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August 28, 2007 2
My background
• BA, Rice University; MS/PhD UNH• Joint appointment at Oswego –
computer science and psychology• Developed CS dept cheating policy
http://www.oswego.edu/academics/colleges_and_departments/departments/computer_science/cheating.html
• As Associate Dean, final step in appeal process
• Task Force on Academic Quality subcommittee on cheating and plagiarism
• Committee on Intellectual Integrity
August 28, 2007 3
True or False?
Students begin cheating as early as 3rd grade.
August 28, 2007 4
Academic Integrity Survey
• Center for Academic Integrity http://academicintegrity.org
• Dr. Donald McCabe – replicated William J. Bower’s 1964 survey at 31 institutions (“Student Dishonesty and its Control in College”)
• SUNY Oswego participated in 2006-2007
• 17,401 undergrads @ 19 schools• 3,985 faculty @ 17 schools
August 28, 2007 5
How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? • Plagiarism on written
assignments
– Never - 1% – Very Seldom - 21% – Seldom - 47%– Often – 25% – Very Often – 6%
August 28, 2007 6
How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? • Plagiarism on written
assignments
– Never - 1% (<1%)– Very Seldom - 21% (7%)– Seldom - 47% (42%)– Often – 25% (39%)– Very Often – 6% (11%)
August 28, 2007 7
How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? • Inappropriate sharing in
group assignments
– Never - 1%– Very Seldom - 10%– Seldom - 32%– Often - 38%– Very Often - 19%
August 28, 2007 8
How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? • Inappropriate sharing in
group assignments
– Never - 1% (1%)– Very Seldom - 10% (7%)– Seldom - 32% (39%)– Often - 38% (38%)– Very Often - 19% (15%)
August 28, 2007 9
How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? • Cheating during tests or
examinations
– Never - 3%– Very Seldom - 33%– Seldom - 37%– Often - 18%– Very Often - 9%
August 28, 2007 10
How frequently do you think the following occurs on campus? • Cheating during tests or
examinations
– Never - 3% (1%)– Very Seldom - 33% (25%)– Seldom - 37% (50%)– Often - 18% (19%)– Very Often - 9% (5%)
August 28, 2007 11
During the past year, how often have you
• Worked with others when asked for individual work
– Never - 53%– Once - 18%– More than once - 23%– NA – 6%
August 28, 2007 12
During the past year, how often have you
• Copied another’s homework
– Never - 66%– Once - 17%– More than once - 15%– NA – 3%
August 28, 2007 13
During the past year, how often have you
• Copied a few sentences from a written source without citing it
– Never - 65%– Once - 17%– More than once - 13%– NA – 4%
August 28, 2007 14
During the past year, how often have you
• Copied from an electronic course without footnoting
– Never - 64%– Once - 18%– More than once - 14%– NA – 4%
August 28, 2007 15
How often, if ever, have you seen a student cheating during a test/exam?
Never – 41%Once – 14%Few times – 32%Several times – 9%Many times – 2%NA – 2%
August 28, 2007 16
Have you ever ignored an incident of cheating in one of your courses for any reason?
Yes – 38%
No – 62%
August 28, 2007 17
Have you ever referred a case of suspected cheating to anyone?
Yes – 44%
No – 56%
August 28, 2007 18
Cheating is a serious problem on campus.
– Strongly disagree – 2%– Disagree – 14%– Not sure – 42%– Agree – 32%– Strongly agree – 10%
August 28, 2007 19
How frequently have you observed student dishonesty when completing assignments or exams?
SUNYStudent Opinion Survey
Spring, 2003
Very frequently – 4%Frequently – 11%Sometimes – 27%Rarely – 33%Never – 22%
August 28, 2007 20
Faculty report suspected cases of cheating
– Strongly disagree – 4%– Disagree – 23%– Not sure – 42%– Agree – 27%– Strongly agree – 5%
August 28, 2007 21
Oswego’s policy
• Two tracks– Academic
• Penalties up to failure for the course
– Judicial• Penalties up to
suspension/explulsion
• Repeat offenders
August 28, 2007 22
True or False?
Adhering to campus policy is a constitutional requirement.
August 28, 2007 23
Delhi’s policy
• Involves both Academic Affairs (Coordinator of Academic Advising) and Student Life (College Judicial Coordinator)
• Mandatory meeting with student provides educational opportunity
• Mandatory reporting demonstrates the seriousness of the issue
• Progressive punishment • Appeal process is described
August 28, 2007 24
Community Standards
• Oswego’s approach – levels of non-compliance
Level 0 – trivial errorsLevel 1 – unintentional errorsLevel 2 – poor decision makingLevel 3 – intentional
dishonesty
August 28, 2007 25
Promotion of policy
• Dialog – faculty and student– Review process that led to new
policy– Open faculty forum to discuss
issues– Open student forum to discuss
issues– Promotion from President, Provost
on down, including faculty and student leaders
• Visibility– Posters, bookmarks, etc. promoting
integrity– Encouraging faculty to include
reference to policy on syllabus
August 28, 2007 26
True or False?
The weakest students on campus are the ones most likely to cheat/plagiarize.
August 28, 2007 27
Why students cheat
"What's important is getting ahead. Cheating is a shortcut and it's a pretty efficient one in a lot of cases.“
– Courses not interesting enough– Time– Need to get good grades– “unfair” tests/assignments;
assignments that are makework
August 28, 2007 28
True or False?
Males are more likely than females to cheat on
an exam.
August 28, 2007 29
Combating misconduct
• Change exams frequently (68%)• Monitor students closely on
tests; space them out during tests (72%)
• Discuss views on integrity (65%)• Info on syllabus about cheating
(67%)• Use of internet to confirm
plagiarism (29%)
August 28, 2007 30
Plagiarism detection?
• “Plagiarism Detection: Is Technology the Answer?” by Liz Johnson
• http://connect.educause.edu/library/abstract/PlagiarismDetectionI/44506
• Compares 7 services• Doc Cop – http://doccop.com/
August 28, 2007 31
Combating misconduct
• Use the policy! When students feel faculty don’t support integrity policies, there is little chance of getting caught or if caught receiving significant penalty
• Use a variety of assessment methods
• Require drafts of all papers• Take more time to listen to
students and understand their needs
August 28, 2007 32
Creating a Culture of Integrity
• Promotion of integrity– “Ten Principles of Academic
Integrity” by McCabe and Pavela
• Student involvement– Student leadership– Student participation on
Hearing Board
• Matriculation pledge
August 28, 2007 33
True or False?
Public and Parochial college students are
equally likely to report having cheated or
plagiarized.
August 28, 2007 34
Looking ahead – an Honor code?
• Honor system
• Modified honor system
• Integrity Code
August 28, 2007 35
References
• http://www.academicintegrity.org/
• http://www.academicintegrity.org/educational_resources/pdf/Letter_To_My_Students.pdf
• http://www.collegepubs.com/ref/10PrinAcaInteg.shtml
• http://www.plagiary.org/
August 28, 2007 36
References
• http://www.josephsoninstitute.org/reportcard/
• Ethics & Behavior, July, 2001, Vol.11, Issue 3 (special issue on cheating in colleges and universities
• “The Spiritual Life of College Students,” Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA
• http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/results
