D.C. Fire Fighter Cadets Caught Cheating

Plus, UCLA's odd responses. Plus, Baylor University and Quizlet.

Issue 124

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D.C. Fire Cadets Cheating

According to news out of The District, fire fighter cadets have been caught cheating on their exams and the headline is dramatic:

Half of D.C. Fire Cadet Class Fails Out, Cheating Found

Officially, only three cadets were caught cheating, the rest of the non-qualifiers failed their exams. Though, the reporting isn’t clear as to whether those two things are related - whether they failed because they were cheating, for example.

More distressing, the news report says that catching three would-be fire fighters cheating does not mean only three cheated. According to the authorities,

There were insufficient facts to determine if the testing process was violated by the other members of the class

Yikes.

In other words, the D.C. fire department simply can’t be sure whether some of their cadets cheated or not.

Baylor University Student: Use “Study Apps” Such as Quizlet

A “staff writer” at the student newspaper at Baylor University penned a piece recently that informed fellow scholars what “study apps” were the most popular.

First on their helpful list: cheating provider Quizlet.

The student writes:

Quizlet is arguably the best study app. With flashcards, testing, learn and matching games, it makes studying fun and personalized. The learning option is the best way to cram for a big test. I like how it quizzes you over the questions you missed and asks the questions in a different format. Another cool feature of Quizlet is the ability to share the flashcards, which help out your desk neighbors when they’re in need of a review

The story’s main image incudes the Quizlet logo and a cute owl. Adorable. Because Quizlet is “the best” and “fun” and “the best way” and “cool.”

I feel for administrators at Baylor the next time a student faces discipline for using Quizlet or one of its cousin “learning apps” to cheat. That, I fear, won’t be quite as fun or cool.

UCLA’s Non-Response to Student Athlete Endorsement of Quizlet

In Issue 123, we’d noted that cheating provider Quizlet was enlisting college athletes to be “student ambassadors” - including a gymnast at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Being curious as to whether this particular ambassador was paid by Quizlet and what the school thought of a student athlete endorsing a cheating company, I asked them.

Mostly I was curious because UCLA has a rather strong policy on academic misconduct. It’s one that, in my view, other schools should emulate. It says, for example, that:

academic integrity is of paramount importance to our institution and it is vital that the institution do all within our power to maintain these standards.

“Do all within our power” is a pretty high bar and, I think, entirely justified.

If academic integrity is really “of paramount importance,” as most every school claims it to be, I don’t know why any school would do less than everything it can to maintain it.

The UCLA policy also smartly calls out specific cheating providers by name:

Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the use of unauthorized materials (including online sources such as Course Hero, GitHub or Chegg), information, or study aids in any academic exercise

Good for UCLA. I really wish more schools would make this point clear - that Chegg, Course Hero and other “unauthorized materials” and “study aids” are not allowed. Spelling it out makes it easier to address the “I didn’t know it was cheating” reply and also sets an example to others when Chegg and their ilk disingenuously say their services aren’t cheating. I mean, when it comes to academic conduct, who do you trust - a private, profit-driven company selling a product or UCLA?

I trust UCLA to know what is or is not cheating, especially when it comes to their school and what value their degree holds.

My point is that UCLA’s policy is, by comparison, really solid. It’s their practice, I am now less sure about.

When I asked about UCLA having an athlete publicly endorse a well-known cheating company, the school pretty much ignored the question.

A spokesperson for the UCLA athletic department said that they did not comment on athlete endorsement deals. When I pressed a bit and asked whether or not they would know if a student athlete was being paid, they said athletes were required by law to disclose deals “to the best of their ability” but, again, would not comment on whether they knew anything at all about the Quizlet arrangement. The spokesperson suggested I ask Quizlet whether or not they had paid a UCLA student athlete.

Further, even though I asked twice whether a student athlete endorsing Quizlet raised any flags related to the school’s policies on cheating, no one addressed it at all. It’s like I never even asked.

I should be reassured, I guess, that UCLA didn’t simply fire off the boilerplate response of how seriously they take academic integrity. Still, ignoring the issue doesn’t seem to match up with their commitment “that the institution do all within our power to maintain [the] standards” of academic integrity.

My point is that some universities have good, even very good, academic misconduct policies. And more schools should invest more time in making sure they specifically cover things such as Chegg and Quizlet. But policies themselves do nothing and ignoring them may be worse than not having them in the first place.