Getting caught in the act
students persist to cheat despite adverse consequences
Charlye Dehart
Issue date: 6/4/07 Section: News
A calculator. A hat. Index cards. Some students use these everyday items for cheating.
"It's not worth it," Director of Student Life Dyrell Foster said. "[Cheating] really impacts education and progress."
Foster handles all students conduct and discipline issues as outlined in the Mt. SAC Standards of Conduct, which includes cheating and plagiarism.
"It is the most common violation we have," Foster said. "[But] in comparison to the student population, it's a relatively small number of disciplinary cases."
Peter Francev with the Department of English at Mt. SAC shared a similar point of view.
"I feel that plagiarism at Mt. SAC is static," Francev said. "The instances of plagiarism that I encounter, either personally or through colleagues, is sporadic at best. Students are generally academically honest because few, if any, want to be reprimanded or dismissed from a college or university for plagiarism."
Drew Forester, a 23-year-old business management major, said he can remember a time when he confronted a classmate about cheating.
"I asked him after class why he bothers to come and learn if he's just going to cheat off somebody else," Forester said. "I told him 'All you're doing is cheating yourself'."
What Forester didn't know is that he could report the student to Foster. Any student, staff, or faculty member can report a possible violation of the Standards of Conduct.
According to the 2005-2006 Discipline/Grievance Summary, there were 66 combined reports of cheating and plagiarism. Foster follows up on every report and determines if there was a violation, and if so what the course of action will be.
Plagiarism is usually pretty straightforward, it's very clear when a student plagiarizes, Foster said. Whether their intention was to plagiarize or not, the outcome is that they did plagiarize, and that's what Foster addresses. But he said he is more concerned about repeat violations because "discipline is about changing behavior."
"I think our method is pretty effective," Foster added.
Francev said that the faculty is trained to combat plagiarism, and he feels that they do a good job of it. He said that most of his plagiarism cases are minor instances where students simply forget to cite their sources.
Foster wants students to understand the importance of not cheating or plagiarizing.
"Take the time, plan ahead," Foster said. "Students know what's right."
"It's not worth it," Director of Student Life Dyrell Foster said. "[Cheating] really impacts education and progress."
Foster handles all students conduct and discipline issues as outlined in the Mt. SAC Standards of Conduct, which includes cheating and plagiarism.
"It is the most common violation we have," Foster said. "[But] in comparison to the student population, it's a relatively small number of disciplinary cases."
Peter Francev with the Department of English at Mt. SAC shared a similar point of view.
"I feel that plagiarism at Mt. SAC is static," Francev said. "The instances of plagiarism that I encounter, either personally or through colleagues, is sporadic at best. Students are generally academically honest because few, if any, want to be reprimanded or dismissed from a college or university for plagiarism."
Drew Forester, a 23-year-old business management major, said he can remember a time when he confronted a classmate about cheating.
"I asked him after class why he bothers to come and learn if he's just going to cheat off somebody else," Forester said. "I told him 'All you're doing is cheating yourself'."
What Forester didn't know is that he could report the student to Foster. Any student, staff, or faculty member can report a possible violation of the Standards of Conduct.
According to the 2005-2006 Discipline/Grievance Summary, there were 66 combined reports of cheating and plagiarism. Foster follows up on every report and determines if there was a violation, and if so what the course of action will be.
Plagiarism is usually pretty straightforward, it's very clear when a student plagiarizes, Foster said. Whether their intention was to plagiarize or not, the outcome is that they did plagiarize, and that's what Foster addresses. But he said he is more concerned about repeat violations because "discipline is about changing behavior."
"I think our method is pretty effective," Foster added.
Francev said that the faculty is trained to combat plagiarism, and he feels that they do a good job of it. He said that most of his plagiarism cases are minor instances where students simply forget to cite their sources.
Foster wants students to understand the importance of not cheating or plagiarizing.
"Take the time, plan ahead," Foster said. "Students know what's right."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
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posted 6/05/09 @ 9:50 PM PST
According to the 2005-2006 Discipline/Grievance Summary, there were 66 combined reports of cheating and plagiarism
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posted 10/05/09 @ 9:53 AM PST
There is always going to be cheating in the classroom despite anyone's best efforts to prevent it. The truth is that some students are just there to pass their classes - they don't have much of an interest in maximizing their learning. (Continued…)
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