Study shows half of students cheat

By Lauren Wiener

Daily Northwestern (Northwestern U.)

EVANSTON, Ill. (U-WIRE) - In the arena of academic dishonesty, colleges and universities nationwide are facing a discrepancy between policy and practice.

Half of all college students admit to having cheated at least once during their undergraduate careers, according to a recent survey conducted by Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. At Ball State and at other schools, cheating occurs despite outlined academic integrity policies.

To address the issue, Pennsylvania State University is designing a new academic integrity policy.

"We had a long-standing policy that was very elaborate," said John Cahir, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education at Penn State. "We became dissatisfied with it because we detected widespread sentiment that it was too complex and bureaucratic."

The new policy will allow the faculty to make the final determinations regarding consequences of cheating.

"By having the primary agents as professors, it becomes a teaching/learning situation," Cahir said. "It becomes a more positive experience for the student, one they can learn from."

Although professors and teacher's assistants may monitor exams, their job becomes difficult when hundreds of students take a test together, students and administrators said.