<p>Is cheating a problem at many colleges? How do colleges seem to differ in the integrity of their students?</p>
<p>Which types of colleges are better or worse in this respect? How does it compare with high school?</p>
<p>Just curious. Thanks</p>
<p>Well most colleges will kick you out (if it's that bad), and if not that, it will surely get listed on your transcript (which i believe would follow you no matter even if you transferred). So with that "threat" in mind, the amount of cheaters in college is far fewer to the point where I don't think it's a big problem.</p>
<p>Very few people cheat in college, just for the simple fact you will be suspended or kicked out entirely. While its been a long time since I have been in high school, from what I remember there is 40x more cheating in high school than in college.</p>
<p>Do college students tend to be more honest, or is the lack of cheating just due to the threat of consequences?</p>
<p>A li'l bit of both</p>
<p>More honest, maybe a little fear of consequences, but mostly just because everyone is a lot more mature.</p>
<p>one of my teachers didn't pass me cause he suspected me of cheating. but i know i had enough points to pass... but i was marked.</p>
<p>The main kind of cheating that I have seen, which happens a lot at every college and high school in the country, is students copying other students' homework assignments. In my class there are a group of students who do the work on their own and there is a group who is waiting to copy. Profs know this goes on but they don't worry about it. Cheating on exams is what concerns them.</p>
<p>at my school there is some cheating but it's not rampant. I think that people are more mature and they realize the consequences are far greater. </p>
<p>at my school, if you cheat they have a formal investigation and if you are found guilty then you are usually suspended for a whole year, you don't get your money back for that year (aka 40k down the drain), and it's put on your record so good luck finding a job. That was for lesser types of cheating (copying hw, etc.) If the cheating is severe enough (tests, papers, plagiarism, etc) it is automatic expulsion.</p>
<p>My brother's friend cheated on a final exam in college and just received a failing grade for it, rather than being kicked out or anything like that.</p>
<p>I think colleges take it a lot more serious, in my high school they're like that was bad <em>slap hand</em> 3 day suspension. In college, it can range from failing test/essay/paper to suspension with probation to expulsion. That's incentive enough not to cheat for a lot of people</p>
<p>This thread has kind of surprised me. I've always expected there to be a lot of cheating going on in colleges, not as much as high school, but still a substantial amount going on. The whole deal they had on 20/20 a while back with cheating at the university level kind of developed a false impression, I guess.</p>
<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Jerod</p>
<p>i wonder if there is a difference in levels of cheating at universities that have an honor system (for example-no proctors at tests) versus those that don't</p>
<p>I think schools with honor systems (like no proctors, students "neighborhood watch" their peers, etc.) have lower cheating rates...after all, if the school trusts them that much, they're probably responsible...</p>
<p>when i was at uci, nobody would cheat in general. my friends did, howwevr. when you are taking an exam with almost 400 other kids in an auditorium, its easy to have a cheat sheet, write something on the back of your calc, write on your desk, or even talk to the guy next to you. even with proctors. it could be done. but i have seen kids get kicked out during an exam. writing other peoples papers is not that common, but it happens. i think plagarism is almost dead. and copying hw is normal but bad if yo are dumb enough to get caught.</p>
<p>I think the reason cheating is a lot less apparent in college is because unlike high school, usually the majority of students want to be there... Then again, there are always the bunch who are just in it to slack off or because their parents made them, and I presume those are the ones who would do the cheating.</p>
<p>I'll find out soon enough :)</p>
<p>i wrote some formulas on my calc for a test once(i still failed it though)</p>
<p>Well, there are basically 3 forms of cheating in universities at the undergrad level :</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Copying homework / problem sets and submitting them - This is extreamly common and more than half of the students do it. The TAs who mark these don't care about this. Although, you can find one or two TAs who will give you a zero in that assignment for copying. </p></li>
<li><p>Plagiarism - This is less common. Not many people do it. For this, you get a zero in the course or in that particular paper. You might also get a letter of reprimand / warning. It is entirely upto the prof. what punishment he wants to give. Once you have got a zero and a warning, you can't afford to make a mistake like this again. For if you do, you will be suspended and it will be noted on your transcript, which stays on it for like 6 years or so.</p></li>
<li><p>Direct cheating in exams/midterms - This is very rare. I haven't seen or heard of anyone who has done it.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Jerod,</p>
<p>Never believe the media! They always generalize and distort...</p>
<p>whizkid -- that isn't true for every college. At mine, (1) is the most common, but less than 10% of students do it, and it's taken very seriously (it's possible to get kicked out, especially if you do it more than once). (2) and (3) are both much less common, though equally so. They're taken very seriously, of course, and it's possible to get kicked out for it.</p>