Running Head: ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Academic Dishonesty in Higher Education

Luis Garcia
The University of Texas at El Paso

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract:
Academic dishonesty is increasing in popularity among college students. More and more
students rely on academic dishonesty to obtain easy grades and pass challenging courses.
Although academic dishonesty is prohibited in all Universities, students rely on academic
dishonesty and technology to get away with essays and exams. Technology has been an
advantage and has facilitated the act of cheating in college. Academic dishonesty is basically all
conduct that violates the standards in an institution which gives an unfair advantage to those
students. There exists different forms and severities of academic dishonesty which include
plagiarism, copying during a test, and collusion. To decrease the cases of academic dishonesty in
college campuses it is very important to inform students about the issue. The review of
Literature in this paper leads to four research questions: (1) Is academic dishonesty an issue in
Universities? (2)What is academic dishonesty? (3)Why do students engage in academic
dishonesty? (4) What should University officials do to decrease the cases of academic
dishonesty?

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education has been and will remain a topic of controversy with a diversity of
opinions. Society tends to agree or disagree depending on the severity of the issue. For example,
to some, the greatest problems deal with affordability, accreditation, and any type of
discrimination. While this is true, one of the most important issues occurring today is the
infiltration of academic dishonesty in college campuses. Cheating is now the way in which
students get easy grades and are able to maintain a competent GPA throughout their
undergraduate and graduate years. Academic dishonesty or otherwise known as cheating, is an
unfair act that enables students to gain advantage in academic assignments, quizzes, and
important examinations. Cheating can include and it is not limited to plagiarism, sharing answers
during tests, and collusion which is a collaboration of students in an assignment. The act of
performing academic dishonesty is prohibited in every academic institution and the
consequences depend on the severity and the institution itself. Although academic dishonesty is
prohibited in all Universities, students rely on academic dishonesty and are able to achieve high
standards with help of technology. The review of literature in this paper leads to four research
questions: (1) Is academic dishonesty an issue in Universities? (2)What is academic dishonesty?
(3)Why do students engage in academic dishonesty? (4) What should University officials do to
decrease the cases of academic dishonesty?
Academic integrity is an important policy that should be practiced in every educational
institution. It is crucial that academic institutions spend time on explaining the significance of
academic integrity in college courses. Academic integrity is a set of academic standards such as
avoiding of cheating and plagiarism or rigor and honesty in academic assignments that orientate
students towards good academia. To Professor Garcia, a lecturer at The University of Texas at El
Paso, academic dishonesty is achieved when students do not cite a source correctly, cheating

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

during exams, and helping friends pass test. Furthermore, academic dishonesty is an issue in
todays education and as a result it is noted in mission statements of many institution, it is being
taught in ethics courses, and being pointed out in syllabuses to emphasize and reiterate that
cheating is not the correct route (Garcia, 2015). Technology is taking a big part in this issue
mainly because students have access to internet throughout college campuses. With extreme
discretion, students can now access any website on their self-phone or use the camera to cheat
during important exams.
Stress and competition are two major factors that influence students to cheat. These two
factors have been identified across generations of students. Example of stress and competition
are competition for admission into graduate schools, for jobs after graduation, and for
scholarships. All of these may influence today's students to cheat. Researchers believe students
may be uninterested toward cheating because of a social environment of cheating by authority
figures like parents, teachers, and government officials. If it is easy for these higher authorities to
cheat, then it makes it easier for college students to commit cheating. Even though students
admit that cheating is morally wrong, when a cheating act is taking place they hardly report
another student cheating. Other factors that influence cheating according to researchers, are
ignorance and confusion to what constitutes academic dishonesty. For instance, concepts such as
collaboration, fair-use, and plagiarism, are always misunderstood by students and as results
students are unaware.
In an effort to reinforce awareness, a study consisting of 48 students enrolled in an online
business course was carried (Jones, 2011). This study took place in a public university and the
students were asked relevant questions in the topic of academic dishonesty. The results were
consistent with those published on the plagiarism.com website and revealed that 92% of the

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

students knew someone who had cheated (Jones, 2011). These results also indicated students
who also identify themselves engaging in cheating activities. When asked if they would cheat,
41% of the students indicated that they would never cheat and the remaining 59% indicates
intentional cheating (Jones, 2011). In this study, 92% of the students admitted that the major
reason of engaging in academic dishonesty was grades (Jones, 2011). The study revealed that
students want or need better grades to raise their GPA or qualify for an academic opportunity.
The second ranking excuse was procrastination with a total of 83% of students engaging (Jones,
2011). A majority of the students did not perceive turning in an assignment that was previously
submitted for another class (17%) and taking media from the Internet, including images, videos,
music and so on as academic dishonesty (Jones, 2011).
Due to the survey findings, the following strategies were recommended to reduce the
cases in academic dishonesty (Jones, 2011). As a primary strategy including a copy of the
academic integrity policy as part of the syllabus was suggested. This should be tied with a series
of detailed steps for how the university will address academic dishonesty. To reinforce the
academic dishonesty policy professor can quiz their students and can include interactive
activities.
Academic Dishonesty is becoming an increasing problem in higher education and among
college students. The definition of academic cheating varies depending on the institution.
Academic dishonesty includes a wide range of actions such as, cheating on tests, plagiarism,
sharing answers using electronic devices, and reusing and submitting past essays in different
classes. Copying answers during test, quoting material without attributing it to its author, and
modifying graded assignment are all examples of academic dishonesty as well. Despite the fact
that cheating is not allowed in Universities, the practice of cheating is increasing in students from

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

all disciplines because of the advancement in technology. With the aid of technology, sharing
answers through electronic devices and plagiarism can be done in an easier way.
As technology advances, students recreate new ways in which academic dishonesty can
be carried without anyone noticing. Students may now use their laptops, cell phones, and tablets
to access the internet and be able to cheat. In some instances, students can use their
programmable calculators to write answers in them and use them in math-related courses that
will enable to use them. The most common and notable form of cheating is during an exam.
Cheating during tests includes sharing answers with other students, looking at other students test
with or without their permission, and looking for answers in search engines in their mobile
devices (Plagiarism, 2014). In addition, having another student substitute a student is also
considered academic dishonesty. Another form of academic dishonesty is plagiarism. Plagiarism
involves copying someones material or borrowing it without their permission (Plagiarism,
2014). For instance, borrowed work from other articles may include entire papers, phrases, one
or a few paragraphs, or excerpts from other sources. Such sources can be books, magazines,
Internet documents, journal articles, and papers obtained and written by other classmates
(Plagiarism, 2014).
As a rule of thumb, the use of any permitted work can result in plagiarism if the original
material is not properly acknowledged in the paper (Plagiarism, 2014). One can be accountable
for plagiarizing material in a final submission of an assignment and even in a rough draft that is
being submitted to an instructor. If someone works with another person on an assignment for
credit without the instructor's permission, both students are engaging in unauthorized
collaboration (Plagiarism, 2014). The majority of students mistakenly assume that they can work
together on assignments or test as long as the professor has not prohibited collaboration of the

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

students. Unfortunately, students who are engaging in unauthorized collaboration tend to justify
their actions by various justifications. For instance, students may argue that the contribution of
several students will help them learn better and thus they will receive a better grade.
Another form of academic dishonesty occurs when students submit the same assignment
for different courses. Simply because students have to write on the same topic again, it is easy for
them to submit the assignment that was done in a previous class. After all, the instructor assumes
that any completed assignments that are submitted for credit were written for that class. This
form academic dishonesty can also be seen as self-plagiarism since all types of works can be
plagiarized, including unpublished works and papers students wrote.

Figure 1 Types of suspected undergraduate incidents of academic dishonesty

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Figure 1 describes the types of suspected incidents of academic dishonesty among

undergraduates in the University of Las Vegas Nevada (Nadelson, 2007). In this study, the
faculty were asked to recall suspected or known incidences of academic dishonesty that had
occurred over the previous year (Nadelson, 2007). The results in this graph reveal that plagiarism
is the most common form academic dishonesty in this institution.
According to the American Psychological Association, in a survey of 400,000 U.S. High
school students, more than half of the participants say they have cheated on a test. Of those who
have cheated, about 34% have done more than twice (Novotney, 2011). The survey also found
that one in three students admitted they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment (Novotney,
2011). The statistics do not get any better for college students. Researchers have revealed that 82
% of a group college students admitted to engage in some form of academic dishonesty
(Novotney, 2011). Some believe that academic dishonesty may be associated with dishonesty
later in life. Psychological researcher have indicated that dishonest behaviors will later on alter
an individuals sense of right and wrong. One of the biggest reasons of cheating is to get into
prestigious colleges, graduate skills, and eventually good paying jobs (Novotney, 2011).
With the use of technology, detection of plagiarism can be available with special
software. As technology advances, newer software are being designed to combat cheating in
higher education. In addition, there are many websites on the internet that offer free detection
plagiarism software that professor can use. The consequences for academic dishonesty vary on
the institution and of course, the severity of the case. For example, in one institution the y may
expel a student for plagiarism where in another the student will be in probation. Probation is a
period where a student is observed and monitor their progress. But before a probation period a
student must first be accused. First the incident must be reported immediately by a staff member

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

or student to a committee of students that handle academic dishonesty cases. The committee will
then decide what is the best to do and will then assign a punishment. The consequences for
academic dishonesty includes probation and suspension. The disciplinary actions are kept under
record.
During a study, a total of 917 full-time students were surveyed from which 450 returned
it complete (Thomas & De Bruin, 2012). The data in this study was collected by the means of a
questionnaire that was comprised of four sections. The first section in this study needed to gain
information about the attitudes of participants regarding academic dishonesty. In the second
section, the questionnaire focuses on the participants views with regard to personal and
institutional barriers when dealing with student academic dishonesty (Thomas & De Bruin,
2012). The third section focuses in the actions that institutions take with response to academic
dishonesty. In the final section, participants were required to estimate the popularity of students
engaging in academic dishonesty at least once during their academic pathway.
The results revealed that 64% of the students had reported academic dishonesty at some
point in their academic careers (Thomas & De Bruin, 2012). In fact, 84.4% stated that they
would report academic dishonesty if they detect it (Thomas & De Bruin, 2012). In the first
section, 92.6 % of the participants agreed that academic dishonesty is a serious threat to
academics (Thomas & De Bruin, 2012). In section 2 of the questionnaire, 60.7% of the
participants did not perceive academic policies to be a barrier in committing cheating (Thomas &
De Bruin, 2012). In the component 3, only 50.7% of the student agreed that they have social and
institutional support to identify when cases fall under academic dishonesty. In section 4 of the
questionnaire, 55.1% of the participants agreed that it was easy to cheat in examination
assignments (Thomas & De Bruin, 2012).

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

10

In a study the most common reason for students not to feel guilt for cheating was during
taking an examination (Kucuktepe, 2014). Furthermore, students did not feel guilt if the course
was not part of their major and as a result they perceive the information in the examination as
useless. In order to reduce the cases of academic dishonesty during examinations, professors
should prepare special questions and ensure that correct answers do not depend only on
memorization (Kucuktepe, 2014). In addition, in multiple choice exams, seating arrangement
should be assigned by the instructor rather than being influenced by the students (Kucuktepe,
2014). In order to prevent academic dishonesty before examinations, students should not be
allowed in the room before the exam begins. Also, enforcing excessive penalties and addressing
the consequences immediately is crucial for decreasing the cases of academic dishonesty
(Kucuktepe, 2014).
A possible explanation to cheating in college campuses is the desire to succeed and it
simply becomes a tool to use in pursuit of a higher goal (Simkin & McLeod, 2010). In order to
measure the effects on cheating behavior a survey was administered at a public university. The
students in this study were students from the schools college of business and a total of 158
students completed the online survey (Simkin & McLeod, 2010). The results in this study reveals
that 78% of the participants cheat because the time demands it (Simkin & McLeod, 2010). In
other words, a great percentage of students tend cheat because the leave everything to the last
minute and therefore cheating is their only alternative.
In order for academic dishonesty to decrease, university officials must plan ways to
diminish the cases of academic dishonesty in classes. Professors should know that cheating
depends on the assignment. For example, in a written assignment one can assume that plagiarism
will take place and not copying from other students. To decrease the cases of academic

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

11

dishonesty in college papers, professors can now use special software that detects plagiarism at
the moment. To accomplish this, the instructor must obtain an electronic copy from each student
in order for a thorough plagiarism scan (Bluestein, 2015). To decrease the cases of academic
dishonesty professors should discus with their students how to acknowledge other peoples work.
To UTEP professor, Claudia Garcia, it is crucial that lecturers make it clear in their syllabus and
tell students in person that they will check for plagiarism. Furthermore, during exams, professors
can arrange the students in the classroom by separating each student to sit in every other seat.
Another way to reduce cheating while taking an exam is by creating two different exams and
giving every other student each test (Bluestein, 2015). By doing this, the academic dishonesty
cases will decrease and the integrity of students will enable them to become better.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

12

References
Bluestein, S. A. (2015). Connecting Student-Faculty Interaction to Academic Dishonesty.
Community College Journal of Research & Practice, 39(2), 179-191.
Garcia, C. V. (2015, April 8) Interview.
Jensen, L., Arlett, J., Feldman, S., & Cauffman, E. (2001). Its Wrong, But Everybody Does It:
Academic Dishonesty among High School and College Students. Washington D.C.
Jones, D. R. (2011). Academic Dishonesty: Are More Students Cheating?. Business
Communication Quarterly, 74(2), 141-150.
Kucuktepe, S. E. (2014). COLLEGE STUDENTS' CHEATING BEHAVIORS. Social Behavior
& Personality: An International Journal, 42101-111.
Nadelson, S. (2007, January 1). Academic Misconduct by University Students: Faculty
Perceptions and Responses. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
Novotney, A. (2011, June 1). Beat the cheat. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/06/cheat.aspx
Pulvers, K., & Diekhoff, G. (1999). The Relationship between Academic Dishonesty and College
Classroom Environment. In Research in Higher Education (4th ed., Vol. 40, pp. 487-498).
Plagiarism. (2014, June 24). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acadint_plagiarism.php
Simkin, M., & McLeod, A. (2010). Why Do College Students Cheat?. Journal Of Business
Ethics, 94(3), 441-453.
Thomas, A., & De Bruin, G. P. (2012). Student academic dishonesty: What do academics think
and do, and what are the barriers to action?. African Journal Of Business Ethics, 6(1), 1324.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

13