Thriving in Academe

How do we keep students honest?

Is anything more frustrating for instructors than dealing with cheating?
by Arthur Crawley, Louisiana State University

Do we simply come down harder on students who cheat, or is another approach possible—and perhaps better?

At one time or another, most of us have probably had to deal with dishonest behaviors on the part of students. Confronting this problem can be both discouraging and disheartening.

This is especially true when scandalous incidents or shocking survey results are reported in the news, undermining the overall credibility of the higher education enterprise. Increasing our frustration are the complex questions that we must address before we can attack the problem.

A faculty member hardly knows where to begin. How do we define "cheating"? What can we do to prevent cheating? What about "cyber-cheating"? How can we encourage academic honesty? How can we uplift our students morally? Should we even be concerned about making the effort?

All of this is even harder when a scandal involves someone from the faculty—whether in teaching or research. Quite simply, academic dishonesty is a betrayal of trust and must be addressed.

I believe that we can do something about academic dishonesty—in positive ways—and, by doing so, we can strengthen the expectation that personal integrity and responsibility are essential for higher learning.

Meet Arthur Crawley
Art Crawley is the director of the Center for Faculty Development at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. With nearly three decades of college teaching and administrative experience, first as a academic and career counselor and now as a faculty and instructional developer, Crawley has developed a keen interest in the ethical and moral development of students and the career development of faculty. He's currently teaching a graduate course on teaching and learning in higher education in the Department of Vocational Education. You can contact Crawley at the Centers for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, 118 Himes Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803 or, via E-mail, at acrawle@lsu.edu.

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