Vermont Cynic

Issue date: 4/11/06 Section: Features

Media Credit: C.W. Soule Cell phone's text messaging features have become a problem in exams

Academic dishonesty may seem like a black-and-white issue to many UVM students - professors all look for cheaters carefully, every professor will report and prosecute a case of cheating, and the definition is the same for every class, right? Wrong. From ideological stances on academic dishonesty to methods of detecting it, the University of Vermont has a very diverse faculty.



The Faculty Divide



There is a lot of variability among the faculty on the issue of cheating. Some professors believe that the judicial system must always be followed to the letter, while others prefer to handle first-time offenses privately. Some professors believe that students who obtain old copies of their exams are cheating, while other professors provide copies of test questions before each exam time. Some professors believe cheating to be a serious problem that requires a lot of attention and thought, while others view it more lightly, and do not think about it much at all.

Although UVM's Code of Academic Integrity technically requires professors to report all "suspected deliberate violations of academic integrity," some faculty members do not follow the procedure, and instead handle cheating cases directly, without involving the administration. One such faculty member is Don Manley, who teaches astronomy at the University of Vermont. Manley told the Cynic in an interview that "preparing and presenting the evidence is burdensome," and that he prefers to "take justice into [his] own hands." Manley called the current system "unproductive," saying that he suspects "many faculty don't refer because of the work involved," and fewer students are punished as a result.

On the other side of the issue, many professors feel that the official University procedure is essential to ensuring a fair outcome for all parties involved. Professor Patrick Neal of the Political Science Department believes that "it's vital to have those procedures" in order to protect students' rights. Professor Matthew Moore, also in the Political Science Department, advocates a consistent and uniform policy, and believes that all cases of academic dishonesty must "go though the official channels."

Kevork Spartalian, a professor in the Physics Department, fears that dealing with students directly could result in confusion later on: if one professor resolves a cheating case without involving the administration and that same student offender later goes on to cheat again, he or she will be regarded as a first-time offender when that is not the case.

Continued...

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