Pogo recognized long ago that we often are our own worst enemies. Sure, he was a cartoon character, but he had a point--especially in higher education, where self-sabotage seems to be a standard characteristic of academic careers. In the author's 30 years as a professor, five years as a dean, and three years as a provost, he has observed many…

Students have cheated for centuries, but the problem is knottier than it used to be. The Internet and its infinite dishonest shortcuts have made many cases more complex, and antiplagiarism software like Turnitin flags more potential offenses than could be caught before. At the same time, professors' and college presidents' run-ins with plagiarism…

Upset because the University of California at Davis did not support her charges of misconduct among scientists, Melinda M. Zaragoza left her career in microbiology to run a general store in Kentucky. Although no wrongdoing was found on the Davis campus, Ms. Zaragoza's whistle-blowing now is being joined by a powerful chorus. Officials of the…

In their efforts to manage the college environment, many higher-education institutions have deployed complex systems of student discipline--often in the form of legalistic codes of conduct. Paradoxically, says the author, major challenges involving students on campuses appear to be getting worse: high-risk alcohol/drug use persists; student…

This article reports that language barriers and faculty turnover are the major challenges to an American college's struggles to deliver value to students in China. The Liaoning Normal University-Missouri State University (LNU-MSU) College of International Business, a collaboration between MSU and a local university in China, is designed to mirror…

A well-established market in prewritten research papers violates the ethical standards of every college, but it persists because selling papers is not illegal and the cost and difficulty of prosecuting a student suspected of submitting a purchased paper is prohibitive. (MSE)

For $800 Muscovites buy blank diplomas from established universities, bearing official stamps, with desired major and date of graduation; another $50 buys blank transcripts. Professors often require students to take courses outside the core curriculum in order to pass exams for which they demand cash payments or goods. Admission is often based…

While college faculty complain about student cheating and plagiarism, many do little or nothing about it. Few lodge formal complaints against individual students, finding the campus judicial process laborious, and punishments often unrelated to the offense. At institutions with honor codes, the issues can be different, with reporting of…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of the news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This July 16, 2004 of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Who Knew?" (Guterman, Lila); (2) "Silent Treatment: A Copyright Battle…