CROWDER COLLEGE

Anti-Cheating Efforts

Presented by:

The Ethical Literacy ® Team to

The Institute for Global EthicsJune 2010

75%!It has been reported that over 75% of students admit to cheating…That number was NOT taken from Crowder College surveys, however, Crowder prefers to be proactive in efforts of provide an honest education to its student and taxpayer base. Crowder College is committed to “…building a civil, serving, literate, learning community of responsible citizens.”

Ethics Statements

"Ethics: Academic Misconduct

All forms of academic misconduct, including but not limited to, cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty are violations of college rules. Any student guilty of academic misconduct will automatically receive a grade of zero on that assignment or exam. All cases will be reported to the Instructional Office to track repeat offenses, which would warrant further disciplinary action up to expulsion from the college."

Cheating Policy

There is new language in the Fall 2010 version of the Student Handbook which states:

"All forms of academic misconduct, including but not limited to, cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty as may be further specified in campus regulations. Any student guilty of academic misconduct will automatically receive a grade of zero on that assignment or exam. All cases will be reported to the Instructional Office to track repeat offenses which would warrant further disciplinary action – up to expulsion from the college."

Consistency of Consequences

Instructional Council and the Dean of Students worked together to establish common punishments that are in par with other offenses at Crowder. The levels of punishment are:

1st Offense: An F on the assignment or test and a warning letter from the Dean of Instruction2nd Offense (in any class in any semester): An F in that entire class and a 2nd warning letter3rd Offense (in any class in any semester): Expelled permanently from Crowder

Teacher’s Aid

We have established a cheating reporting form for academic misconduct (i.e. cheating).

Form Letters Created

Dean of Instruction form letters for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd offense letters. (To-date, we have only used the 1st and 2nd letters.)

All letters explain that Crowder College's core value is ethics and we stand by that.

Database

Instructional Office staff can now track repeat offenders on a private use drive.

Since starting this in Fall 2009, we have about 15 people on the list with only one repeat offender. Since the repeat offender was a nursing student, the F in her course, by Nursing Handbook guidelines, meant that she was dismissed from the nursing program.

What is Plagiarism?

Some students have come in to complain that they didn't fully understand what constitutes plagiarism, therefore the Communications division is drafting a one-page document that will be sent to all new students. This document will be also shared in College Orientation as a new supplement.

Story: One mother came in with her son this semester to see me (Dean of Instruction.) I had to explain that  copying information, even off someone's Facebook page, is still plagiarism. The person from which one takes information from need not be an “expert” in the field.

Orienting New Students

An Ethics unit is part of the College Orientation class which is a mandatory class for all students pursuing a degree at Crowder College.

Other ideas…Working with Student Activities to:

Provide Ethics related activities in addition to “fun” activities to keep the conversation of Ethics more familiar and natural.

Develop more formal study groups. Not only would this help students to better prepare themselves for tests, but would also help develop leadership qualities.

Evolve an atmosphere of Extreme Sportsmanship concerning our athletics department so that Crowder College has a reputation of being the best place to “play ball”. We want visiting teams and their supporters to feel welcome and privileged to play on our campus.

Thank You!

Crowder College is committed to “…building a civil, serving,

literate, learning community of responsible citizens.”