Confronting and reporting cheaters
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Mark Stellmack
Jul 12, 2013, 11:59:27 AM7/12/13
to psy_te...@umn.edu
Confronting students who cheated is time-consuming and uncomfortable, but if you ignore the cheating, it is unfair to the students who performed honestly and the dishonest student has little motivation to stop his or her cheatin' ways.
When you have caught someone cheating, you must first meet with the student to explain the situation and then you must file a report with the University's Office for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity (OSCAI). The OSCAI will call the student to their office to discuss the situation as well. Be aware that if it is a first offense, it is likely that the student merely will be reprimanded and no additional action will be taken. Hopefully, the student will become fearful enough that he or she will not attempt to cheat again in the future. If the student is a multiple offender, he or she probably will face a stiffer penalty. That is appropriate if the student continues cheating after a warning.
So the way to think about it is that the student will only have big problems if he or she has cheated on several different occasions. It is important for you to file a report so that the OSCAI can detect a student's pattern of cheating across different classes.
When you have found what you believe is an instance of cheating:
- Gather as much evidence as possible. If your case is air-tight, your meeting with the student will be much easier.
- Arrange to meet with the student to explain what you know. It is a good idea to have another person (e.g., a TA) present at your meeting so that there is no dispute later as to what was said.
- I usually say something like, "Here is your paper, and here is a published paper containing exactly the same paragraph. What happened?" or "How can you explain this?" Ask questions that are as open-ended as possible. Make the student volunteer information. If your evidence is strong, the student is likely either to fumble for an explanation that is very implausible or to simply admit to cheating. The student may be desperate at this point and may resort to emotional appeals to change your mind. Don't cave in and don't ignore the evidence that you have. If the student were not crying in front of you because of getting caught, the student probably would be laughing behind your back.
- Have a penalty in mind before you meet with the student. (This is when it is important to have indicated possible penalties for cheating in your syllabus.) After you have talked to the student, explain your penalty and that you will report the incident to the OSCAI.
- Don't argue with the student and don't take it personally. Just explain what you know and what you are going to do.
- Follow through. File the report with the OSCAI. Keep copies of everything.
- Move on. Try not to hold a grudge against the student. After you have addressed the situation, treat the student fairly and respectfully and give the student a chance to show you how well he or she can perform in your course.
If you are not sure of how to handle the situation, talk to other instructors who may have dealt with similar situations. Because I teach very large classes, I have had to confront many cheaters.
There is a lot of good information as well as the form for reporting scholastic dishonesty at the OSCAI web site:
http://www.oscai.umn.edu/integrity/faculty/index.html
When you have caught someone cheating, you must first meet with the student to explain the situation and then you must file a report with the University's Office for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity (OSCAI). The OSCAI will call the student to their office to discuss the situation as well. Be aware that if it is a first offense, it is likely that the student merely will be reprimanded and no additional action will be taken. Hopefully, the student will become fearful enough that he or she will not attempt to cheat again in the future. If the student is a multiple offender, he or she probably will face a stiffer penalty. That is appropriate if the student continues cheating after a warning.
So the way to think about it is that the student will only have big problems if he or she has cheated on several different occasions. It is important for you to file a report so that the OSCAI can detect a student's pattern of cheating across different classes.
When you have found what you believe is an instance of cheating:
- Gather as much evidence as possible. If your case is air-tight, your meeting with the student will be much easier.
- Arrange to meet with the student to explain what you know. It is a good idea to have another person (e.g., a TA) present at your meeting so that there is no dispute later as to what was said.
- I usually say something like, "Here is your paper, and here is a published paper containing exactly the same paragraph. What happened?" or "How can you explain this?" Ask questions that are as open-ended as possible. Make the student volunteer information. If your evidence is strong, the student is likely either to fumble for an explanation that is very implausible or to simply admit to cheating. The student may be desperate at this point and may resort to emotional appeals to change your mind. Don't cave in and don't ignore the evidence that you have. If the student were not crying in front of you because of getting caught, the student probably would be laughing behind your back.
- Have a penalty in mind before you meet with the student. (This is when it is important to have indicated possible penalties for cheating in your syllabus.) After you have talked to the student, explain your penalty and that you will report the incident to the OSCAI.
- Don't argue with the student and don't take it personally. Just explain what you know and what you are going to do.
- Follow through. File the report with the OSCAI. Keep copies of everything.
- Move on. Try not to hold a grudge against the student. After you have addressed the situation, treat the student fairly and respectfully and give the student a chance to show you how well he or she can perform in your course.
If you are not sure of how to handle the situation, talk to other instructors who may have dealt with similar situations. Because I teach very large classes, I have had to confront many cheaters.
There is a lot of good information as well as the form for reporting scholastic dishonesty at the OSCAI web site:
http://www.oscai.umn.edu/integrity/faculty/index.html
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