Stephen F. Davis is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Emporia State University. He served as the 2002-2003 Knapp Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego. Currently, he is Distinguished Guest Professor at Morningside College and Visiting Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Texas Wesleyan University. Since…

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…

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…

The author presents an interview he conducted with Liu Wen (an alias), a teacher suspected of having participated in a scam at Haozhou Normal Junior College, located in the northern part of Anhui province. The dialog centered around the purchase of theses during applications for professional titles. All of the teachers at Haozhou who bought theses…

Academic patterns of power (over students, curriculum, etc.), pretense (faculty claims about competence and experience), and piggybacking (conversion of institutions into education conglomerates) reveal some ethical issues. The patterns are deeply rooted, each with historical reason for being and current justification, yet each has outcomes that…

Most faculty and administrators rate academic dishonesty a high crime, fatal to education. What cheating shows that merits strong opposition is a student's pride in deceptively "getting over" on professors and "the system," even where both are recognized as fair. This affection for injustice and casual disregard for honest dealings must be trained…

Presents an interview with two faculty members at Temple University on the question of academic integrity. Discusses that while encouraging better detection and stiffer enforcement of policies is an understandable response to studies showing that cheating is in the rise, it is important to keep the dialogue focused on the value of integrity. (GCP)

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)

Two issues of college grading must be addressed if recommendations to improve teaching/learning are to succeed: GPAs should not be used for purposes of personnel selection, and it must be admitted that tests and grades have powerful influences on how and what students study and learn. (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…

In 1987, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) adopted a faculty ethics statement developed by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) detailing faculty responsibilities to their disciplines, as teachers, as colleagues, and as members of academic institutions. To make the AAUP statement more relevant to…

The issue of whether cheating and plagiarism should be categorized as an academic evaluation or disciplinary misconduct is discussed. It is claimed that if these offenses are categorized as disciplinary misconduct, students are entitled to some due process. However, if cheating and plagiarism are classified as academic evaluations, students are…

As colleges and universities increasingly seek for-profit corporate sponsors for their research programs, collaboration may be complicated by differential missions leading to potential conflicts of interest. Ethical issues include corporate influence on research topics, secrecy and publication restrictions, patent ownership, unfavorable…

The American Association of University Professors faces tests of policies on protection of academic freedom in three areas: government and academic treatment of fraud and misconduct in academic science; speech that wounds or offends on the basis of racial, gender, or ethnic status; and the status of the creative arts. (MSE)

Ethical dilemmas faced by many academicians in the course of their work activities and role demands are described in eight articles and 24 case illustrations. Article titles and authors are as follows: "The Academician as Good Citizen" (Bruce H. Charnov); "Fundamental Means to Ethical Teaching" (Gordon A. Walter, Mary Ann Von Glinow); "Concern for…