An Epidemic of Cheating?
Several recent studies suggest that academic dishonesty may be on the upswing. In 1987, a
national survey conducted by UCLA’s Graduate School of Education found that 18 percent of a
sample of college sophomores admitted to having cheated on their exams, 29 percent said they
had copied someone else’s homework, and 36 percent had done both. More recently, Rutgers
anthropology professor Michael Moffatt distributed questionnaires to 232 students and found
that 33 percent had cheated on a fairly regular basis and an additional 45 percent admitted to
having done so less frequently. Economics majors and members of fraternities or sororities were
found to be especially prone to academic dishonesty. Popular methods included copying from
another student’s test paper, studying with the help of old exams, using “cheat sheets,”
plagiarizing term papers, and even stealing tests in advance. Widely publicized scandals at
several military academies reinforce the suspicion that cheating is rampant on some campuses.
Ironically, the Internet hasn’t just made research easier, but also cheating as the availability of
student papers either for sale or even free has exploded. When Anthony Krier, a reference
librarian at Franklin Pierce College searched the Net in January 1997, he found about 50 sites
that offered term papers. Just six months later, he was able to find about twice as many online.
Though Krier intended the list for professors worried about plagiarism among their students, he
also received requests for the list from students apparently looking for more sites to find papers.
Not that buying papers is a new notion. Traditional term paper mills or the legendary dorm
stash have existed for a long time. What is new, though, “is the number of places where papers
are available, the ease with which they can be obtained and the often brazen ways that do-it–
yourself Internet sites now flaunt the ability to cheat and plagiarize electronically.” Some sites
add disclaimers, but others openly invite students to use their material to cheat.
Students’ reasons for cheating vary, from the time-honored preference for partying over
studying to more recent pressures to succeed in an increasingly competitive environment. The
fact that academic dishonesty seems to be especially common in large classes and at larger
schools suggests that the impersonality of the multiversity may also be a contributing factor. For
this reason, Moffatt suggests that smaller classes and more teacher-student contact, along with
Philadelphia Inquirer (November 25, 1991).