Cheating on academic work will always be an issue whenever you are in an academic environment. Ball State University, just like any other school, has cheaters in it's student body and just like any other school the administration is forced to make new rules and regulations to try to limit the cheating that is going on.
Ball State will always be trying to keep up with the latest forms of cheating. It is natural that as students find new ways to get ahead, the administration will forever be a day late and a dollar short when it comes to stopping cheaters. What needs to happen now is teachers need to try to find their priorities as far as cheating is concerned and address those areas of cheating that truly hurt the school as a whole.
According to the code of conduct of Ball State, not citing a source used in a paper is an infraction of academic dishonesty. Using other people's words is indeed cheating in every sense of the word. Professors need to ask themselves the question, though, about whether or not failing to cite a source used in a paper is as bad of an infraction as, perhaps, hiding a cheat sheet under your desk. Both are violations of the rules set forth by the university and both are deserving of action, but perhaps Ball State officials can see which of these two is most harmful to the academic environment and address it. Officials can't stop all cheating outright but perhaps by addressing certain areas, they can reduce the number of students who are academically dishonest.
The university officials also need to get more in tune with the student body. Ask students outright why so many of them feel the need to cheat. What are the specific reasons? Perhaps students feel the pressures of performance are too much. Perhaps they feel they are not being adequately prepared. Whatever the reasons for cheating are, students hold the vast majority of the answers on how to curb it. When school administrators decide to stop simply banning this and that from the classroom and actually go to the source of the problem, a solution will be found.
Cheating is one of many crimes in life that seems to be victimless in nature. If someone breaks the rules in order to get better grades, who really suffers? In a way, the student simply is wasting their tuition money because they are not learning the material they are being taught. In addition to the cheaters who are not taking advantage of the opportunities a quality education can provide, it is also incredibly frustrating to those students who are actually doing their work. As the administration goes on it's prowl for cheaters, it should also keep in mind that there are many students who resist the temptation to cheat. With the implementation of new rules and regulations, those in charge need to make sure the honest students at our school are not hurt.
Cheating will forever be a part of school life. If Ball State officials really want to reduce the amount of cheating going on, they need to get smart about fighting it. Pressure on students, banning laptops and cell phones in the classrooms and putting pressure on professors will only help for a short time. Now it is time be smart about stopping cheating and all we can do is sit back and wait.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
