The review of the plagiarism allegations against her dissertation should not be completed until November at the earliest, according to university spokesman Juraj Rybansky to the APA. Even with a confirmation, however, a revocation of the title is not to be expected. In order to proceed consistently in the matter, foreign experts were commissioned to analyze Aschbacher’s work. However, Rybansky continues to wait for their analysis.
On Wednesday it became known that the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt had stopped the proceedings against Aschbacher’s thesis. An expert opinion had identified “deficiencies in compliance with the standards of good scientific practice”, but did not identify the intent to deceive necessary for a title to be withdrawn. This means that she can keep her master’s degree.
And in Slovakia, too, there should be no threat of withdrawal. After numerous plagiarism scandals that also affected high-ranking members of the current government, the higher education law was amended accordingly. However, titles may only be accepted if the corresponding thesis was submitted after January 1, 2021. Aschbacher had already submitted her dissertation in 2020. Rybansky did not want to comment on whether the ex-minister could face other consequences.
The STU was one of the first universities in Slovakia to join a public appeal by Slovak educational institutions against improper title acquisition. “An academic title should not be a jewel with which politicians or entrepreneurs only want to increase their social status. It must be the result of decent research,” it said at the time.
After the decision of the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, the VP demands an apology from the opposition to Aschbacher. “Once again, the reality check has proven that the media hunt, fueled by the opposition parties, had irrevocable consequences even before the truth was fully clarified,” said Secretary General Axel Melchior in a broadcast.
The discontinuation of the proceedings, on the other hand, was “blown away” by “plagiarism” Stefan Weber, who had made the corresponding passages in Aschbacher’s work public. “Apparently I have too strict a plagiarism term, I say ironically,” said Weber to the APA.
The decisions of the past few years regarding the work of ex-science minister Johannes Hahn (VP), state opera director Bogdan Roscic, ex-SP-federal managing director Thomas Drozda and now Aschbacher always followed the same pattern: “I find parts of the text that have no quotation marks and none Funotes, and that’s what I call plagiarism. Obviously I’m too strict. But then I would have to call the University of Salzburg that they taught me the citation rules too strictly in 1989. Irony off. “
A wiki on the subject of citation standards is currently being developed on behalf of the Ministry of Education, of which he is the first author. “Obviously I’m the wrong man for that, because I’m too strict,” said Weber. However, he has not yet heard from his colleagues on this project.
For him, it’s not about Aschbacher or other people losing their titles. “What annoys me: In all the communications it is always stated that ‘deficiencies in scientific practice’ have been found, but no intent to deceive has been proven. But no one answers the question: Has plagiarism been done now? For me it is a lie. You should say: is it plagiarism or not? The other question is whether it is relevant in terms of study law. I have no problem with the university saying: No, it is not relevant. But that you shouldn’t bring yourself to say that was plagiarized or not … why not call this thing by name? “
It would also be interesting to publish at least excerpts of the reports, Weber said. At least that way one could see the line of reasoning. “Why do you say there was an intention to deceive or there was none?”
