Academic Honesty One of the First Encounters

¶ … Academic Honesty

One of the first encounters one will have when researching a paper on academic honesty is a plethora of online sites offering papers for sale regarding same (writing4students blogspot, 2009). It is ironic and highly illustrative of the current state of dishonesty in academia today that one may purchase a paper on this subject from a variety of sources. Obviously, this is a subject of utmost importance. In examining the importance of academic honesty, it is imperative to discuss the characteristics of dishonesty in academia. Plagiarism, collusion, cheating, and duplication of work are all examples of dishonesty in the academic world (Alexander & Kilsby, Date Unknown). Not surprisingly, these examples are also considered dishonest outside of academia and, in some circumstances, may even be illegal. Further, the characteristics encompassed in academic honesty also need to be addressed. These characteristics or components are trust, respect, fairness, responsibility, and integrity (Alexander & Kilsby, Date Unknown). Though there are many reasons for academic dishonesty, there is nothing that excuses it. Certainly no one wants a surgeon who cheated his way through medical school, or an accountant who cheated while sitting for his CPA ( The Importance of Academic Integrity, Date Unknown). Essentially, academic honesty is vital because it defines the very nature of one's being.

According to Cazenovia College, "academic success calls for strenuous individual and group efforts to progress intellectually. The academic measure of a college career is in the level of knowledge, skills, and intellectual maturity achieved during completion of a degree program. One of the most important aspects of a successful college experience is maintaining academic honesty and integrity. Without a commitment to honesty and integrity students will not achieve true academic success" (CazanoviaCollege, 2012).

Though there are many methods involved in dishonest tactics in academia, they center on the accomplishment of the following items: plagiarism, collusion, cheating, and duplication of work (Alexander & Kilsby, Date Unknown). Plagiarism is the use of someone else's ideas or words and failing to give them credit (Alexander & Kilsby, 2012). Collusion is intentionally sharing one's work with another (Alexander & Kilsby, 2012). Cheating is using sources not allowed or allowing someone else to use oneself as a source (Alexander & Kilsby, 2012). Duplication of work is using one's work for more than the original intent, for example, using the same paper for two different courses (Alexander & Kilsby, 2012). Though these have always been present in academia, technology has allowed them to soar to an unprecedented level, making the issue more important now than ever before because of the way they undermine the core components of honesty (Academic Dishonesty in the Digital Age, Date Unknown).

When analyzing the concept of academic honesty one must address trust, respect, fairness, responsibility, and integrity because ultimately they are all part and parcel to honesty (University of Rochester, 2010). First, according to the University of Rochester (2010), " as members of an academic community, students and faculty assume certain responsibilities. One of these responsibilities is to engage in honest communication. Academic dishonesty is a serious violation of the trust upon which an academic community depends" (University of Rochester, 2010). Integrity is also at issue when it comes to academic honesty. Unfortunately, those who would cheat in college are also apt to cheat in the business world. In fact, according to Burke, Polimeni, and Slavin, "colleges and universities have been investigating another contributing factor to the failed ethical conduct of our corporate executives and professional accountants: academic dishonesty on our campuses. Various studies suggest that we may be at the precipice of a culture of academic malfeasance, where large numbers of students engage in various forms of cheating" (2007). Apparently, when one exhibits a lack of integrity in the business world, it was probably fostered long before, more than likely the business person's lack of integrity surfaced in dishonest manifestations while still in college.

Further, one must also address fairness. It is absolutely unfair to the honest student striving to achieve a certain GPA too be competing against cheaters. In fact these cheaters sometimes cite fairness as their justification for cheating. According to Barton, Hogan, and Lambert (2003), "other reasons for cheating were the desire to receive good grades (McCabe, 1992; Singhal, 1982) or the need to keep a scholarship (Diekhoff et al., 1996). The need to get a good grade was frequently linked to engaging in academic dishonesty (Coston & Jenks, 1998; Genereux & McLeod, 1995; Robinson, & Kuin, 1999; Whitley, 1998). Additionally, cheating was sometimes argued to be justified because of the course is too hard or the instructor unfair (Coston & Jenkins, 1998; Dickhoff et al., 1996). Furthermore, the justification of the need to be admitted to a particular graduate/professional school has been found to be correlated to cheating (McCabe, 1992)." Clearly, the only thing unfair about cheating is the damage it does to those who are not cheating.