Factors in Students' Dishonesty

This paper summarizes the findings from surveys of faculty and students on academic dishonesty conducted at an American university. Two separate surveys administered to a sample of 364 engineering students and 80 faculty indicated the attitudes and occurrences of cheating. While 62% of the students admitted to copying homework or laboratory reports, only 51% of the faculty considered this cheating. Students (38%) and faculty (86%) believe “second-time” cheaters should be expelled from the university. Of students, 68% believe competition for grades is the major reason for cheating. Over 56% of the students admitted to cheating but methods of prevention or detection are not adequate as only 3% were caught. Monitoring during exams is a deterrent to cheating according to almost half the students. Surveys of students and faculty and a quiz for faculty on cheating have increased awareness about students' cheating and reduced its incidence.