Press Release

16th October, 2006

Coursework.Info, the UK's biggest online Coursework Library, has announced that it has added all of its essays to the database of the world leading plagiarism prevention service, TurnitinUK. They are the first and only UK coursework library, to take this step.

Coursework.Info is an educational website where GCSE, A-level, IB and university students give permission for their coursework to be viewed online in exchange for access to others' work.

Peter Taylor, Operations Director of Acumen PI holding company of Coursework.Info, says; "We've always promoted academic best practice to our members. Now we've taken on board their overwhelming support for further eliminating plagiarism as the first step on a programme to clarify the role of Coursework.Info as a valuable educational resource."

By providing TurnitinUK access to their entire coursework library, Coursework.Info is hoping to encourage other coursework libraries to follow suit.

"We believe this action is the cornerstone to a formal code of conduct for the whole industry. Something we are now sounding out with other interested parties", he adds.

TurnitinUK has been developed by US based iParadigms and has been recognised worldwide as the standard in online plagiarism prevention. It is a tool that produces an 'originality' report after searching through billions of Internet pages, academic journals, commercial articles and previously submitted student papers.

TurnitinUK is used by a range of educational bodies including over 80% of universities in the UK as well as the examining body Edexcel and the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Will Murray, Director of JISC's Plagiarism Advisory Service, states "We polled our community members about the inclusion of this database and the response was unanimously positive. This means that any student attempting to submit a Coursework.Info essay as their own work will be identified by TurnitinUK."

Melissa Lipscomb, Chief Operating Officer at iParadigms, concludes "We commend Coursework.info for their efforts in paving the way for others in their industry."

Editor's notes:

• Mr Pete Taylor is the Operations Director of Acumen PI, the holding company which owns www.TheStudentRoom.co.uk and www.Coursework.Info. He is 28 years old and lives in Bristol with his partner and two young children.
• Coursework.Info is the largest coursework library in the UK.
• It is an educational website where GCSE, A Level, IB and University students give permission for their coursework to be viewed online in exchange for access to others' work.
• It contains over 130,000 pieces of coursework, and receives 550,000 visits by students each month.
• For student and teacher testimonials to the benefit of the site see our testimonials page
• Coursework.Info actively discourages plagiarism and offers students clear guidelines on what plagiarism actually is and how to avoid it.
• Acumen PI was the first and only UK Coursework Library to provide all its essays to TurnItIn's world leading plagiarism detection software - a service managed in the UK by JISC's Plagiarism Advisory Service. It is also actively pursuing a Code of Conduct for the industry, with UK Government and education sector authorities.
• Acumen PI also owns www.TheStudentRoom.co.uk - the largest student discussion room in the UK, and one of the largest of the next generation of social networking sites.
• About iParadigms www.iparadigms.com
  iParadigms, LLC (www.iparadigms.com) is the leading provider of web-based solutions to check documents for originality, plagiarism, and for misappropriation. The company's products include: Turnitin® (www.turnitin.com), an internet service used by millions of students and faculty in over 90 countries to vet academic work for originality, enable web-based student collaboration, and provide cutting-edge tools for digital assessment of academic work; and iThenticate TM (www.ithenticate.com), an internet service which enables publishers, news agencies, corporations, law firms, and government agencies to detect piracy or misuse of proprietary information and to conduct document originality due diligence. iParadigms is headquartered in Oakland, CA
• About the JISC Plagiarism Advisory Service (PAS) www.jiscpas.ac.uk
  The JISC PAS provides generic advice and guidance on all aspects of plagiarism prevention and detection for academics and students to around 700 further and higher education institutions in the UK. The service promotes a holistic approach to plagiarism prevention incorporating the consideration of institutional policies and procedures, teaching practice and study skills. The JISC PAS is managed by Northumbria Learning.