Crime & Punishment – the 411 on Cheating at UCSB
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It's 8:30 pm on a Tuesday night and after a week of rigorous academia, ultimate Frisbee, your part-time job, and late-night pizza parties you are tired and American Idol is on TV. However, you still have to write that six-page paper on German feudalism that is due in your history professor's mailbox by noon the next day, followed by a midterm in your chemistry class at 2pm for which you haven't done much studying. What do you do?
A. Pull an all-nighter
turn in a mediocre history paper and, after a few hours of cramming, maybe get a C on the chem midterm.
B. "Borrow" your roommate's feudalism paper
and change some words so the papers aren't identical. You haven't exactly written the work yourself, but who'll know the difference? For the chem test you figure you can just "borrow" some answers from a neighbor's scantron form. You're not going to copy the whole test off of your neighbor, just enough to pass. Besides, you did it in high school and no one seemed to mind or care.
C. Find one of those pre-written papers on the Internet.
So many good papers and web-sites can be found on-line these days, it is hard to know what students did before the Internet. And you could also make a little "cheat sheet" for the chem test that you can slip in your calculator; no one will notice.
D. Flake on everything
and just veg out with the dedicated future Idols--you deserve it. If you're like most students, you probably chose "A" and, while far from ideal, it is a way to get through all of that work without resorting to "Academic Dishonesty," or CHEATING/PLAGIARISM.
Consider yourself warned: If you're caught cheating or plagiarizing at UCSB (as in "B" or "C" above), you will face severe penalties which will likely include failing the class and a two or more quarter suspension or even expulsion from school. But with a little information you can avoid cheating, so read on!
What Is Cheating and Plagiarism?
Some students don't even realize their actions may constitute cheating or plagiarism. Worse, some students have never stopped to think about how much easier the Internet has made it for professors to CATCH people plagiarizing. The official UCSB definition is as follows: "Cheating is the unauthorized use of information or study guides in any academic exercise." One of the most common forms of cheating on campus is plagiarism, such as:
- Borrowing a friend's or roommate's work, altering it and then submitting it as your own.
- Borrowing a stranger's work from an instructor's mailbox, altering it and then submitting it as your own. (This can be especially hazardous to your health, as you will not only be charged with cheating, but also with theft!)
- Buying a term paper from a "paper mill" (usually advertised in the back of magazines or on the web).
- Copying from a textbook or the Internet without attributing the source of the material (such as taking a paragraph from your textbook, changing around the order of the words and submitting it as your own work).
- Copying from a friend or neighbor on an in-class test or on a take-home exam. (Warning: Instructors have been at this a lot longer than you have. For in-class exams, teachers will often pass out different versions of the test to the class. Your test may have the same questions as a neighbor's, but the order of the questions will be different. If you copy from your neighbor, you may very well have the right answers to the wrong questions!)
- Using "crib notes" or "cheat sheets" on an exam without permission from your teacher.
There are too many methods of cheating to list here, but a safe guideline to follow is: If it's not your work, don't use it unless you plan to give the author credit. You also need to safeguard your own work as well or you might be accused of collusion (intentionally helping another student to cheat). Some simple ground rules: Don't loan your computer disks to other people; keep your answers covered and your eyes down during exams; and if a friend asks to read your paper "for ideas," be very clear with that person that you will not tolerate plagiarism.
BUSTED!
OK, if you try cheating and you get caught, what happens next? In many situations, the professor will forward your case to the Associate Dean for Judicial Affairs and you will face a hearing in front of the Student-Faculty Conduct Committee. In the hearing, you will meet with a group of faculty members and your student peers as you try to explain why you cheated. It's embarrassing. It's intimidating. And it's not very pleasant. The Committee will listen to your story, ask you questions, and then ask you to leave while they discuss your case. If they recommend suspension, you can kiss your financial aid good-bye, as well as your University housing, participation in Intercollegiate Athletics, and anything else attached to your student status. Plus, you will also have to face family and friends and tell them why you are "taking the quarter off." If your parents help to pay for school, they will not be happy.
Some Alternatives
You can avoid feeling pressured into cheating. The biggest problem students face is learning to manage their time. Most students are honest and only resort to cheating when they get desperate. If they run out of time, fall behind, or walk into an exam unprepared, cheating suddenly seems to be the way out. Although it might be difficult for some of us, unlearning bad habits (like procrastination) and replacing them with proper study skills will keep you on track. Take advantage of the CLAS workshops here on campus which can help you with study skills or get some CLAS tutoring if you need it. You can also drop a class if you find you are in over your head. Or you can always ask a professor for an extension. He or she might say no, but you won't know unless you ask!
Think about it this way: Would you want a doctor operating on you who had cheated his/her way through medical school? If you were accused of a serious crime (naturally, you're innocent), would you want a lawyer who had cheated his/her way through law school to defend you? Of course not! Someone who gets a grade without earning it jeopardizes the fairness of the grading system and devalues the integrity of the academic community. This might sound like a lofty or pompous statement, but you are now part of a community of learning, exploration, and scholarship-be proud of that. And hey, let's be careful out there.
--Jennifer Gimblin, Film Studies
--Brandon Brod, Former Conduct Educator, Judicial Affairs
If You Are Absent from Class...- For medical reasons, you are responsible for contacting your instructors directly to discuss the situation and negotiate any possible accommodations for course work and exams. If the instructor insists on written verification, you are responsible for obtaining it from your physician. If you visit Student Health, you should ask for written verification at the time of your appointment. If you did not do this, you need to see the nurse advisor and request written verification. The nurse advisor will assist you in any way possible but may not be able to directly verify an illness from which you have recovered. If you chose not to see a health care provider, it is still your responsibility to contact your instructors directly.
- For reasons other than medical, you should contact your instructors directly. You may do this by calling the professors' individual office numbers, emailing them or by leaving a message for them in their Department Office.
Please note that it is YOUR responsibility to make arrangements for missed assignments and class work. A written medical verification does not guarantee that your instructors will excuse you. The final decision is at the discretion of each instructor. |