An e-mail concerning the Academic Integrity Code reminded students on Oct. 9 of the consequences for cheating, which happens more frequently during midterms.
Last year, 72 students violated the University's code. Many of those violations occurred around midterms and finals, a time when students are most stressed and more liable to cheat, according to Nathan Price, special assistant to the Provost.
"Most students received an F for the course in which they cheated," said Price. "Some were suspended and others were dismissed from AU. A number also received permanent notation of the violation on their transcript."
In the memorandum, Provost Neil Kerwin stated that the University maintains high ethical standards for academic conduct, as described in the code, and students should be responsible for knowing those standards.
"While I believe the vast majority of students understand their responsibilities and conduct themselves honorably, there are students who violate our community's standards and, as a result, face significant consequences," the memorandum said.
"The consequences are serious and will literally stick with you throughout the rest of your academic career," Price said.
Many members of the AU community blame the onset of technology for the large amount of students who violated the code.
"Approximately half of the violations last year were Internet-related," Price said. "Many students are closer to the temptation to cheat with the ability to copy and paste things instantaneously. Programs like Adobe Acrobat and the whole entire digital age make the possibility even more real."
Many faculty members hold a strong opinion about the issue of academic integrity.
"It really is the engine that drives the school," said Dr. Haig Mardirosian, assistant dean of Academic Affairs and performing arts professor. "Without the principles of it, writing is not genuine. Academic integrity makes scholarship genuine."
Dr. Abigail Lipson, co-author of "The Responsible Plagiarist," an article published in the July-August 2003 issue of About Campus, said academic integrity is at the heart of any community of learners and scholars and that AU takes this issue very seriously. Her article discusses students who misuse sources unintentionally.
"Both the faculty and the administration are committed to modeling, teaching and enforcing high standards of academic integrity," Lipson, director of AU's Counseling Center, said. "That's why it's addressed in the Student Handbook, in new student orientations, in introductory writing courses, and by individual faculty members in their department courses."
Some students feel the code is not properly enforced.
"I don't agree with the code," freshman Olivia Alubankudi said. "Most people I know don't cheat. I think that the faculty should teach us more about how to cite documents, so we don't get in trouble for little things."
Others said the faculty addresses the issue in ways that don't pertain to students.
"Do you really think that people read those memos? They see the word 'memorandum' and don't look at it," sophomore Aviva Perlman said. "No matter what happens, students are going to cheat. It's so easy to share things with each other. Since most of us live on campus, it's very easy to get together and share our work. There is a very thin line between working together and working together to cheat."
Freshman Liz Janeczko said that the code is a good idea.
"I think it's good that the code makes you think for yourself and that it instills a moral backbone in students that future employers will respect," Janeczko said.
Price went on to say that students are less tolerant of those that cheat.
"National research shows that students are tougher on peers regarding issues of academic integrity," Price said.
"An honest student writes a paper, while another pulls it off the Web ... it's an insult to the rest of the students in the class."
Director of the College Writing program John Hyman explained the importance of bringing the integrity issue to the forefront.
"Academic integrity surfaces because those teaching bring the issue to the surface," said Hyman. "At AU, we are not bashful in talking about it. By talking candidly about the situation, temptation is lessened and the topic is more open, which means fewer students are likely to violate the code."
Some students, agreeing with AU faculty, feel that academic integrity should be taken very seriously.
"I think academic integrity is extremely important because I know I wouldn't want people cheating off of my work," freshman Malorie Sellers said.
The code describes proper conduct for academics, including the rights and responsibilities of students and measures for handling violators. Academic violations include plagiarism, inappropriate collaboration, dishonesty in examinations and papers and work done for one course and submitted to another. The code can be found at www.american.edu/academics/integrity.
