Professor Accused of Plagiarizing Own Course

The Aggie Honor System Office (AHSO) announced last Wednesday that Dr. Michael Gunderson has been accused of self-plagiarism. Gunderson, a tenured psychology professor known for his robust PSYC 107 test banks, is alleged to have been reusing content from the last 11 years of sections he’s been teaching. 

Self-plagiarism has been adjudicated by the AHSO for years, but its description was recently expanded in Student Rule 20.1.2.3.4. It is typically applied when students retake a course and resubmit an assignment from a previous semester without significantly altering it. Representatives of the AHSO declined to comment on Gunderson’s case, but they did indicate this was the first time a faculty member had been accused of self-plagiarism through their office. 

“It’s ridiculous that I am being reported for self-plagiarism,” Gunderson said. “I’ve re-taught this course 21 times, and it’s not my fault that some of these idiots had to take this class multiple times. How can I be expected to come up with new content for material I already know?”

The Mugdown reached out to Hunter Atkins, a junior sports management major who took PSYC 107 during his sophomore year. “Dude, I coasted through Gunderson’s class,” Atkins said. “You could straight up not show up for a single lecture and be just fine. The dude practically encourages you to use Quizlet.” Other students shared the same sentiment when interviewed, adding that Gunderson has reportedly used the same test questions since 2009. 

Other professors are making minor formatting changes to their lecture powerpoints in response to the allegations. It is expected that department heads will begin requiring professors to run their lectures through TurnItIn before they are presented next semester. 

 

—Flash It Back, Ags and Heldenfalls