An Evaluation of the Academic Honesty Policy at Orange Coast College - Case Study Example

An Evaluation of the Academic Honesty Policy at Orange Coast College Introduction Academic dishonesty is a that has attracted considerable interest on college and university campuses across the United States. The numbers of students who are willing to engage in cheating and plagiarism appear to be on the rise. Many faculty and university administrators view academic dishonesty as a moral and ethical issue, while many students who engage in the behavior have a completely different perspective (Lambert, Hogan, and Barton, 2003). In recent surveys of college and university students, seventy percent indicated that they had cheated. Of those surveyed who agreed that cheating was unacceptable, twenty-one percent admitted that they had engaged in the practice. The behavior appears to be pervasive across all academic disciplines and at all levels of post-secondary education including graduate education. Students with a history of excellence in academic performance are just as likely to cheat than students with poor academic records. The severity of the sanction does not appear to act as a deterrent to curtailing the dishonest behavior (Anderman, 2009). This paper provides an evaluation of the academic honesty policy at Orange Coast College. The paper argues that the current policy is ineffective in curbing cheating and plagiarism at the College. After a brief overview of the academic honesty policy, the paper provides an analysis concerning its effectiveness and some concluding observations on student perceptions regarding academic dishonesty and what post-secondary institutions such as Orange Coast College might do to address the problem. Policy Overview The policies concerning academic honesty and student conduct in general are developed and approved by the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees. The policies are found on the District website and abbreviated versions of the policies are included in the Orange Coast College catalogue. In addition, instructors normally include a section in the course syllabus on academic dishonesty and examples along with sanctions are discussed in class. The academic honesty policy must be read in conjunction with the student code of conduct because the policy states that all content and disciplinary procedures outlined in the student code are applicable in all cases of academic dishonesty. Promoting a culture of academic honesty is described as a shared responsibility between faculty and students. The policy notes that the educational system is based upon the principle that “grades assigned are indicative of the knowledge and skill level of each student.” According to the policy, failure to adhere to this standard weakens our society. Academic dishonesty is divided into four categories; cheating, plagiarism, other acts of dishonest conduct and collusion. Within each of the four categories several examples of what constitutes the unacceptable behavior are provided. The last section of the policy identifies the procedures to be used in dealing with cases of academic dishonesty. The policy requires that the faculty member speak to the student about his/her concerns. If the faculty member believes that the student has engaged in prohibited behavior, the faculty member can provide a warning to the student, issue a grade of “F” for the assignment or issue a grade of “F” for the course. The appropriate college administrator then determines if the student should be placed on academic probation, suspended or expelled from the college. The student receives written notification of the intended action. The Board policy governing student conduct is very broad in its application and even the title indicates this: “Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures and Academic Honesty Policy.” Cheating and plagiarism comprise only a small part of the overall policy. The Board’s mandate in the area of student conduct is made clear in the introduction to the policy where it states that the Board has a “clear responsibility in the area of student conduct to protect and promote the pursuit of its goals.” The policy goes on to define the Board’s expectation that students will abide by all District regulations and all federal, state and local laws. Students who are in violation of any of these rules, regulations or laws will be “held accountable.” The Code of Conduct policy lists violations and possible sanctions by category of severity as defined by the Board. Tier one infractions can result in expulsion from the college while tier two incidents can result in expulsion, probation or other sanctions. I counted thirty-seven different categories of student conduct covered by the policy, including cheating and plagiarism. These ranged from lewd conduct to felonies such as assault. Policy Evaluation My assessment of the academic honesty policy is that it is clearly written and well articulated. Moreover, the fact that instructors include in the syllabus a discussion of cheating and plagiarism makes it clear to students what is expected of them. The policy includes numerous examples of what constitutes cheating, plagiarism, collusion and other acts of academic dishonesty. I also observed that at the end of the policy, a note is provided that indicates that the policy was developed using materials from several other California colleges and universities. So, I assume that our college policy is consistent with others in the state. The policy is clear on the sanction for those who are caught engaging in academic dishonesty. In discussing this assignment with fellow students at the college, I found that they are aware of the potential ramifications if they are caught cheating. One area where I thought that the academic honesty policy could be improved relates to student appeals of the instructor’s decision. I did not see anywhere in the policy that students have a right to appeal. In fact, the policy is clear in stating that the decision to give a grade of “F” is final. The student code of conduct portion of the policy is another matter. In my opinion, it is a terrible policy and needs to be entirely re-written. The policy reads like a laundry list of every example that someone could think of related to personal conduct. If each of the thirty-seven items listed in the policy are actually critical to the mission of the college, then the Board should adopt a separate policy for each item and communicate the contents to students. Linking the academic honesty policy with this code of conduct policy (at least as it is currently written) confuses rather than clarifies the situation from a student’s perspective. Why the Academic Honesty Policy Won’t Work As I indicated in the introduction to this paper, the academic honesty policy at Orange Coastal College is not enforceable and will do little to curb the practices of academic dishonesty by students. There are several reasons why I believe this to be the case. These are discussed below: First, we are talking about a generation of people who have a different perspective on morality and what constitutes ethical behavior than previous generations. Young people today live in a reality where no one thinks twice about illegally downloading music or books from a website. We watch pirated DVDs and wear knock-off clothes without thinking about ethics or lost company profits. Second, the Internet has changed the way education is delivered and how people learn. There are endless opportunities for students to download essays and papers or pay professionals to write them. These behaviors are developed in high school and carry on through college. Third, the sanctions applied if one is caught do not deter the behavior for most students. The attitude is: if I get kicked out, no big deal. I’ll just register somewhere else because lots of colleges need students. Fourth, a college or university degree does not carry the same level of prestige for many students that it once did. It has almost become a given much like high school graduation was a few years ago. Finally, students see the behaviors of some of their instructors who don’t seem to care about teaching or who use the course to try and punish students. So, students say; if the instructor doesn’t care, why should I? What can be done? It is clear that the instructor sets the tone for the class. If the instructor cares about the subject that he/she is teaching and if the class is conducted in a professional manner, I believe that most students will respond positively. In one of the journal articles that I mentioned above, researchers found that academic dishonesty decreased dramatically when “test anxiety” was removed from the class. Rather than being tested, students were required to master learning outcomes. Evergreen College in Washington State was used as an example where students are not tested and they do not receive grades. Conclusion This paper provided an in-depth analysis of Orange Coast College’s policy on academic honesty. The author concluded that although the policy is well written and the sanctions imposed for violating the policy are clearly communicated, systematic enforcement of the policy is not feasible. Many policies that we encounter every day that are well written and effectively communicated, remain largely unenforceable. Two examples that come to mind are the policy that prohibits smoking in public places and the seat belt policy. The most that can be accomplished is selective enforcement at best. Far more people get away with violating the policy than those who are caught. Unfortunately, the same outcome applies to higher education. Bibliography Anderman, Eric.“Epidemic of student cheating can be cured with changes in classroom goals.” Psychology and Sociology. Aug, 2009. retrieved from http://esciencenews.com. Lambert, Eric G, Hogan, Nancy Lynne, and Barton, Shannon M. “Collegiate Academic Dishonesty Revisited: What Have They Done, How Often Have They Done It, Who Does It, and Why Did They Do It?” Electronic Journal of Sociology. 2003. at www.sociology.org. Read More