academic dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is a topic that as a student, I have dealt with every day since I entered junior high. Students cheat on tests homework, projects, and in class assignments every day. Many times I wonder—should I tell someone? Or should I mind my own business? I have always defined academic dishonesty as stealing ideas and answers with or without the express permission of another individual in order to obtain a better grade or recognition in the classroom. But to be honest, cheating extends to all those around the cheater. Allowing someone to copy your test, paper, or any other assignment is just as bad, if not worse, than actually cheating yourself. You are an enabler. In a sense, if you help a cheater, or let them get away with it, you are comparable to a person watching a murder in progress, and not doing anything about it. Do we really believe that murderers only commit the one crime? Similarly, do we believe that cheaters only cheat the once? No, of course not. That is why we have prisons, to keep the criminals from committing the same crime, as well as punishing them. Throughout the class in the library, my group didn’t touch on this subject of academic dishonesty. I believe this is because most don’t believe that the enabler is really guilty of anything—or that it isn’t as bad to help a cheater, as long as you don’t do it yourself.
In reality, academic dishonesty is not necessarily a problem with the establishment of any educational system, higher or otherwise (like the article by Bill Puka “Student Cheating”, says). Nor is it a problem with society or other people. It is a deep seeded issue within all of those who believe that there is nothing wrong with putting down words that are not their own, stealing answers, or taking credit for something that did not come from them. These individuals who cheat must have either a nonexistent conscience or a very quiet one. I myself have only cheated a handful of times since the beginning of my education, and each time my conscience ate at me until I turned myself in. The kind of person that can either ignore their conscience, ignore the fact that they are not only disrespecting their instructor, but also themselves, and still continue on this path of dishonesty have a corrupt moral integrity.
What are the ways that we cheat in the academic world? This was a highly debated subject of my group’s discussion. Is the term “cheating” left only to copying answers for tests, and copying papers? I don’t think so, but some people do. But we did all agree that there are many methods that students cheat nowadays. A survey done by University of Wisconsin in Madison found many creative ways of cheating. [i] My personal favorites were programming the test answers/information into a calculator, text messaging each other answers, and putting notes on the floor because these particular methods are easily eliminated by having an attentive teacher proctoring the exam and having clear testing rules to eliminate certain technologies from being used during the exam such as iPods/mp3 players, cell phones, PSPs, calculators (unless needed to complete a math exam, make them use the old versions, or a class set, or even have them erase the information off their calculators), etc. Those classroom rules definitely cut down cheating in many of my classes—forcing the rather determined students to come up with new ways.
One issue we briefly touched on as a class was the idea of an “Honor Code”. I personally like the idea of signing a contract agreeing not to cheat, allow someone to cheat off of me, and agreeing to alert the professor of any cheating I may witness. I believe that those who are “on the fence” over cheating on an exam can be pushed towards the right decision by signing that agreement. Also that agreement will show the students the how that university takes academic dishonesty seriously, and it has a high penalty if caught. However, if the idea is met with opposition by others within the school, classes are within their full right to have an Honor Code for each specific class. I personally think that an honor code is a step towards showing students that they are trusted to sign an agreement and abide by it—but that there are serious consequences.
Academic honesty is something that we as individual students in Elmhurst College are responsible for. No one else is to blame for students’ lack of integrity in the classroom. Honesty is a vital part of the classroom setting. Just as I expect my professor to be honest with me, I am expected to be honest with my professor. That means not plagiarizing, cheating, allowing someone else to cheat, or outright lying to my professor. Nothing is more distracting to the learning environment than cheating, and I hope that over the years it gets better, not worse.
[i] http://www.journalism.wisc.edu/bateman/Ways%20to%20Cheat.htm