Stanford Investigates A ‘Troubling’ Increase In Cheating Allegations

(Bloomberg) -- Stanford University is probing a “troubling” increase in academic dishonesty among students, made easier by their use of technology, Provost John Etchemendy said in a letter to faculty.

As many as 20 percent of students in a large introductory course may have cheated, Etchemendy said, adding that the school’s Office of Community Standards received an “unusually high number” of such reports at the end of the winter term.

“They are cheating themselves of the very core of our mission -- the process of learning and discovery -- as well as risking severe consequences,” he said in the letter.

Stanford, near Palo Alto, California, is the latest selective school to address academic dishonesty. Dartmouth College in January accused 64 students of cheating in sports ethics class. Allegations of dishonesty have also surfaced at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina in the past few years.

“With the ease of technology and widespread sharing that is now part of a collaborative culture, students need to recognize and be reminded that it is dishonest to appropriate the work of others,” Etchemendy said.

Calling dishonesty “corrosive” in academia, Etchemendy asked faculty to be more vigilant and to more clearly define the parameters of collaboration.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Staiti in Boston at cstaiti@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Hechinger at jhechinger@bloomberg.net Niamh Ring, Chris Staiti

from ffffff http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/stanford-probes-troubling-increase-in-cheating-allegations?hootPostID=4ab340f36eac781ee9d3f56bb644ac5e

via IFTTT