Nicola Morrison apologises after writing article that quoted verbatim some of student's dissertation

A senior lecturer at Cambridge has apologised to an undergraduate for writing an article quoting verbatim some of his dissertation without crediting him.

Nicola Morrison, of the department of land economy, had an opinion piece published under her name in the Journal of the Town and Country Planning Association in April. When the student, who has remained anonymous, was told of its contents, he reported the issue to his tutors; he has now been credited for his contribution. Yesterday, Dr Morrison and the university said that an apology had been issued and accepted.

A spokesman said the article was written "on a very short deadline, without properly attributing some of the source material. This was swiftly rectified, the lecturer has apologised to the student concerned, who does not wish to take the matter further, and the matter is closed."

When the story first appeared in the Varsity student magazine, Dr Morrison dismissed it as "tittle-tattle", and considered the matter "dealt with officially and properly". She said the student concerned was "fine". When contacted by the magazine, the student declined to comment.

The essay by Morrison, A Landmark Case, commented on Cambridge housing developments during the recession.

The student union's education officer, Sam Wakeford, urged the university to learn lessons: "This obviously looks bad, but mistakes can be made by academics as well as students; plagiarism is a very complex issue – work produced in a collaborative environment , such as between a student and their supervisor, can be a particularly grey area. The university must take seriously the teaching of proper referencing techniques."

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