Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct are more prevalent at Ohio University than on other campuses, according to a recently released study by two doctoral students in the School of Communication.
The study found that 84 percent of OU undergraduate students and 55 percent of OU graduate students admitted to engaging in behavior that most people would classify as cheating, according to An Honest Look at Academic Dishonesty at Ohio University.
(The results) say something about the culture we've established
said university Provost Kathy Krendl.
Authors of the study, Melissa Broeckelman and Timothy Pollock, compared their findings to studies by Don McCabe, founding president of the Center for Academic Integrity. McCabe, who has performed similar surveys on more than 60 campuses nationwide, found that 70 percent of students admit to some cheating.
Almost 470 faculty, undergraduate and graduate students were surveyed and interviewed. Participants were randomly selected by Computer Services and through Communication Studies classes. The surveys were modeled after, with permission, those done by McCabe.
The most serious forms of cheating defined in the OU study included copying others' tests without them knowing, falsifying or fabricating lab results or turning in a paper copied from another student. Less serious forms included receiving help on an assignment without permission and copying a few sentences from a written source without citation.
About 45 percent of undergraduates and 18 percent of graduate students admitted to the most serious forms of academic misconduct listed in the survey, which would be classified as academic misconduct under the OU Student Code of Conduct.
Most universities don't expect graduate students to cheat or plagiarize, and the number of graduate students engaging in the most serious forms of academic misconduct is alarming because many of these students could be future faculty members, Broeckelman said.
The expected number of cases of academic misconduct is much higher than the actual numbers of academic misconduct listed by University Judiciaries, according to the study.
Rather than turning students in to judiciaries, Faculty members are likely to deal with them on their own ' for example, giving them a failing grade on an assignment ' or, for graduate students, talk to their advisor, Broeckelman said.
From a faculty standpoint (judiciaries) takes too much time she said, adding that professors usually take advantage of the option to deal with the situation themselves. Often, cases are reported toward the end of the quarter when professors are busy, adding to the time crunch professors already are experiencing.
Faculty Senate member Ken Brown, chair of the educational policy and student affairs committee, said he has heard this complaint as well.
(The process) is slow
eats up a lot of time G? and sometimes nothing happens
Brown said, noting that the number of students who admitted to cheating in the survey is very scary.
When professors do report cases to judiciaries, they have to provide evidence to a board of three to five people, which includes students, administrators and professors. The professor then has to attend a hearing to support the evidence, said Howard Dewald, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences who still serves on hearing boards for judiciaries.
(The hearing) is a more stressful time for both parties
Dewald said, noting that the process can be overwhelming.
One modification to the process could include a formal mechanism for faculty to report cases and students without going through judiciaries so that the university could have better records. Some universities hold a student's grade until the judicial process is over, and this is something OU could consider, Dewald said. The judicial process can take up to six weeks, putting more time pressure on professors.
They've tried to streamline the process G? but they need to protect faculty members and the interest of students
Dewald said.
Because professors typically take care of academically dishonest students on their own, it is hard to track repeat offenders and alert other professors when they have students who have cheated in their classes, Broeckelman said.
While plagiarism is problematic, some students just aren't sure what the standards are, Broeckelman said. University professors expect students to understand how and when to cite a source, and when students don't know, they end up plagiarizing. One student said that the lack of time and laziness could be factors that cause OU students to cheat.
There are a lot of things to balance
and it can be overwhelming
said freshman Stephen Pirovolos, a political science major. Pirovolos said he hasn't seen any cheating, and it seems to have decreased since he was in high school.
Cheating in large classes would be easier because there are more people and it is easy to copy others, said junior Austin Seigneur, a mechanical engineering major.
(The classes) are bigger
and it's easier to get away with cheating
Seigneur said.
Upperclassmen are in smaller classes and more passionate about the subject matter, so they would be less likely to cheat, he added.
Professors need to confront students and talk to them about their expectations, Seigneur said.
Students don't realize they are jeopardizing their future and career on something really stupid
