Cheating Violations Fall at West Virginia University
Plus, LSU gets a zing. Plus, Daily Dot misses the mark. Plus, you can help - integrity solution focus group.
Issue 197
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Cheating Cases Drop at WVU, After Test Center Opens
A report in the student paper at West Virginia University (WVU) says that “academic misconduct charges last fall [were] below pre-pandemic levels.”
Though the paper makes the easy mistake of saying that a reduction in cases means a reduction in cheating, they may be right nonetheless - and for some pretty clear reasons.
First, the news:
According to data provided by WVU’s Office of Academic Integrity, all academic misconduct violations decreased by 50% from fall 2019 to fall 2022. During this period, cheating charges dropped by 26% and plagiarism charges reduced by more than half.
While noting:
However, student cheating at WVU was at an all-time high during the pandemic.
Transcribing the story’s bar graph, WVU had 215 cases of "cheating” and 259 cases of “plagiarism” in 2019. Followed by 509 cheating and 225 plagiarism in 2020. Then 210 of cheating and 195 of plagiarism in 2021, with 159 cheating and 123 plagiarism in 2022. Going from 734 in 2020 to 281 in 2022 is a nice decline.
Evan Widders, Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education at WVU said:
that the return to primarily in-person learning and the utilization of university testing centers can be attributed to the vast decline.
The return to in-person, in-class schooling definitely helped. We’ve more or less seen this in other places. But it seems the real catalyst to the reduction was the test center.
From the reporting:
The University Testing Center was opened in the basement of Hodges Hall in fall 2021. Although professors were wary of using it at first, Widders said 70,000 tests were given at the Center in 2021, and 90,000 tests are expected this year.
The testing center’s innovative testing methods such as camera proctoring and the usage of multiple test banks has aided in eliminating specifically cheating on exams, according to Widders.
“[The testing center has] just sort of taken away all the temptation. Students keep their phones because they need to be able to log in to their WVU accounts and get on eCampus, but then they’re told to put it away and everything’s on video,” Widders said.
So, some 70,000 tests were given in a controlled setting, using camera proctoring and reminding students to holster their phones and reported cheating incidents went down. Surprise, surprise.
It’s almost as if unproctored, online exams are linked to cheating. Imagine that.
A Zing or Two on LSU, and Its Celebrity TikTok Athlete
In the last Issue of “The Cheat Sheet” I wrote about the student athlete at Louisiana State University who directed her 7+ million social media followers to an AI-writing website, expressly to help with academic assignments.
I shared how disappointed I was by LSU’s timidity. Aside from warning students that using AI text generators to turn in work as their own “could result in a charge of academic misconduct” - could result - the school did nothing. At least as far as we know.
It seems I’m not the only one who was troubled by the lack of action or interest on the part of LSU.
In a sports column in the Gainesville Sun, writer David Whitley had a few things to say as well:
Hot Blonde Update: [the LSU gymnast] last week endorsed an artificial intelligence-powered app that cranks out term papers and essays. That prompted LSU to warn students that using AI bots could violate the school’s code of conduct.
This is all so 2023. A student/athlete/pinup girl getting paid to basically endorse plagiarism on campus. And her school is either unable or unwilling to do much about it.
Unable or unwilling to do much - sounds right.
The column continued:
Code of Conduct Update: LSU administrators have ruled that any student who can run a 4.4 40 and bench press 450 pounds can use AI programs as much as they want.
Feels right.
It’s also good to see some regular press pick up on the absurdity of the LSU’s inaction on academic integrity. Unfortunately, saying one thing while doing nothing is pretty normal in academic integrity.
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Daily Dot Misses the Mark
This piece in The Daily Dot, and pieces like it, make me crazy.
First, the entire news value of the article is what someone posted on TikTok - supposedly someone having to move mirrors for an online test to comply with proctoring requirements. Must be true, it’s on TikTok. And millions of people saw it, so it must be news.
Second, the article is obviously, simply factually wrong. This, for example:
For a short time, some universities demanded students scan their rooms to show that there were no cheating devices present. This practice was later struck down by the Supreme Court as it was found to violate students’ privacy.
Nope.
It goes on to quote “one user” who wrote:
“Considering that room scans that they used to do were ruled unconstitutional id say them requiring you to rearrange your house is as well”
Why they’re publishing quotes on what’s constitutional from such strong legal minds as “one user,” I have no idea. But unsurprisingly, that’s wrong.
Last week I e-mailed the section editor to suggest a correction to the story. None has been made.
Update: between writing this a publishing it, an editor at Daily Dot responded and said she’d discuss the article with her team.
Class Notes:
I’m working on another Special Edition on Cal Poly Pomona and what they’re absolutely not doing to prevent academic misconduct. It’s surprising to me and has become just too long to squeeze into a regular issue. Aiming to get that out later this week.
I’ll also be at Ellucian Live in New Orleans next week. Not sure if or how that will disrupt the flow of “The Cheat Sheet.” But I will let you know. Thanks for reading.