Cheating In College

<p>I guess I have noticed cheating in many of my classes this freshman year...with no one ever getting caught. A prominent example is my general chemistry class, 500 people in an auditorium, and a not so bright professor. He gives out four different versions of the test in four different colors, but groups of people that cheat just all write down the same color test on their answer sheet, then look off the smart person in their group who took that color. Plus my math class is rampant with people entering formulas in their calculators....professors always say they will check calculators for this, but you know with that many people in a class they never will actually do it.</p>

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[quote]
This year at Washington and Lee University, where the only punishment for violating the honor code is prompt dismissal from the University:</p>

<p>1 student withdrew in the face of a hearing on possible cheating
1 was dismissed after being found guilty</p>

<p>In some schools, the consequences for cheating are much worse than one F, or even an xF

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<p>And that's the way it should be. I was a Summer Scholar there last summer, and they took it very seriously even then. One of the professors (don't remember his name, very elderly gentleman) gave a lecture on the honor code to all of the students. After the lecture, he and I had a long conversation about why the honor. We both agreed that the reason the code works is because students know from the beginning that W&L takes honor very seriously and that the consequences of cheating are irreversible. The penalty is so severe that it causes students to truly question the value of their education before making stupid decisions. If more schools were to apply a similar honor code, I think the problem of cheating would be much more contained. There is simply no excuse for cheating, period!! Other students are working very very hard to do well in school, while cheaters do nothing, yet get ahead! Furthermore, cheating shows very bad character! There is no reason to go about life without striving to show the very best character possible.</p>

<p>I think you can all tell from my long posts that I am very passionate about this topic.</p>

<p>IMO, copying the busy work in HS isn't really bad, b/c it doesn't help you learn anyway. Like... I had some teachers give out work AFTER the IB exams... what do they think is going to happen? People are going to try to finish it as fast as possible. I see nothing wrong with dividing up busy work in HS so it can be finished faster. However, cheating on legit assignments, like essays / presentations is not ok.</p>

<p>Cheating in college... you only cheat yourself. If you copy someone else's hw, you won't understand when the test comes. I haven't seen cheating at all at college, my school has a very strict honor code. The risk is way too high. Worth getting kicked out of college? Don't think so...</p>

<p>I'm not saying it is right, but lets face it, copying homework isn't a big deal. People not only do it all time, but the fact is there that homework is just busy work, which prepares you for the test, which most people don't use to study anyhow. If you're a person that does use homework as a study guide...go you! I know I don't use it for that! "Divide and conquer" is what the term is to finish homework!</p>

<p>
[quote]
...when you get to college you realize that you might need these skills for grad school or what not

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<p>Was that a joke?</p>

<p>...but in other news: cheating = bad</p>

<p>There is something seriously wrong with people who think cheating and getting away with it is OK but earning a lower grade is a Tom DeLay scandal.</p>

<p>Well where i was goin at was that in highschool...very few ppl actually care about what they learn...they do it to get a diploma....classes within your major teach you skills you'll need for the rest of your life...it's more important...you're no longer just learning general facts about various, unrelated subjects...you're shaping your future,a nd you need to be able to do it on your own, or you're going to end up being a failure</p>

<p>Just wondering but is there anybody on this board that can say they've never cheated at all in any way shape or form?</p>

<p>I've cheated on homework a few times throughout High School, but I never did on a test, and I've always been careful not to plagerise. Back in the 4th grade I guess I had a cheating problem and actually got cought a few times, and eventually ended up having to deal with the principal... Even for a 9 year old it's not a fun process to go through, and though it's a small example, for years people who knew about me getting cought (several times) back then refused to ever sit near me for a test.</p>

<p>Since startin at my CC I've stayed away from anything that could be considered cheating. Don't want to take that risk.</p>

<p>"i dont know what cheating is" -barry bonds</p>

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Just wondering but is there anybody on this board that can say they've never cheated at all in any way shape or form?

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<p>No, I haven't cheated.</p>

<p>********. you've cheated in some way or another</p>

<p>Codasco: Dude, I'm with you (about the earlier post).</p>

<p>Nahrafsfa: </p>

<p>". . . where i was goin at was that in highschool...very few ppl actually care about what they learn...they do it to get a diploma....classes within your major teach you skills you'll need for the rest of your life...it's more important...you're no longer just learning general facts about various, unrelated subjects...you're shaping your future, and you need to be able to do it on your own, or you're going to end up being a failure."</p>

<p>. . . hmm, you seem to divorce "skills" from behaviors. I don't think that is very wise. Behaviors are skills that one practices and, if cognizant of their value, hones with each passing day. After some time in developing behaviors, one's vigilance is no longer required, because, as a matter of taste, they are either digestable or not. Personally, I never cheated in HS, but, then, I flunked out--to cheat, at that time, would have seemed too much like playing for the other team.</p>

<p>I was, however, caught stealing two packets of Kool-Aid when I was 5 years-old. . . . In retrospect, I guess my conscience was formed by a giant glass pitcher with a propensity to break through walls like some kind of superhero. The moral of the story: I can't stand the taste of Kool-aid now, nor the idea of it . . . but I still don't cheat.</p>

<p>Right, regardless of whether or not high school is "important" to you (it should be), by cheating in high school you create a bad habit. What's to say this habit won't reoccur in college. Why not make a conscious effort to not cheat in high school so that you won't have problems later on. Furthermore, you may become dependent on cheating in HS and therefore not be able to function on your own in college.</p>

<p>Codasco</p>

<p>why is high school important, for the type of ppl on CC. ONLY so that they can get to college, b/c high school by itself will give them nothing worth earning a living on. It's merely the puddle on the side of the lake. You don't put the boat down to go through the puddle, you wade through it without taking the time to put the boat down and stay dry, and then you put the boat in the lake.</p>

<p>Would you get easily caught if you use a tiny portable mirror?</p>

<p>Please tell me you're not actually thinking about bringing in a mirror... If you are, I only wish I could be there to see you get cought.</p>

<p>if you get caught with a tiny portable mirror...the professor will rape your grade sidways :)</p>

<p>NOW....on my message about no1 caring in highschool....you must also take in to account...all the pointless busy work in highschool that teachers do to "prepare you for college."...i had more homework then than i do now!...now...i RARELY cheated in highschool...i copied ppls homework on occasion but nothin serious like stealin a test.
You must also consider the level of maturity of many highschool students...when you get older, you learn that cheating doesn't shape your future....your skills do...college changes ppl...now persistent cheating IS a problem in highschool..then students form a dependence on it and that deteriorates academic initiative and quality...furthermore, they realize that cheating in college yields MUCH harsher punishments</p>

<p>if you use a portable mirror to do what?</p>

<p>If you ar holding up a mirror trying to look at other peoples papers...then yeah, someone would probobly notice...?</p>

<p>I guess it all depends on the HS you go to. My school takes the approach of using HS to actually prepare you for the rigors of college, not just an intermediary step. You really do learn at my school--no "busy work."</p>

<p>I only cheat if its very easy to get away with it or if whatever method I use is almost impossible to decode by anyone else.</p>

<p>Of course I have a little bit of dignity. I cheat in emergency situations only. Its a normal thing at my highschool where 1/3 of us are competitive (and probably more honest) and I'm just on the brink of that 1/3. I should develop some more discipline.</p>

<p>When it comes to homework assignments though, its an absolute given that cheating will take place.</p>