Nobody Told Me Plagiarism is Cheating

1
Nobody Told Me Plagiarism is Cheating!

• or how we promote
• Academic Integrity
• at
• Normandale Community College

2
Session Overview

• We will explore the importance of campus climate
  in addressing issues of Academic Integrity.
• We will provide some practical knowledge on how
  to handle cases of alleged academic dishonesty.
• We will offer practical programmatic ideas to
  assist you in your classroom.

3
High School Study 2000-01

• Why this study? These are our students in the
  future
• Survey by Dr. Donald McCabe of Rutgers
• 4500 high school students, from 25 schools around
  the country, 14 public and 11 private
• 92 provided useable responses
• Represented junior high through seniors

4
Cheating is Widespread

• 74 of respondents reported one or more instances
  of serious test cheating.
• 72 reported one or more instances of serious
  cheating on written work.
• 97 report at least one questionable activity
  (from copying homework to copying tests).
• More than 30 of respondents admit to repetitive,
  serious cheating on tests/exams.

5
Students Rationalize Cheating

• If teachers taught better we wouldnt have to
  cheat.
• Maybe schools and parents should focus on
  learning instead of grades.
• Cheating is part of high school.
• You do what it takes to succeed in life.
• I didnt want to fail.

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Some Teachers Ignore Cheating

• 47 of students think teachers sometimes ignore
  cheating
• The major reasons students think teachers ignore
  cheating are
• Dont want to deal with the hassle
• Dont care
• Not worth the trouble
• (50 felt teachers did nothing about it)

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Why Students Cheat

• Lazydid not want to prepare (32)
• To pass/Get good grades (29)
• Pressures to succeed (12)
• Dont know the answers/Did not understand the
  questions (9)
• Time Pressure---too much work, etc. (5)
• Other (13)

8
Plagiarism and the Internet

• 15 have submitted a paper obtained in large part
  from a term paper mill/website.
• 52 have copied a few sentences from a website
  without citing the source.
• Many students are not sure whether submitting
  material downloaded from the Internet is
  cheating.
• The Web has created more cheatersor has the Web
  created more access not more cheaters.

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Student Comments on Technology

• Students finding copies of tests on the
  Internetoften from book publishers.
• Kids from our school have a website where you
  can find any answer for any book that is used at
  our school.
• Emailing a paper to a teacher which is filled
  with gibberish and blaming it on the transfer
  process. buys time to finish

10
Student Comments

• Unless someone makes teachers care about
  cheating, it wont be stopped.
• It is unfair that teachers dont take it
  seriously because then the honest students get
  the bad end of the deal.
• Cheating willexist as long as parents place the
  emphasis on grades rather than learning.
• I think that cheating has become so common that
  its starting to become normal in some cases.

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Other Findings

• Serious cheating is generally lower at private
  schools.
• Students in Midwest report lower level of
  cheating.
• Few consistent differences by gender.
• Serious cheating grows slightly from 9th to 11th
  grade and drops off slightly after 12th.

12
Personal Factors That Influence Cheating

• Business majors
• Future plans involve business
• Younger students
• Students with lower GPAs
• Product counts not how you got it Enron model

13
Institutional Factors That Influence Cheating

• Cheating is campus norm a cheating culture
• College has no honor code
• Penalties for cheating are not severe
• Faculty understanding/support for academic
  integrity policies is low
• Little chance of getting caught
• Cheating is higher at large, non-selective
  colleges

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Normandale Response

• Not the normyet!
• While cases have increased significantly, still
  lower percentage than disruptive behavior cases.
• Penalties range from warning to failing course.
• Code of Conduct addresses academic dishonesty.
• Faculty do understand academic integrity
  standards and support policies.
• Strong support from administration
• Suspicion of cheating/plagiarism depends on
  professors technical savvy and gut reaction.
• Cheating is increasing or we are better at our
  jobs of detecting it.
• Code of Conduct addresses academic dishonesty.

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Add Technology to the Mix

• Downloading papers from the Internet
• Most students freely (!) admit to downloading
• Dont think it is cheating
• Internet Plagiarism
• Most cut and paste paper without citing source
• Most do not think it is serious cheating

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Sowhat to do???

• Syllabus
• should include the Code of Conduct statement
• Talk about Academic Integrity
• Clearly explain your expectations
• Talk to students about how citations show respect
  for other scholars
• Engage students in conversations about honesty
  and what constitutes cheating
• Build on relationshipI could never hurt Dr.
  Joes feelings

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• Encourage students to come to you if they are
  confused about citations practices.
• Be a good role model. Cite sources in your
  lectures.

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Tips To Discourage Plagiarism

• Assign specific and narrow research topics.
• Dont allow last minute changes in topics.
• Require that outlines be submitted 3-4 weeks
  prior to deadline
• Require drafts to be submitted with final paper.
• Require detailed citations, including page
  numbers.

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• Cole, S. and Kiss, E. (2000), What Can We Do
  About Student Cheating, About Campus, May-June.
• Peer pressure is good remedy!
• If you cant beat em, join em!!
• Cheat Sites
• Test it out yourself
• Department action

20
NCC Process for Academic Dishonesty

• Code of Conduct
• Student Handbook The Guide
• College Catalog
• Academic Dean for your division will serve as the
  Administrative Hearing Officer
• Explanation of charges
• Summary of information gathered
• Reasonable opportunity for student to reflect and
  respond to the information
• Explanation of disciplinary sanctions

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• Decision
• Sanctions imposed
• Opportunity to appeal decision
• Goes to Vice President for Academic and Student
  Affairs
• Decision is final
• AH, YES.CHAPTER 14.or Only in Minnesota
  

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Now for the Good News!

• Students feel the sanctions were just and
  deservedwith one classic exception
• Administration is on board and supports your
  decisions
• MnSCU policy does not allow eliminating
  students from your classbut you have options
  for students

23
The Center for Academic Integrity Association
for Student Judicial Affairs
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Ask Us!

• Dr. Diane Szurszewski, English Department
• Kris Bigalk, English Department
• Gail Anderson Cywinski, Associate Dean

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With gratitude to

• Dr. Jim Lancaster, Human Development and Family
  Studies, Appalachian State University
• Dr. Diane Daisy Waryold, Executive Director for
  CAI and Program Administrator for the Kenan
  Institute for Ethics, Duke University
• Dr. Donald McCabe, Founding President for The
  Center for Academic Integrity, Rutgers University