Academic Dishonesty: an Epidemic

Academic Dishonesty: an Epidemic

As a current college student and recent high school graduate, I am well aware of the presence of academic dishonesty, or cheating, in the classroom. The International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) defines academic dishonesty as “representing someone else 's work as your own. It can take many forms, including sharing another 's work, purchasing a term paper or test questions in advance, paying another to do the work for you” (Integrity Statistics). With the efficiency and availability of the internet, the various methods for academic dishonesty can be seen occurring almost everywhere. For this reason I have chosen to do further research from a sociological perspective into academic dishonesty.
Richard T. Schaefer takes a brief look into sociology on campus (Schaefer, 2013). Almost everyone can agree the practice of academic dishonesty is on the rise, in fact the ICAI estimates at most colleges, more than 75% of the students engage in some form of cheating. This is not to say that more than 75% of the student body blatantly cheats as in getting answers to an exam or using the works of others without proper citations, there are subtler actions considered to be academically dishonest that many don’t realize they are committing. Such as teaming up with others on assignments intended to be independent. Many don’t view this as cheating because they are putting in the work, not just getting the answers from another person. But because parts of the work being turned in might not be the person’s own work and academic dishonesty is defined as representing someone else’s work as your own. Another common form of academic dishonesty is falsifying lab results. Students attempting to speed up the experimental process or made a mistake often falsify the results by either looking at the results of others or fabricate results based on the expected outcome. All of these forms of academic dishonesty (getting answers to an exam, using the work of others without proper citations, unauthorized collaboration, and falsifying lab results, and more) account for an estimation that more than 75% of students at most colleges cheat at some point. Schaefer hypothesizes the “increase in student cheating reflects widely publicized instances of cheating in public life, which have served to create an alternative set of values in which the end justifies the means […] cheating is OK, as long as you don’t get caught” (Schaefer, 2013).
I, however, disagree with Schaefer. I believe the increase in student cheating is due to the fact that the pressure to perform has never been higher. There is an immense stress placed on ranking and GPA. Both affect the chances of admittance into good programs/schools and job placement after graduation. Cheating isn’t an easy solution for the lazy; it’s a solution for those who want to look good in order to continue on.
Dorothy L. R. Jones, teacher at Norfolk State University, distributed a survey in which students, who admitted to engaging in academic dishonesty, were asked why they did so. The top three reasons given were that the student wanted to achieve better grades (92% marked this), procrastinated starting the assignment/studying and ran out of time (83% marked this), and was too busy/didn’t have enough time to complete the assignment or study for the test (75% marked this) (Jones). All of these reasons show that students choose to do something academically dishonest because they don’t want to receive a bad mark. Even those who procrastinate, in the end, get the assignment done; they cheat to get a little help to do so. Someone who truly didn’t care wouldn’t even bother cheating; they might not even complete the assignment. Emily Pardalis, social studies teacher at Danbury High School, stated she finds her Honors students are more likely to cheat than her basic level students “because of the pressure they put on themselves.” Honors students are known for being high achieving, so getting a lower grade in an honors class almost feels like a taboo. Trying your hardest and achieving a C, to most honors students, isn’t satisfactory; they want/need the A. As a result they might participate in academically dishonest behavior to do so. A poll conducted at Fordham University found “a significant gap between the GPAs of cheating students and their honest counterparts. Cheaters, on average, boast a 3.41 average. Non-cheaters average at 2.85” (8 Astonishing Stats on Academic Cheating, 2010). In short, cheaters have higher GPAs. Although it is counterintuitive to think that cheaters perform better than non-cheaters, because cheaters traditionally don’t care and cheat just to get the work done, it does make sense. If the majority of cheaters, as I think, are honors students, then the help from their cheating endeavors combined with their personal knowledge would result in an excellently completed assignment or exam. Honors students, conventionally, are thought to uphold higher morals and ethics, but many may feel compelled to compromise their school’s ethics policies in their own self-interest. Many academic rewards depend on one’s GPA: admission to school or program, obtaining scholarships and grants, and much more. So consequently, to get the GPA that earns the rewards students are willing to disobey the school’s ethics code.
Unfortunately in today’s day and age everything comes back to performance and not so much to effort; more specifically, academic performance. The pressure to perform has never been higher as many prospects hinge on performance. To get into the good school or program you have to perform accordingly, and those coming from the good schools or programs tend to get the jobs; and in the end our goal is end up with a good job to support ourselves and our families. So as a result, grades, rather than education, have become the major focus of many students. You’ve got to get the grade, not necessarily know the material.
Works Cited
8 Astonishing Stats on Academic Cheating. (2010, december 12). Retrieved december 10, 2013, from OEDB: Open Education Database: http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/8-astonishing-stats-on-academic-cheating/
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: ARE MORE STUDENTS CHEATING? (n.d.). Retrieved from Midwestern State University: http://faculty.mwsu.edu/psychology/dave.carlston/Writing%20in%20Psychology/Academic%20Dishonesty/new/adprev.pdf
Integrity Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from International Center for Academic Integrity: http://www.academicintegrity.org/icai/integrity-3.php
Jaffe, D. L. (2013). Academic Cheating Fact Sheet. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from ENGR110/210: http://www.stanford.edu/class/engr110/cheating.html
Jones, D. L. (n.d.). ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: ARE MORE STUDENTS CHEATING? Retrieved from Midwestern State University: http://faculty.mwsu.edu/psychology/dave.carlston/Writing%20in%20Psychology/Academic%20Dishonesty/new/adprev.pdf
Schaefer, R. T. (2013). A Culture of Cheating. In Sociology: a Brief Introduction, 10th edition (p. 68). McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved December 10, 2013

Cited: 8 Astonishing Stats on Academic Cheating. (2010, december 12). Retrieved december 10, 2013, from OEDB: Open Education Database: http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/8-astonishing-stats-on-academic-cheating/ ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: ARE MORE STUDENTS CHEATING? (n.d.). Retrieved from Midwestern State University: http://faculty.mwsu.edu/psychology/dave.carlston/Writing%20in%20Psychology/Academic%20Dishonesty/new/adprev.pdf Integrity Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from International Center for Academic Integrity: http://www.academicintegrity.org/icai/integrity-3.php Jaffe, D. L. (2013). Academic Cheating Fact Sheet. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from ENGR110/210: http://www.stanford.edu/class/engr110/cheating.html Jones, D. L. (n.d.). ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: ARE MORE STUDENTS CHEATING? Retrieved from Midwestern State University: http://faculty.mwsu.edu/psychology/dave.carlston/Writing%20in%20Psychology/Academic%20Dishonesty/new/adprev.pdf Schaefer, R. T. (2013). A Culture of Cheating. In Sociology: a Brief Introduction, 10th edition (p. 68). McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved December 10, 2013