Helping students conquer the temptation to cheat


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Cheating often works its way onto college campuses, and becomes a threat to the spirit and the purpose of higher education.

According to a study conducted from 2002-2015 by Donald McCabe and the International Center for Academic Integrity, 39 percent of undergraduate university students admitted to cheating on tests and 62 percent admitted to cheating on written assignments.

To combat academic dishonesty, last year FIU launched Academic Integrity. Faculty Fellow for Academic Integrity Valerie George,  who oversees this initiative, works with faculty, staff and students to help students re-discover the wonder and the curiosity of learning – and get them to stop cheating themselves out of their education.

Oct. 19 marked the first International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating. In observance, FIU hosted a roundtable discussion inviting professors and students to come and discuss their views of academic dishonesty, contract cheating (hiring someone to do homework or take exams) and their values. This is just one way FIU is promoting student’s rediscovery  – or perhaps discovery – of their search for knowledge in higher education and their ability to stay true to their own values.

FIU’s core values are freedom, respect, truth, excellence and responsibility. Most would agree those values are important and worthy of upholding. Yet, in practice, students may find themselves in situations that test those and their own values – and make them want to put those values on hold.

From students who feel overwhelmed with numerous responsibilities, to poor time management skills or fears of not being able to perform well through their own brain power, students could end up cheating from peers or turning to online sources that offer “help” with papers – but in reality are contract cheating web sites.

Here are some top reasons why cheating derails your education and top tips to combat the temptation to cheat.

Top reasons not to cheat

1. Walk the talk. Higher education isn’t just about academic development. It’s also about personal growth and moral development. Make sure while you earn your degree, you keep your own conscience clear and you become the person you want to be.

“For me, it comes down to my personal morals,” says Alisa Willis, a hospitality and tourism management major who attended the roundtable discussion. She says cheating may seem tempting in the moment, but it’s just going to hurt in the long-run. And it doesn’t go with her values.

2. Yep, you’re cheating yourself. You signed up for higher education. You’re paying for it. It’s about earning a degree and getting a job. But it’s also about learning, discovering yourself and finding your career path. If you cheat, you won’t learn the basic skills you will need to survive later.

Sophomore Oscar Aguayo says cheating “is wrong because you’re doing harm to yourself. You’re not grasping all this knowledge. You won’t be able to perform well in your future career. If you’re not learning, why are you in college?”

3. What’ll happen when you get to the “real world” of work? George, who teaches counseling and dietetics and nutrition in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, says she explains it this way: when her students have a job at a hospital and “when a patient’s feeding tube will be removed, and it doesn’t look like there are any other options for the patient, what are you going to say? How are you going to communicate? That’s what you’re learning in this class.”

The classes you take are helping you prepare to become a competent professional and an informed citizen. Don’t take that for granted!

4. You don’t want to deal with the consequences of cheating. From receiving a failing grade on the assignment to having to meet with a professor to explain why you cheated, when students get caught cheating, it leads to lots of headaches for both student and faculty later on. Save yourself the trouble.

Top tips to combat cheating

George says some of the major ways students can ward off temptations to cheat are the same things students can do to be successful in college.

1. Work on time management. One reason students end up cheating is because they sometimes don’t find the time to work on their assignments or they procrastinate on challenging assignments. Then they think cheating will get them a good grade fast. If you manage your time and prioritize, you’ll find it’s a lot easier to sit down and get your work done on-time.

2. Talk to your professors if you need help. Maybe you’re trying to work on your time management, but the problem isn’t just finding the time. Maybe you’re not getting the topic or you’re struggling with material from two chapters ago. Talk to your professors. They are here to help. Ask them questions. And, if you’re struggling to keep up or problems arise during the semester, let your professor know that you’re having a hard time, and that you want to keep trying.

3. Find legitimate resources to help you. The Center for Excellence in Writing on both the Modesto A. Maidique Campus (MMC) and the Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC) is here to help you at all stages of the writing process. If you just want to brainstorm and discuss ideas or you want to get feedback on your paper, this is the place to go!

The Center for Academic Success (CfAS), also available on both campuses, offers tutoring in numerous subjects as well as workshops on study skills and reading skills.

4. Study! Sometimes all you need to do to ace your test is study! There is no easy substitution for studying, and there are some study techniques that can help you learn better. For example, making sure to focus on what you are studying (and not texting, checking emails, or multitasking while studying) and going beyond memorizing isolated facts to make sure you actually comprehend the material can help you learn better, according to Samford University psychology professor Stephen Chew.

Whether you create a schedule for yourself to study a few minutes a day or pitch tent at the library to study a few days before the exam, make sure to study. It will help. And check out the workshops offered by the CfAS to brush up on your studying skills and strategies.

5. Find out what plagiarism is. Sometimes, students end up committing academic dishonesty, and they don’t know it. Ask if you have questions about what plagiarism is, how you need to cite references, and how to properly quote and attribute information you look up. You can ask your professors and you can also visit the Center for Excellence in Writing to find out if you’ve plagiarized by mistake.

This article is part of our Secrets to Success series.