Academic Dishonesty and the Internet in Higher Education Essay Example

students who admitted to cheating on an exam in the past 12 months rose significantly from 61 to 74 percent Arc). "53% of the students aid that it was no big deal that more students were cheating these days," (Ma, Wan, and Lu 198). This increase of cheating is due to the Internet. In the past, academic dishonesty Eke cheating and plagiarism was more time consuming, because it required students to obtain books, read, and copy.

Now with the Internet, students can create a website where they can share test answers, Ideas, or homework as well as a student can copy the other student's work. Additionally, a student can easily copy and paste another individual's original work, which is plagiarism when that individual Is not given the proper credit. In other cases, students can use the Internet during exams to look up answers on the spot In web-based courses or possibly In traditional classrooms with the use of smart phones.

Educators must be aware of this 1 OFF measure before it actually occurs, at which point more reactive measures, I. E. Consequences, would need to be taken. The most essential element to the success of an educator's teaching is academic integrity--knowing that his or her students learned enough to create their own original ideas, but also demonstrated the honesty to give credit to authors when/if they borrowed others' ideas. With a higher standard of academic integrity it can be said that higher education and even society will benefit from it.

Also, higher academic standards can help pave the road to academic success, promote scientific progress and prepare for students for responsibility in the workplace after

college. If students are likely to cheat for college classes, experts say that they are more likely to cheat in the work place. Educators need to develop academic integrity policies that promote honesty and reduce the gap between their students on what is an act of dishonesty is and what maintains integrity. Elizabeth Marabou was a college professor at a large university.

While teaching there she created a list of personal strategies and lesson plans that she used in her classes to help prevent academic dishonesty. Her first and most important strategy that I believe would help the most is to not be a "text-dominated information center" (Marabou). What she means by this is to integrate technology effectively into the course and let students use technology to find information in the classroom. Some educators say that by making students hand-write all of their assignments ether than word-process, they see a reduction in the incidence of dishonesty among students (Marabou).

If students are not able to Just easily copy and paste, but have to take the time to actually hand-write the sentences word-for-word, fewer students will commit academic offences. When things are hand-written, it is more likely for an individual to produce their own individual work. The Internet not only helps students commit academic offences more easily, but it also is changing the way we learn. Now that we are a part of the digital age, online education is becoming more prevalent.

While online education provides many good opportunities for students, it promotes more opportunities for academic dishonesty than conventional teaching. Julie Baron and Steven M. Crooks reviewed academic integrity amongst online students. They found out

that statistics can visibly show that the media coverage of academic dishonesty is increasing (40). In a recent study on students from 21 different higher level institutions nationwide, 75% have admitted to cheating sometime throughout their college schooling (Baron and Crooks 40). Noting that this study was on students in a traditional face-to-face learning environment is important.

With technology becoming more popular in education, students and even educators believe it is easier to cheat in web-based courses than in a traditional classroom setting (Baron and Crooks 41). For example, if a student took the same class both online and traditionally, a student would be more likely to get a higher grade in the online class. Online courses reach large numbers of students in different locations, allow students to attend classes at reduced costs, and enable them to share information and access materials at convenient times 0.

Silo and T. Silo 57). Although online education has powerful effect to reach out to numbers of students in different areas, it also brings about negative changes. A student loses face-to-face interaction with teachers and peers while having limited modes of communication. Thomas Silo and Julie Silo and lack of personal contact with professors and peers may encourage cheating" (57). Some educators claim that cheating in a single online class does not occur any more than it does in a traditional classroom. Theresa C.

Guerilla, Joe Crinklier, and Clifford Newell all propose that, "Academic dishonesty in a single online class is no more likely than in a traditional classroom" (2). They may be accurate with this claim, but the fact remains, the Internet has made it possible for students

to cheat in online courses. There have been many new Internet sites created to help students cheat, and more specifically, plagiarism. Web sites have been developed where students can actually purchase other students' essays and homework for a set price.

These Internet sites called "online paper mills," are very destructive to academic integrity. Ritter suggests that students use these paper mills because of a lack of confidence in their own writing and research skills (26). The 2002 study done by the Josephs Institute of Ethics revealed that 97% of students said, "It's important to me that people trust me" Arc). Educators need to find ways to help build a students' confidence in their writing and research skills, so that they don't turn to academic dishonesty to get through a class.

Educators also need to trust their students that they are completing their work honestly. If educators give students their trust, students will end up being more honest. Educators also need to have high expectations for their students, including expectations in being honest and putting in effort, and communicate those expectations to their students. There is a general agreement that cheating is destructive to education in the secondary schools as well as at the college level (Haines et al. 342). But what constitutes as cheating? Part of the challenge is the diversity of beliefs among faculty and students concerning what constitutes cheating" (Miller, Shoptalk, and Walbridge 170). Many acts may lack integrity of education, but educators may or may not refer to them as cheating. Miller, Shoptalk, and Walbridge provide a good example of this discrepancy: When a student submits a paper that was previously submitted

for another course thou the knowledge of the instructor, is it cheating because the student did not complete the assignment of writing the paper for the course or is it not cheating because it is his or her own work?

Either way, the act demonstrates a lack of integrity if he or she did so believing the professor's knowledge made a difference or if the nature of the act runs counter to the purposes of education. (170) Educators must establish among their students on what constitutes as academic dishonesty and what does not so that there is no discrepancy between educators and students. More interaction between students and teachers can also help with this problem. Educators need to make sure their students know their responsibilities of academic integrity as a student.

Academic-integrity responsibility is defined as ownership of integrity through attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that support the role of the entire academic community (individual students, cohorts, and faculty) in promoting a climate of integrity rather than simply being the responsibility of professors ... These beliefs, thoughts, and feelings engage the student in reasoning about disintegrate [dishonesty] but may or may not lead to action or agency.

Miller, Shoptalk, and Walbridge 170) It is very important for students to know their responsibilities to maintain high integrity in their work. Not for Just the ethical reasons, but for the integrity, the society in whole will become better. Although students and educators play an important role in the decline of academic integrity, there are more reasons for the decline. This is an issue that can even start in elementary and middle school and more than not, Just exacerbates

in college when studies become more rigorous and students are lazy.

Parents can also play a part of a student's academic integrity in early education. Parents who have very high achievement expectations for their children and use social comparisons to motivate or guide their pursuit of excellence . May unwittingly encourage the development of AWE [academic entitlement]" (Greenberg et al. 1194). It is easy to say that parents have a strong influence on their children's thoughts on academic dishonesty. We can also blame our own society for the uprising and increasing problem in education.

A student, who commits more acts of academic dishonesty and that has lower expectations of academic quality in school, will have a higher tendency to bring these unethical acts o the workplace, making the society in general have lower expectations of quality. "The behaviors that result in low academic integrity could well extend into professional practice?resulting in significant consequences for the individual, the employer, its customers, and society in general" (Carpenter 312).

Academic dishonesty can be said to be a creature of society--that aspects of society need to change in order for academic integrity to be fully restored. Yes, academic dishonesty creates problems in society, however, society has really promoted academic dishonesty. With the correlation between committing academic dishonesty as a detent and cheating on the Job, it is easy to say that if the prevalence of academic dishonesty continues to rise, there will be serious implications for society at large when those students enter the workforce.

So why Just let these academic offences slip amongst students? Educators need to become aware of this, all of the real problems it will

cause. But, they also need to instill a sense of responsibility and integrity in their students at the same time. Not only might someone receive a passing grade when they have cheated their whole way through a class, but it will cause problems within our society. Overall, the digital age has made it increasingly difficult for students in both traditional and web-based courses to maintain their academic integrity.