USD Magazine, Winter 2000

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ONOR By Michael R. Haskins

Cheating is rampant at campuses across the country, surveys say, and the Internet makes plagiarism almost effortless. Universities are responding by examining the fundamentals ofacademic integrity. At USD, some students and administrators believe an honor system, in which students are trusted not to cheat and to monitor their peers, could revolutionize the university's academic and social culture.

L ike most university students, Kenji Nishihara felt che temptation co cheat. Pressure was intense co make the cop grades chat would gee him into a good medical school, and N ishihara knew chat copying some phrases from che Internee on a term paper or cribbing some notes for an exam could garner him higher marks. He also knew the risk of geccing caught, much less punished, was minimal. Yee Nishihara never gave in co chat temptation. "I easily could have cheated and received beccer marks, but I had enough faith in myself not co do ic," says the '99 graduate, who says he understands why some students - particularly chose applying co graduate schools where grade point averages can make or break a career - feel the need co cue corners. Now applying co medical schools, Nishihara says his grade point average falls somewhat shore of chose cop medical schools wane. Bue he's satisfied with the knowledge chat he honescly came by every grade. "Whatever happens now, my personal integrity is intact. " Noc many students share Nishihara's attitude. Across the nation, cheating by university students is commonplace. More than 75 percent of students admit to some form of cheating, says the Center for Academic Integrity, a national clearinghouse for discus– sion of chese issues. Internet "paper mills"

offer free or low-cost research papers, down– loadable at the couch of a button. A recent US. News & World Report national poll found chat 90 percent of college students believe cheaters are never punished for their actions, and that 84 percent believe they need co cheat co get ahead. Ac USD, a values survey conducted in 1997 revealed that almost half the students questioned had seen cheating on tests "a few times or several times. " "In terms of academic integrity, USD is in many ways ahead of ocher schools, but we can't deny that problems exist," says sociology professor Anne Hendershott, who coordinated the USD survey. "We need co be pare of the national dialogue on cheating and see where we can improve the culture of academic integrity at our university." Some students and administrators believe USD can benefit from the introduction of an honor code, essentially a system that defines ethical academic conduct with the expectation chat students will monitor their peers, report violations and mete out penal– ties. At most honor code schools, students are crusted co cake exan1s without supervision, and the cruse engendered in the classroom extends to many other aspects of campus life. Although reported incidents of cheating and plagiarism at USD are relatively low - around 30 cases a year for undergraduates - some on campus believe that an honor code has benefits beyond coursework.

"The goal is to help students take fair advantage of their studies and do what is right. " - fa.son Apolinario,

Chair ofthe Associated Students Academic Integrity Committee

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