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Dishonesty on the Rise at Rochester

November 5, 2009 RSS Feed Print

Academic dishonesty has reached new heights at the University of Rochester, and the school's Board on Academic Honesty has taken notice.

E-mails sent to faculty and students by the board's chairman, John Givens, remind students and faculty of the threat of academic dishonesty, the Campus Times reports. It was the second message in six years that Givens has sent to students and faculty.

The previous academic year showed a 25 percent increase in academic dishonesty cases and the highest number of suspensions in the past 10 years, the board says. For the first time, the school expelled a student for cheating multiple times, it adds. Givens tells the Campus Times that he fears many more cases went unreported.

"The E-mail messages to faculty and students were meant to remind everyone of the high stakes we all have in maintaining our integrity," Givens tells the Campus Times. "As I wrote in my message to students, academic dishonesty not only undermines the very principles of our academic community, but it also leads to serious consequences. Good habits of integrity learned now will last a lifetime."

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The picture painted by this article is, indeed, somewhat misleading. The story in the Campus Times was brief and, naturally, selective in its use of quotes. One comment I made that did not make it into the CT piece was this one (from my email to the reporter): "I would not say that we are experiencing a plague of academic dishonesty on campus." There was an increase in cases, to be sure, and that increase seemed like a good pretext for starting a conversation about honesty on campus, but that does not by any means indicate that there is an honesty crisis at our university. Also, I did not say that many cases of academic dishonesty go unreported, but rather that academic dishonesty in general is underreported, for a variety of reasons. In other words, it is not that there were even more cases that went unreported last year, but that in general every year there are still instances of dishonesty that are being dealt with by faculty privately rather than through the Board. I sent this email out in part to remind faculty and students about our Board procedures and to point them to resources that can help deter dishonesty. I agree with the earlier postings about Rochester students: the overwhelming majority of them are hardworking, bright and honest students. It is a true pleasure to be part of such an academic community of gifted students and scholars.

John Givens of NY 11:49AM November 06, 2009

I certainly agree with you Bradley. The mass majority of us at the UR are hard working and focused. The mass e-mail was clearly an attempt to diffuse an issue before it got out of hand. Since the e-mail, several people have told me that they were either "shooked" or taken off guard. In that light, it's doing a good job at discouraging future cases.
There are schools that send out e-mails of this nature on a yearly basis. So the fact that Givens felt obligated to send this out twice over the course of six years means something.
This clip can also be misleading. The entire story is focused on the e-mail and Givens role in discouraging dishonesty through the Board on Academic Honesty. If anything, the article focused on scare tactics and precautionary measures more than plague.

Jerome Nathaniel of NY 10:18AM November 06, 2009

As a student at University of Rochester, everybody I know here is tremendously hard working, dedicated, passionate, honest, and well rounded. The students and faculty I have worked with in my two years here have been nothing but brilliant, and that is simply being overlooked by the media. While there may have been a recent rise in academic dishonesty, I'm confident that the total levels are still comparatively low. The only reason such news surfaced, is that the University is making sure to do its job in addressing the issue.

Bradley Halpern of NY 12:41AM November 06, 2009

Dishonesty on the Rise at Rochester

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