Academic Honesty

Sociologist William Bowers interviewed students on nearly one hundred college campuses while doing his dissertation in the 1960s. He learned that half admitted to cheating (Hamilton, 2003). Davis (1993) found forty to seventy percent of college students surveyed reported cheating at some point during their academic careers. It is probably safe to say that the upward trend indicated by these figures continues in 2012. Learning institutions must develop an action plan designed to discourage academic dishonesty. The purpose of this paper is to outline such a plan.

It is imperative that both faculty and students have clear guidelines regarding academic honesty. Davis (1993) proposes five steps in creating and enforcing an academic dishonesty policy: inform students of standards for academics and conduct; explain the harm of cheating as well as campus sanctions; minimize opportunities for cheating and plagiarism; take visible steps to discourage cheating; and respond quickly if...
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