Cheating in Academic Institutions

902 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: morality culture

Cheating in Academic Institutions

Cheating has always been a problem in the history of academics. Academic institutions continue to develop new ways to prevent cheating from happening; while at the same time cheaters come up with even better ways to cheat. This conflict brings up many moral issues as well. To settle these issues, academic institutions create honor codes that show students that cheating is unacceptable and morally wrong; however, some students come up with their own reasons for getting around that code. As one student, John Smolik, says, “Cheating is an answer.” (Clayton 20) John Smolik did not actually believe that himself, he was just stating what a popular belief among students is. The article, “A Whole Lot of Cheatin’ Going On,” states that an increase in cheating has been brought on by a lowering of accepted moral values. The article shows four major themes. Those themes are the proof of cheating, colleges watching more closely, high tech. cheating, and the expectation of honesty.

Cheating in academic institutions is a reality, so says Mark Clayton. He starts off his article by mentioning the student John Smolik in a short little anecdote. The anecdote relies on an emotional hook by having the student state the opposite of what is morally acceptable. This is a very effective technique in using pathos to draw the reader into continuing further into the article. Clayton then explains that Smolik was merely stating a view that many students in fact do believe. I believe that he did a great job in keeping the reader interested. I found that I was definitely drawn in and wanted to read to read more. Clayton then moves on to establish some of his ethos. He quotes a statistic from The Cente...

... middle of paper ...

...sequences of cheating and what academic integrity is supposed to be. Clayton shows that some ways to help with the information is the formation of student-run honor codes.

In the end, this article is more of a statement than an argument. It serves mainly to support the reasoning that cheating is not the proper course of action in virtually any situation. Clayton gets this point across using, for the most part, logos. The logos appears in the form of multiple statistics and surveys about the ways in which students may cheat and how often they do it. Pathos also plays a part in the anecdotes that are told throughout the article describing students’ ideas about cheating. Students need guidance on this measure and educational administrations are doing a good job getting the point across. As long as they do not give up cheating will never become an epidemic.

Show More
Related

  • The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead by by, David Callahan

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    I was really looking forward to reading this book because since high school, when reading novels were mandatory assignments, I hadn’t really sat down and read a book, let along an academic book. I was looking forward to learning and possibly using this book in a future interview. The book starts off by David Callahan addressing the national problem that we have with cheating. To discuss the cheating culture, the author brings in research findings from many disciplines such as: economics, political scienc...

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Christian Miller's Essay On Cheating

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this final chapter, Christian Miller speaks about cheating. There is a cheating behavior that many people do for various reasons. This assumes that the cheater might not be the one who is advantaged. Most humans today cheat when the opportunities arise. In studies, it is clear that many students cheat while in college. Of the many students who cheat, only a small fraction of them get caught. In a very large group of people, it was seen that only 3 people stated that they have never cheated while in school. In one case, a student found an exam on the printer and mass distributed it to the class and the class finished the exam quickly and scored higher. This made the teacher skeptical and a retake was made. It is clear that cheating is very prominent on college campuses. In an experiment, participants were told that they could only take 5 minutes on a

    Read More

  • Colleen Wenke's Too Much Pressure

    1517 Words  | 4 Pages

    That stomach churning feeling of guilt for many seems to appear as a small price to pay when completing an act of academic dishonesty. Colleen Wenke wrote an essay on cheating eighteen years ago called “Too Much Pressure”. In the past fifty years, the number of students who admit to cheating has increased fifty to seventy percent(Gaffe). Many people wonder what leads the students to make this unjust decision. Today, the reason for a rise in cheaters is because of how easy it has become, leading many students to the false conclusion that they aren’t breaking any rules; It is simply viewed as a shortcut to success in the classroom and beyond.

    Read More

  • My View on the American Dream

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s great country; we’re the people that elect them into office! So, all in all, I think that the governmental funds from higher taxes on the rich minority can greatly assist in educating and motivating underprivileged Americans achieve their American Dreams of prosperity IF governmental funds are used in accordance of national progression. So my message to fellow American citizens, press your political representatives to create a society that supports each one of your American Dreams, as long as they’re morally correct and/or legal.

    Read More

  • Narrative Essay: First Generation College Students

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    Being a first generation college student has been my biggest struggle in life. For years, I was told to attend Allen Community College before any big changes of course I didn’t listen. For years I was told I wouldn’t last in a big university, I have been told I will be unprepared and behind. I have been told that three out of five first generations students do not complete a degree. Being told something isn’t possible is a hard thing to deal with.

    Read More

  • My Plans as They Relate to My Educational and Career Objectives and Future Goals

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a seventh grade student, I took a science course because it was required. At first I was scared about how well I would do and if I would get a good grade throughout the year. When the school year started, I met my teacher and he seemed really nice and he turned out to be an awesome teacher. I excelled in my science seven class and overthrew my fear of getting poor grades. My seventh grade year was the year I determined what I wanted to go to college for and that would be life science education. As I moved up the scale throughout high school I became a better student, a better athlete, and a better leader. I had the support of my family, my teachers and my friends. This helped me achieve the major goals I had set out for myself.

    Read More

  • Essay On First Generation Students

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a byproduct of the change in college culture, it will create a “friendlier” environment for first generation. Students need to feel safe rather than out of place. Additionally, prestigious institutions need to take initiative to create new programs that will make college a painless transition for first generation students by implementing new policies such as mentors or clubs. As many colleges and universities have not taken the initiative to help first-generation students, North Carolina State University is one of the few exceptions. As a fellow first generation college student at North Carolina State University, I have reaped many benefits from the different organizations they have around campus. In the Poole College of Management, I was assigned a professional mentor in my future line of work that made the transition into college a better experience for me. After listening to his forums, I was able to use the skills I had learnt from my parents and apply it to college and my study habits benefiting me in countless possibilities. Additionally, the sociology department at North Carolina State University has created a program that guides first-generations students throughout all four years of college making the transition as

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Who's Cheating Whom By Alfie Kohn

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    A world that demands perfection is only more likely to create imperfections. In the article “Who’s Cheating Whom?” written by Alfie Kohn, he deconstructs cheating in school from why students cheat to the underlining cause. He sheds light on the fact that cheating could in fact be mainly caused by the environment our culture has created for students. Cheating is most often seen in situations where students find what they’re learning to be boring or something they have no interest in. Many social scientists also believe cheating is a result of both the educational system and society valuing and rewarding the high grades over actual learning and teaching. Due to this competitive environment created in school

    Read More

  • Cheating In College Essay

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cheating is a big issue that has reached the most competitive campuses around the United States. It is increasing more and more with the new technology that we have in the 21st century because students have easy access to many sources of information. Cheating is something all students have done at some point in their lives, but as they reach a higher academic level, they are faced with more rigorous consequences that can affect their futures in many different ways. Cheating might be seen as an easy way to obtain a good grade, get into a good college, or maintain scholarships or financial aid, but the consequences could affect the life and the future of the student.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Academic Integrity

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    Academic integrity has been a major concern among many colleges and universities across the world. Many people may ask the question: what is academic integrity? University of Missouri’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (n.d.) states, “Academic integrity is the core set of values and principles that underwrites the very mission of the University itself; integrity, honesty, hard work, and the determination to translate personal and professional principles into behavior.” Some also may view academic integrity as the act of sustaining honest and rightful behavior in an academic setting that avoids, prevent and provide disciplinary actions for those who commits academic dishonesty, plagiarism and cheating of any kind. Majority of college and universities in all disciplines has academic ethics and honesty policies for all students regardless of their academic statues as undergraduate or graduate students. For example, Webster University’s Statement of Ethics (n.d.) for both graduate and undergraduate programs says, “Those who elect to partici...

    Read More

  • Students Cheatwork

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cheating on academic work is a serious issue that most students admit to doing at some point in their academic career. Elite students are surprisingly the culprits of cheating, but hide it well. (Romm, para 5) Cheating is such a large issue that “70% of students from a sample of 1,800 from nine campuses said they had cheated at least once during their college careers.” (Schneider, para 9) Students cheat on academic work because of different, ongoing pressures in their lives. Understanding the student’s motives and pressures are essential to preventing cheating from occurring in the future. Students cheat for different reasons specific to them regarding their priorities, pressures and because of how easy it has become. Even though eliminating cheating will not happen, there are actions that educational professionals can and should take to prevent most of it from happening so often. Therefor cheating problems are minimized and have a positive impact on the student’s education and understanding of concepts.

    Read More

  • Academic Dishonesty: Applying Technology To Cheat

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    Modern students face many pressures for academic success. They are often unwilling to disappoint their parents or spouses. Some fear that not cheating will weaken a student’s ability to compete with their peers. They rationalize their unethical behavior, unwilling to accept a poor grade, consequently justifying cheating as the only means to that end.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Academic Cheating

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    From a young age we are taught the differences between right and wrong, but as we get older the line between moral and immoral is often blurred. Things that were once thought of as unacceptable are now perfectly fine in our minds. Have you ever seen anyone cheat on an assignment or exam? Do you know anyone that’s been expelled from school for cheating? What if it was discovered that a U.S. senator plagiarized his college thesis paper? Imagine if it got out that one of the most respected universities in the U.S. was involved in a huge fraud scandal that involved thousands of students. Academic cheating is a terrible offense because it is unethical, self-degrading, and can be detrimental to the learning environment.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Poverty On Society

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    As one of the biggest problems facing the world today, poverty continues to have significant negative implications for the society. The effects of poverty are extremely severe and far-reaching, so much so that it was one of the top Millennium Development Goals agreed upon at the Millennium Summit of the UN back in 2000 (Hatcher, 2016). To understand the effects that poverty has on the society, one must critically analyze the societies in which poverty is rampant, as well as analyze poverty from the relative perspectives that it presents. The core aim of this paper is to develop a holistic understanding of poverty and elaborate on the diverse ways in which it continues to affect societies across the world.

    Read More

  • Position Paper On Abortion

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abortions have always been a very controversial topic. Over the years we continue to fight for or against it. One can say that is one of the most talked and argued topic in the United States. An abortion is when a woman terminates her pregnancy before the fetus is viable using various of methods. Some argue that abortions should be illegal and considered murder, while others, from a religious point of view, say that no one has the right to take away the life of a person, in this case the fetus. However, others insist, that abortions are a basic women’s right.

    Read More

More about Cheating in Academic Institutions

Open Document