College Exam Cheating and Plagiarism
Cases of exam cheating and plagiarism have risen among college students, causing anxiety among education stakeholders. Academic education and adopting specialization have been identified as possible solutions.
Academic Education
The urge to copy someone else’s works primarily derives from a lack of self-confidence, as students do not believe they are able to produce a better result with their current knowledge. In a qualitative study conducted by Halim and Pangkey (2020), the fundamental reason behind plagiarism was the fact that students were unaware of how to write academic papers in the first place, so they tried to find alternative sources or copy someone else’s work. Additionally, the research by Perkins et al. (2020) demonstrates that the introduction of a full-scale course on academic writing standards may reduce plagiarism incidence by more than 30%. Hence, more attention to the notion of academic education and integrity, including assistance in writing unique academic papers, may serve as a quality initiative when addressing dishonesty.
Adopt specialization
There is too much pressure on students to perform. According to Grades Fixer (2019), students opt to cheat in exams because they are pressured to get good grades. Such pressure can be minimized if students are allowed to specialize in their areas of interest. Many colleges do not offer students options to specialize. Students have diverse interests, and many times the wide content offered does not meet their interests. Specialization can be achieved by reducing the number of subjects or topics covered in courses such as education. This will reduce pressure on students due to workload. Pressure to perform can make students copy (plagiarize) or cheat in exams. Reducing workload will not only reduce pressure on students but also lead to more competent graduates.
References
Grades Fixer (2019). Causes and solutions to student cheating in 3 articles: Cheating in college, rise in student plagiarism cases attributed to blurred lines of the digital world, and studies shed light on how cheating impedes learning. Web.
Halim, W., & Pangkey, J. M. (2020). Reducing plagiarism among the students’ essays in the light of ethical perspective. SOTIRIA, 3(1), 36-42.
Perkins, M., Gezgin, U. B., & Roe, J. (2020). Reducing plagiarism through academic misconduct education. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 16(1), 1-15. Web.