(Photo: Global Times)

China's prestigious Tsinghua University will intensify punishment for academic misconduct by expelling students who plagiarize in their graduation dissertations, China Daily reported Friday. 

Students who plagiarize, fabricate, falsify, hire ghostwriters, or write for others in bachelor's, master's or doctoral dissertations will be expelled, according to the university's new disciplinary regulations. Previously, cheaters would only get demerits. 

Their academic honors and awards will be revoked and they will not be eligible to apply for scholarships or to be recommended for postgraduate studies without taking the national postgraduate entrance exam, the school said. 

The newspaper quoted Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, as saying that academic integrity should be a top priority for Chinese university students, yet its importance has not been stressed enough. 
Teachers should give students more guidance in academic writing, and universities should hand down serious punishments to students who cheat in their writing, he said. 

Other universities such as Peking University and Renmin University also announced expulsion regulations on student plagiarism, said the paper.