Never call it cheating
Some "cheating" is innocent and reflects novice students' lack of familiarity with the need to properly attribute sources or a misunderstanding of the requirements of needing to do original work. Calling them a "cheater" is counterproductive. Even those who blatantly cheat will be reactive and hostile to the term. Diplomatic word usage is strongly advised until you can determine if they erred out of ignorance vs. out of malice.
Hello William,
I agree with your point. "Cheating" can be sure a stanch word and brings a large level of negativity to the situation. I like to use academic dishonesty, rather than cheating.
Academic dishonesty is more appropriate as it refers the student back to the student handbook besides the word "cheating" is a very offensive word.
-Beverly
Hi Beverly,
This goes along with not what you say, but how you say it. Cheating for us in our handbook is worded as "Violation of the Honor Code."
Patricia
If it was accidentally or without desire to cheat, then it's not cheating, it's ignorance.
Cheating is trying to get away with something.
Calling it something else doesn't change what it is, and being "politically correct" about a title is no help either. If it's offensive, deal with it. Perhaps by being offended they won't do it again.
I believe that once you have made a statement such as "cheating" then you have drawn a line in the sand, so to speak. In cases such as these it becomes a lose/lose situation. The student will deny and the Instructor will have to prove the case of cheating. I find it better to have all the documentation in order to prove the student was cheating; however, approach as if you are just curious and asking some basic questions. It seems that if approached in an a manner of concern rather than blame they will do whatever to prove that they can do it on their own.
Hi Byron,
Never accuse a student of cheating without evidence/proof.
Patricia
I agree, Christopher, sometimes we need to risk offending to be clear. Cheating IS offensive! To those of us putting in the effort to help our students learn, to their fellow students who DID DO the work, and to our institutions that work to be places of integrity and support in learning.
BUT, for the occasion where the offense is not quite "provable" or tends to the "innocent" (I.e., 'we worked together on the homework') but I still BELIEVE it to be cheating, I will often say: "well, what we have here is a single assignment. I grade the assignment, not the student. So, the two (or more) of you can share the grade. I'll give you a minute alone to decide how you'd like to divide up the points. One of you may take all the points, you can divide them in half, or divide them any other way you'd like. I'll give you a minute now and then you can let me know of your decision."
I agree with this. I'm always disappointed when someone is failed for MLA citations when they simply didn't understand what they were doing because it was their first time.
On the other hand, I have zero tolerance for cheating. What's "cheating" in college is business-destroying intellectual theft in the real world; at best they'll be blacklisted from ever working in their industry again, and at worst there can be jail time. Taking a hard line now is the best thing you can do for them.
