Introduction
Academic dishonesty is a threat to every student and every institution of higher education. The very act runs contrary to the fundamental values of higher education (Bowers, 1964). Dishonesty compromises the integrity of the individual student as well as the reputation of the institution (Engler, Landau, & Epstein, 2008; Gallant, 2008).
Many researchers have indicated that cheating is a serious problem on campuses (Bowers, 1964; Engler et al., 2008; Gallant, 2008; Leming, 1978; McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001). Studies completed by Bowers (1964) and McCabe and Trevino (1996) revealed nearly identical results regarding student-cheating behavior despite the 30 year time span; both studies identified that approximately 70% of students have cheated. Recent findings, however, indicate that college students are cheating more often, in different ways (mostly because of advances in technology), while the perceived seriousness of cheating has decreased (McCabe & Trevino, 1996; Stephens, Young, & Calabrese, 2007).
Promoting academic integrity and developing students morally are integral functions of higher education institutions (Whitley & Keith-Spiegel, 2001). Every stakeholder of the institution, students, faculty, administration, and staff, must recognize and incorporate the value of ethical behavior; without a campus-wide effort, dishonesty will prevail (Whitley & Keith-Spiegel, 2001). Currently, widespread research on academic dishonesty includes reasons for cheating and personal characteristics that may predict cheating behavior; however, very little research exists emphasizing the role moral development plays in cheating.
Problem Statement
Academic dishonesty has long been a problem on colleg...
... middle of paper ...
...er, Y. (2009, May). Situational and personal causes of student cheating. Research in Higher Education, 50(3), 293-313.
Semerci, C. (2006). The opinions of medicine faculty students regarding cheating in relation to Kohlberg's moral development concept. Social Behavior and Personality, 34(1), 41-50.
Stephens, J. M., Young, M. F., & Calabrese, T. (2007). Does moral judgment go offline when students are online? A comparative analysis of undergraduates' believes and behaviors related to conventional and digital cheating. Ethics & Behavior, 17(3), 233-254.
Universal Accreditation Board. (2003). Table for determining random sample size from a given population. Retrieved from http://www.praccreditation. org/secure/documents/coachHO16.PDF
Whitley, B. E., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2001). Academic integrity as an institutional issue. Ethics & Behavior, 11(3), 325-342.
... you are involved in cheating, your tolerance of unethical behavior will increase. Ethical is one the fundamental virtue for all business student. If business students are not well train for maintaining ethical judgment, the scandals they might create will damage investors’ confidence on investing corporation, which damage nation’s economy as a whole(Works Cited).
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...
Moeck, P. G. “Academic Dishonesty: Cheating Among Community College Students.” Community College Journal of Research and Practice 26 (2002). 479-91.
The statistic shown in the student survey of fall 2007 and spring 2008 reveal that only a select few of the students willingly uphold the school’s rules (Source: E). This lack of enforcement relates to the percentage of how many students have not been caught doing unethical behaviors. By increasing the number of students who follow the rules, the amount of students who cheat will decrease proportionally, thus creating a healthier environment. Additionally, students have shown to have an overall effect on other students and their behaviors: “Students who enter a college of mostly ‘honest’ types will more often choose not to cheat even if they are not innately ‘cheater’ types” (Source: C). Honest people who abide by the rules provided can influence other students into being ethical and vice versa, implying that the environment should promote the growth of virtuous behavior. Through a healthy surrounding, a school may have a majority of its students become honest people, thus revealing that the students and the environment directly affect each
The academic integrity of many academic institutions nationwide is becoming more challenging. This case study presents an example on how the academic integrity of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles is being challenged after they’ve decided to inflate students GPAs.
Pressures from society to obtain a successful career require achieving an education in most cases. In today's economy having a thriving career could depend on our educational background as part of the ingredient to fuel our lifestyles. Students attending high school or college can relate to the pressures of sustaining adequate grades. Students who are overwhelmed with trying to maintain higher GPA standards push the academic barriers using technology to cheat. Our society is more advanced with technology such as computers, cell phones, text message systems, as well as various other electronic devices that could provide the avenue for a desperate student seeking a way to cheat in order to receive a higher GPA score. According to Ad Council (1999),"Grades, rather than education, have become the major focus of many students" (Ad Council, 1999). For those students in high school maintaining high GPA's could equal college scholarship programs needed to attend college. Students with peer pressures as well as pressures from parents to achieve higher grades could thrust students who are not motivated to study, to resort to cheating as an easy solution to an unethical problem. This research paper will discuss ways in which students are using technology to cheat. Other aspects of this paper will include statistics on academic cheating as well as ways instructors are catching students cheating. The pros and cons after using cheating detection programs as well as statistics that show significant changes after using the detection programs will also be discussed.
The essay, “Standing Up for the Power of Learning,” by Jay Mathews explained how one of many students was accused of academic dishonesty. During the regular school session of the year 2001, three fourths of 187 students at Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) were found guilty of cheating. This was because they collaborated on an assignment in a computer science (CS) course with friends. By communicating with others about the project, the students violated the course honor code that prohibited the discussion among students for that particular class.
How bad has cheating become over the years, the numbers in some cases are mind-boggling. In today’s day and age the amount of college students cheating is numbered to have maintain a steady figure of about 75 percent. (Lang, 2013) Cheating has been around since the beginning of time, some of the reasons behind most of the prolific cheaters are centered on what seems to be three main issues plaguing our society. Cheaters be it young or old, all seem to have what I call the “Big Three” in common. In my research on cheating, there were three things that continued to stick out, such as; procrastinating, the pressure to make the grade and it is easier to cheat rather then to do your own work. To the answer the question why college students cheat, we must first understand why, in order to find a solution on how to help avoid this continuing going forward. After reading this paper you will see that cheating has become prevalent in college, caused by a need to get better grades with less original work being done eventually the ends don't justify the means.
Academic integrity is a commitment, even in the face of adversity, that is based on five fundamental values including honesty, trust, fairness, respect and a responsibility for your actions.
There is an ever broadening problem spreading throughout colleges all across America: cheating. Is it a serious offence or just a harmless crime? Cheating is on the rise, but schools and colleges are not far behind with ways of dealing with it. Mark Clayton deals with this issue in his essay entitled “A Whole Lot of Cheatin’ Going On.”
Slobogin, K. (2002, April 5). Survey: Many students say cheating’s ok. Retrieved June 12, 2009,
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.
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.
"I’m preparing for the real world. Business is unethical. Cheating is just good training. I’ll be better able to handle what’s put at me when I get out." "‘Oh, it’ll only be this once’ or ‘Everyone else does it, so why shouldn’t I?’" Sly glances at a neighbor’s work, an open book on the lap, or even high-technology methods—the resources of the cheater are many and varied. Whatever the methods, there are many statements like those above to justify cheating. For example, in the United States, surveys show that more than half of all students cheat, or have cheated, during their school years.
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.