Academic Dishonesty

Academic Dishonesty: A Response
By Shannon Dale

When I first began reading the academic dishonesty article, it brought me back to High School. Back to the days when I would angrily watch my classmates cheat on a test that I had studied for hours the night before, or copy each others assignments because they were too lazy to do the work themselves. I worked hard in High School and I felt cheated by my classmates. Cheating has become a large part of High School, and according to the article Academic Dishonesty by Donald L. McCabe, it is running rampant on College campuses as well.
In our group, we discussed the reasons behind the deterioration of academic honesty. The sources of its decline are due to many different groups, not just the students themselves. It is true that many students believe that some forms of cheating (i.e. copying homework, or cheating on a quiz) are “less wrong” than larger forms of cheating. While all forms of cheating should be looked at as wrong, there are many factors behind this shift in thinking. First, many teachers don’t penalize for cheating. Either they choose to ignore it, or they believe that it is the student’s responsibility to refrain from cheating even though they still see students taking advantage of their trust. Also, some teachers are very strict whereas others very lax, making it hard for students to have a consistent stance on cheating. Secondly, in an age where getting the grade holds more importance than bettering oneself, it is easy to get caught up in cheating. When a grade holds scholarships or the chance to go to college, many students are willing to do whatever it takes to get the grade. Unfortunately, among many, cheating has become more socially acceptable and easier to do in the technology era. However, there are many students who still adhere to academic honesty out of respect for their teachers, peers, and themselves.
I am a bit skeptical about the Honor codes. I feel that in order to make them as effective as possible, they need to be more accessible than just printed in the student handbook. In order for the Honor codes to be successful, the institution must make the codes a part of the classroom and grading systems, and have a consistent policy among its faculty. I also believe that by creating harsh punishments for those who violate the codes will allow students to see the severity of cheating and allow everyone to understand the consequences.
I do not believe that cheating is a “victimless crime”. Those who cheat to gain credit are undermining the hard work and dedication of their fellow students. Those who cheat are also victims. They are victimizing themselves by earning a grade, and not educating themselves. They are losing out on the fundamental skills needed for jobs in the future, such as time management, multitasking, responsibility, and respect for their peers. I believe that these skills are some of the most important aspects of the college experience.
In order to learn, students must understand what constitutes cheating. I believe that working on homework in a group is a productive way to learn, allowing each student to share ideas and discover new ideas from each other. This only turns into cheating when a student simply copies an assignment from a fellow student. Changing a few phrases does not make the work your own. Copying off others tests, bringing “cheat sheets” into class during examinations, talking about what questions to study for with a student who has already taken the test, or memorizing the answers are all forms of cheating. Other forms of cheating are copy and pasting information from the internet or another work and presenting the work as ones own, buying papers online, or being ignorant of copyright rules are all equally wrong. Ignorance is not an excuse. While I believe their punishment should be less severe than those who cheated purposely, those who are ignorant to copyright rules should be educated.
Academic Honesty should become a stronger policy among educators. Those who cheat may not be caught, but their actions are detrimental to their growth as a student, and take credibility away from their educators and institutions.