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By Alexa Froccaro

Survey: Majority of Adelphi Students Cheat

men acknowledge the Universitys Honor Code, which is read to the class at the annual Matriculation Ceremony. It states: The University is an academic community devoted to the pursuit of knowledge. Fundamental to this pursuit is academic integrity. In joining the Adelphi community I accept the Universitys Statement of Academic Integrity and pledge to uphold the principles of honesty and civility embodied in it. I will conduct myself in accordance with ideals of truth and honesty and I will forthrightly oppose actions which would violate these ideals. The Universitys Code of Academic Honesty, which is also detailed in the student handbook and included on many professors syllabi, strictly prohibits cheating. Violations of the code include fabrication, multiple submissions of the same work, plagiarism and more. According to the survey, 95 percent of students said they were aware of these policies. Insler said her biggest fear is that there does not seem to be a wholesale respect for honesty. Half of the battle is having professors really let students know about what academic honesty meansthe integritymeans, she said. Theres a right and wrong issue. But beyond that, is the student actually learning the work to prepare themselves for their career? Will they go into a career where peoples lives possibly depend on them knowing their field? Are Professors to Blame?

Features

Its finals week at Adelphi and there are just 15 minutes left to finish the exam. A student panics. He doesnt know what to write for the essay portion of the test but, because its worth 35 percent of his overall grade, he needs to write something. He waits for the professor to look down and, in that moment, he does what so many other students do when unsure. He cheats. Scenarios like this are all too familiar to students at Adelphi, where a confidential survey recently conducted by this reporter revealed that a majority of students here admitted to engaging in academic dishonesty. In order to encourage students to speak freely and share their insights, the survey was confidential -- respondents were not asked for their names. According to the survey of 100 Adelphi students taken in November, 52 percent of students admitted to engaging in academic dishonest behavior, such as cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating or unfairly assisting another student. In addition, 82 percent of students also said they witnessed a fellow classmate engage in academic dishonesty. The fact is that the temptation is the same at every university. Nobody wants to receive poor grades, and some students are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, even if that means risking expulsion. A 2005 study published in the International Journal for Educational Integrity (IJEI), for example, found that 33 percent of undergraduates admitted to learning what is on a test from someone who has already taken it; 11 percent admitted to copying from another student on a test without their knowledge; and 8 percent used unauthorized cheat notes. Other surveys, such as one conducted by the U.S. News & World Report in 1999, found that 75 percent of college students admit to cheating. Reasons for Cheating But why do students cheat? According to the IJEIs study, almost 85 percent of college students responded that cheating is necessary in order to get ahead. Adelphi students offered varying justifications for their decision to cheat. In addition to containing multiple choice questions and answers, the anonymous survey featured a section where students could add their own comments. Everything is about grades here, said one student who took the recent Adelphi survey and admitted to cheating on a regular basis. I want to graduate with honors and help myself get a job in the future. Your grades can be the reason youre selected for a job, so Ill cheat to increase my chances. Another respondent said: There are students that Im smarter than getting better grades than me because theyre cheating. If they can get away with it, so will I. One student even went as far as to say, If youre not cheating, youre not trying. But Adelphi provost Gayle Insler, who is also the senior vice president for academic affairs, doesnt buy students excuses. She believes that cheating is merely students taking the easy way out. If you plan to cheat, then you dont need to invest the time in studying or rewriting a paper or researching a paper, Insler said. Professor Kenneth Rondello, chair of Adelphis Committee of Academic Honesty, attributes the widespread cheating to a generational shift. There is an increased pressure on students to achieve scholastically, and the ways to be dishonest are becoming more diverse, he said. The millennial generation focuses on the self as opposed to the whole or the community good. This generation is a lot more focused on individual achievement and less on collaborative effort. Students Dont Respect Honor Code Adelphi students are well aware that academic dishonesty is wrong. On the very first day of school, fresh-

Academic Honesty Survey Results

1. Have you ever witnessed another Adelphi student engage in academic dishonesty? Yes: 82 percent No: 18 percent 2. Have you ever committed academic dishonesty (cheating on exams, plagiarizing papers, fabricating research or lab results, unfairly helping another student, etc.) while at Adelphi? Yes: 52 percent No: 48 percent 3. If you answered yes in the previous question, what did you do? Cheating on exam: 61 percent Plagiarized: 28 percent Fabricated: 24 percent Assisted student unfairly: 65 percent Other: 13 percent 4. Are you aware of Adelphis honor code and that students may be expelled for academic dishonesty? Yes: 95 percent No: 5 percent 5. Do professors do a good job at preventing academic dishonesty? Yes: 52 percent No: 48 percent 6. Are you a member of a fraternity or a sorority? Yes: 15 percent No: 85 percent (Source: Anonymous survey of 100 students conducted by Alexa Froccaro in November 2013.) Some think that academic dishonesty could significantly be reduced if professors did a better job of guarding against it. According to the survey, only 52 percent of students think that professors do a good job at preventing academic dishonesty. I had a class one semester where everyone, including the professor, knew two students were constantly cheating off of each other on every exam, said a survey taker. The professor one day made us block off our tests from everyone near us. This resulted in the one student failing her exam, when she would normally receive As. This was a clear indication of her cheating. However, after

that exam we went back to our normal test taking ways and she went back to getting high scores. In the end, she received a higher grade than the students who actually studied and took their tests themselves. Again, Adelphi is not unique in this regard. According to the IJEIs study: It is clear that many faculty occasionally ignore incidents of suspected academic dishonesty in their courses [Nationwide] 41 percent of faculty acknowledge having done so and the primary reason they offer is the burden of proof required to prove a student has cheated. They frequently complain of cases where obviously guilty students have been found not responsible. For many this is enough to convince them that it is not worth pursuing suspected cases in the future unless they truly have a smoking gun. However, Insler does not believe it is the responsibility of the faculty to deter students from cheating. Professors did not come here to be policemen, they came to teach, she said. Insler concedes that Adelphi may be able to do more to assist professors, such as offering workshops to show professors exactly what to do in cases of academic dishonesty. Its a huge frustration for the faculty and its not what we want to happen as an educational process, she said. Its demoralizing and a little depressing. Cheaters Beware Though some students cheating goes ignored or unnoticed, others are not so lucky. There are about 50 to 100 accusations of breaking the honor code at Adelphi each year, according to school officials. When this happens, the Committee of Academic Honesty is called to investigate, to mediate and, if necessary, conduct a formal hearing board. In his three years as chairperson, Rondello has been involved in almost 300 incidents. Students, faculty members and some key administrative appointees (at the Provosts request) sit on the committee. It is in charge of creating policies for the conduct for academic honesty, educating students on what academic honesty is, teaching professors better ways to ensure academic honesty and also addressing issues related to dishonesty. The University has their eye on the big picture, Rondello said. If a student is caught cheating, professors are encouraged to report it. The violation reports submitted by professors are important because they help us detect patterns of dishonesty. Under the current violation reporting process, faculty members can file a complaint charging a student with academic dishonesty. The student then receives a copy of the charge and has the option to challenge it through the Committee of Academic Honesty. One charge will not necessarily go any further, said Insler. If there are no other infractions throughout a students career, the report is shredded after graduation. However, if a student is questioned for engaging in academic dishonesty once again, the Committee of Academic Honesty holds a hearing. At hearings for academic dishonesty, students and faculty members are allowed to speak and provide evidence on the accused acts. After each side presents their case, the committee determines whether they believe the student cheated or not. Sanctions for academic dishonesty at Adelphi can range from a one-semester suspension to permanent expulsion from the University. Insler prefers that it doesnt reach the point of noreturn. Wed rather teach everybody to think [academic honesty] has meaning rather than catch people. In the real world, if somebody catches you being dishonest in your work, you will most likely be fired. Some students may think, Its just for now, its just to make it easy for now. But the fact that youre not giving yourself the training to do the work, learn the material and do it the right way means that youre behind already.