America is in the midst of one of the worst economic environments since the Great Depression, and the fallout from dishonest individuals from Wall Street to Pennsylvania Avenue has been breathtaking. As a graduate student, the author has observed that many people easily begin rationalizing dishonest behavior early in their careers. He advocates…

Recently, the author had cause to discuss with a group of his freshman college students the issue of reporting observed or known academic dishonesty. He was very surprised and deeply saddened by the responses most students shared with him on this issue. In short, most--80%--stated that "others' cheating was none of their business;" "It is the…

Discusses a cheating incident, the extent of cheating, and ways to handle the problem. (EL)

Jason Stephens traces the growth of cheating over three decades, noting a disconnect between expressed shock and research that has shown over and over that most students do cheat, at least some of the time. Some students cheat for simple, pragmatic reasons: to get high grades and because they do not have time to do the work carefully. However, the…

Several recent studies indicate that cheating has become both more prevalent and more socially acceptable. In this article I draw parallels between market values and student attitudes about cheating. They include: (1) reduction of a broad range of goods to their economic value, (2) use of non-reciprocity as a guiding principle, (3) valuing the…

Reports the results of a survey sent to 15,000 students at 31 top-ranked universities asking students in engineering, business, science, and the humanities if they had cheated during their college career. From the 6,000 responses, business students ranked the highest with 87 percent, engineering 74 percent, science 67 percent, and humanities 63…

The prevalence of cheating in the schools, student attitudes toward cheating, and the social mores excusing cheating are considered in this article, and suggestions that can be followed by parents, students, and teachers to eliminate cheating are offered. (PGD)

Discusses three areas of student concern in differences between high school and college: the differences in punishment for cheating; the differences in what constitutes cheating; and the differences in their own attitudes about cheating. Proposes that high school teachers can help their students by creating a clear and consistently enforced…

Presents findings from a study of 251 faculty members and 227 undergraduate students, regarding attitudes about what constitutes academic dishonesty. States that, even within each group, there was considerable range of opinion on specific issues, such as whether it is dishonest for a student to turn in the same paper for two classes or to…

Academic dishonesty is a fundamental issue for the academic integrity of higher education institutions, and one that has lately been gaining increasing media attention. This study reports on a survey of 1206 students and 190 academic staff across four major Queensland universities in relation to student academic misconduct. The aim of the survey…

Various aspects of cheating in the schools are discussed: student motivation for and attitudes about cheating; most common types of cheating; cultural differences in attitudes about cheating; and teacher action to discourage or detect cheating. (CJ)

Colleges and universities must reconsider the value placed on academic integrity and how they communicate and share these values and expectations with students. Consistent and ongoing opportunities for discussing the policies and procedures with students must be developed. (MLW)

Numerous explanations have been offered to explain the ubiquity and enduring nature of academic dishonesty in post-secondary education and professional programs, including dissatisfaction with curricula, disengagement from academic institutions, and poor admissions criteria for students. A pilot study in Canadian pharmacy education was undertaken…

A dental student defines professional integrity within the context of dental education, examines the problem of academic cheating and its ramifications for patient care, places the burden of responsibility on individual students, and argues that dental schools should provide a dental ethics course early in the curriculum and establish a strong…

An alternative to traditional solutions to academic cheating is proposed which provides a systematic institutional strategy stressing academic and professional integrity, encourages students to actively ensure academic integrity, and administers swift and fair punishment to violators. Implications are drawn for dental education and development of…