Academic Dishonesty

By Ron Hicks, Associate Director
Conflict Resolution & Student Conduct Services

What is cheating? The answer to this question depends on who you ask. To answer the question, we must expand the term from cheating to academic dishonesty, and then explore the reasons why people cheat. The expanded definition of academic dishonesty includes many different areas including plagiarism, cheating, and providing false information to university officials. Overall, the number of people who cheat is relatively small. The reasons people cheat vary, but share a few common themes.

According to the Colorado State University Student Conduct Code, the document that addresses policies for all students, academic dishonesty can include the following but is not limited to: Cheating, Plagiarism, Unauthorized Possession or Disposition of Academic Materials Falsification, Facilitation of any act of academic dishonesty.

The University community has a duty to create an atmosphere of Academic Integrity, which includes educating students about the policies regarding academic dishonesty as well as the response if they choose to violate the policies. The university has many different ways to educate students about what constitutes academic dishonesty and address ways to respond to people who do engage in this behavior thus creating an atmosphere of academic integrity.

Academic Dishonesty is a significant issue on university campuses and is not treated lightly. Numerous sanctions can be applied when students are found responsible for academic dishonesty, including but not limited to: zero credit for the assignment/exam, failure for the class, dismissal from the university, and many other educational sanctions developed by the faculty, student, and Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services.

One of the most common reasons for violating the academic integrity policies is poor time management. The second most common reason students provide is their assumption that academic dishonesty will not be a problem and therefore, do not talk to the instructor to ask for clarification or assistance when experiencing academic difficulties. The University has many services to assist students in a proactive manner such as the Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct Services, University Counseling Center, the Learning Assistance Center, as well as countless other offices to assist students in their pursuit for academic success. Students can access these services throughout the year; however the earlier students seek academic assistance, the better, as the options tend to be greater with more time and opportunity to plan.