2025-2026 MELA Minutes

Options: • Continue negotiating for the final two years of the contract • Piggyback off an RFP from another state (initiate in March for replacement by August) • Cancel the contract, allowing institutions to adopt the contract independently. Dr. LeBrun requests guidance from the association on how to proceed. CopyLeaks proposal was shared via email. ii. Piggybacking on Another RFP : Dr. Wilhite has initiated legwork, reaching out to other states. Difficulty obtaining documentation due to non-disclosure agreements. ITS may be able to obtain documentation more easily. Review criteria and vendor responses to determine alignment with ITS RFP standards. If aligned, negotiate with the vendor to fill out the agreement and contract, ensuring compliance with state procurement laws. ITS feels confident that this could be in place for the next school year if started in March. Piggybacking takes out some of the legwork. Copy Leaks has worked with Iowa and the Utah Education Network. CopyLeaks price point would be $2.05 per FTE for three years. Current price is around $3.56. This would be around $130,000 a year versus the $237,000. iii. Discussion and Action Items: Decision needed by the time committees meet. Can proceed with Turnitin while initiating piggybacking on an RFP. Check with ITS for limitations. Dr. LeBrun will check with Amber and Jonathan for next steps and report back. It was stated that "I think it would be safe to try to do both if we can, just because, you know, I'd hate to. We got to have something, right? So whether that is Turnitin or copy leaks or whatever." Concern about Turnitin's business practices and potentially cutting ties in the future. General consensus against signing the current Turnitin agreement. Turnitin is fighting state laws. Turnitin is not willing to share the same price for all state entities. iv. Concerns About Turnitin’s Product: Question of whether the product is still trustworthy due to AI. Traditional plagiarism is not as prevalent anymore. New tools with lower price points could cover traditional plagiarism. The question of how much to invest in a tool that is not as valid or relevant as it once was. v. Turnitin Concerns: Some instructors want to move away from Turnitin due to dissatisfaction and perceived obsolescence. Turnitin's AI detection has been inaccurate, identifying human written text as AI-generated. Instructors have found Turnitin's results to be untrustworthy.