An article in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature entitled Misconduct, it's all academic brings up an issue that, it seems, is being chronically ignored by institutions, teachers and students. Though the article deals with academic misconduct with respect to researchers in university, the same is true of students and the administrative reactions to their misconduct (i.e., cheating).
In my entire academic career, even as far back as high school, I have never cheated. I consistently prefer to fail on my own merits than to win unfairly. I have watched others around me cheat and get away with it. I have seen others caught, only later to have no sanctions whatsoever levied against them. They promise not to cheat again and then, of course, continue to cheat with a renewed sense of impunity.
Now that I am a teacher, I have maintained my ethic and, from day one, have made it clear to my students that I will tolerate not even one act of academic misconduct. So far, my students have fared exceptionally well (though I won't discount their own inherent academic integrity!)
This may be partly due to the way I have designed my marking scheme: it is virtually impossible for a student to improve their grade on any at-home task by cheating as the only homework that is marked is original. While other teachers mark such things as completion of exercises in the required manuals, I have transferred most of the weight of these exercises to the exams that test the skills and material that are supposed to have been acquired in those exercises.
To the content of the article, my institution has also recently implemented a severe (and, in my estimation, well-designed) set of enforcable rules governing the treatment of alleged cases of cheating. From the rulebook "so-called 'internal solutions' are to be avoided ... all alleged cases of cheating or other academic misconduct are to be reported to the Dean using the appropriate form". An enquiry is then put in motion involving the departmental chairperson, faculty dean and professor (or exam proctor) making the allegation. Altogether, a theoretically good system. I say theoretically as I have neither been involved in nor heard of any recent academic proceedings' success or failure.
Your views are welcome.
