Friday, October 26, 2001

Easy way out
By Kristin Campbell
Staff Reporter

A few finance majors were studying together before a test two weeks ago when another student in the class pulled out an old copy of the test. The studying ceased and frantic memorization began.

At a university which claims the “(education of) individuals to think and act as ethical leaders,” as its mission, academic dishonesty is becoming a growing concern.
One senior finance major said he studies for tests, but also cheats to increase his chances of getting good grades.

“Cheating is a good way to improve your status,” he said. “There are many pressures on students to get good grades, such as parental expectations and scholarship requirements.”

While avoiding blatant cheating, such as looking at a neighbor’s answers during a test or plagiarizing, the student said he takes advantage of “gray areas.” He said collaborating and studying from old tests obtained without the professor’s permission to be cheating, but those activities are not always thought of as cheating.

“I don’t know anybody who is above looking at an old test,” he said. “When an old test comes out, everybody comes running.”

Elissa Winder, a junior speech communication major, said although she does not cheat, other students cheat because either it makes good grades easier to obtain or they are just too lazy to study.

“I always am concerned about keeping my grades high enough to keep my scholarship, but it always works out,” Winder said. “I always end up pulling it off.”

Mike Russel, associate dean of campus life, said although other schools have a short honor code, TCU does not. Instead TCU uses the Code of Student Conduct.
“It’s common sense,” Russel said. “(The code) gives us a formal structure to respond to students whose behavior is unacceptable.”

Russel said to his knowledge, statistical analysis data on cheating at TCU is not available and there is not a centralized record of all formal and informal incidences.

The introduction to the Code of Student Conduct states that students take on academic performance responsibilities when they enter TCU. It also states that “all students are expected to know and abide by this code of student conduct.”

The definitions of cheating, plagiarism and other dishonest academic practices are printed in the TCU Student Handbook but many students are unaware of the policy.
Handbooks are distributed in dormitories and in the Registrar’s Office.

According to the TCU Student Handbook, penalties for cheating range from being dropped from the course with an “F” to expulsion from the university.

Katie Schmitz, a sophomore pre-major, said she has no idea what TCU’s Code of Student Conduct is, nor where she would find the information. She is but one of many.

George Brown, a theater professor, said although a code exists most students do not even know what it is or where to find it.

“The bigger issue is not enough students invest themselves in that code,” Brown said. “Having a code does not mean anything until students understand they are cheating themselves. We no longer send students to the principal’s office.”

When it comes to dealing with cheating, Russell said, faculty are left to make their own decisions. In most instances, faculty will discuss the incident with the student. If the professor chooses to report the cheating formally, then the case is handled by the academic appeals committee, according to the procedures outlined in the student code of conduct.

Richard Galvin, a professor of philosophy, said cheating is prevalent in the large, freshman-level class he teaches jointly with colleagues Gregg Franzwa and Blake Hestir. He said he makes several different test versions or just changes the order of the questions for in-class essay tests to make it difficult for students with roaming eyes to copy their neighbor’s answers.

Galvin said students who cheat put the honest students at a disadvantage. He said students have informed him when cheating is happening.

“The temptation to plagiarize is great,” Galvin said. “Faculty need to be vigilant and make sure students are evaluated fairly.”

Schmitz said she does not cheat but that she does not feel bad helping others do so.
“If a friend needs to cheat off me, that’s fine,” Schmitz said.

Kristin Campbell
k.a.campbell@student.tcu.edu