 50,000 students, has reduced the number of suspensions from 46 in 2009 to 26 in 2008.
But not all of Sweden's established seats of learning have had the same success.
Lund University, the country's second oldest, has seen an increase from 41 student suspensions in 2008 to 42 in 2009.
Meanwhile, the capital's prestigious Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) has also expelled more cheaters, rising from 33 to 35.
The figures also suggest scholars at the Stockholm School of Economics (Handelshögskolan) are some of the most virtuous in the country with no suspensions on record in the past two years.
Södertörn University, near Stockholm has seen its number of student cheater drop by nearly half in the last year.
Eva-Carolina Säfvelin, Södertörn's student right’s officer says that both the number of reported cases of cheating and those pursued with disciplinary action has reduced.
She believes an increased awareness of plagiarism at Swedish high schools has contributed to the downward trend of cheating.
"Students are being taught how to handle their sources now," she told news agency Siren. "And teachers are working actively to prevent plagiarism by better informing students what it means."
According to Säfvelin, plagiarism accounts for the highest number of suspensions, but cases also include unauthorized notes taken into examinations.
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