The official definition of plagiarism for USF is contained in each academic year's undergraduate and graduate catalogs:

"Plagiarism is defined as "literary theft" and consists of the unattributed quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original ideas by paraphrase from a published text. On written papers for which the student employs information gathered from books, articles, web sites, or oral sources, each direct quotation, as well as ideas and facts that are not generally known to the public at large, or the form, structure, or style of a secondary source must be attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Only widely known facts and first-hand thoughts and observations original to the student do not require citations. Citations may be made in footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism also consists of passing off as one's own segments or the total of another person's work. "(From the USF 2007-2008 Undergraduate Catalog)

The university-wide disciplinary consequences of plagiarism are also explained there:

"Punishment Guidelines for Plagiarism: The student who submitted the subject paper, lab report, etc., shall receive an "F" with a numerical value of zero on the item submitted, and the "F" shall be used to determine the final course grade. It is the option of the instructor to assign the student a grade of F or FF (the latter indicating dishonesty) in the course. "(From the USF 2007-2008 Undergraduate Catalog)"

"Graduate School Policy on Academic Integrity: The Graduate School holds academic integrity in the highest regard. Students are responsible for being aware of and complying with University Regulations and Policies and must conduct themselves accordingly. Per the USF Regulation 3-0015 on Academic Dishonesty, students who commit Academic Dishonesty may receive an "F" on the assignment, an "F" in the course, or an "FF" in the course. Refer to the regulation for the exact requirement. Graduate students who are assigned an "FF" grade will be academically dismissed from the University and will not be eligible to apply to any graduate program at USF. Procedures for filing an academic dismissal are available on the Graduate School Website at."

The First Year Composition classes have specific policies addressing plagiarism and prevention in ENC 1101 and 1102: see First Year Composition at USF and What is the Plagiarism Policy of USF's First-Year Composition Program?.

The USF Center for 21st Century Teaching Excellence's Plagiarism Resource web pages provides interactive tutorials on plagiarism and on BlackBoard's SafeAssign service.

Read BlackBoard's press release explaining SafeAssign, its plagiarism prevention service.

The USF Tampa Library's How-To Guide for plagiarism prevention.

Practical advice for faculty members who encounter plagiarism is provided in the following documents:

Plagiarism Resources and Services: A Guide for Faculty - Northwestern Michigan College
Department of English: Plagiarism Issues - George Mason University
Deterring and Detecting Plagiarism - Iowa State University
Resources for Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism
Detecting Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism
Dealing with Plagiarists
Combating Plagiarism
Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices