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CardinalFang
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 17th, 2008 |
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 02:31 am |
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One thing that I notice when scanning threads at CC is the calm acceptance of cheating. Certainly not all posters, or even, I'd venture, the majority of posters, but there is a substantial minority of students who see nothing wrong with cheating. Whether it's giving someone else the answers to a test, or accepting admission offers at two different schools at once, some posters vigorously defend actions that, in my view, are dishonest.
I recall one thread where the original poster asked how to respond to someone else copying answers from him on a test. The consensus of the thread was, do nothing. People who said that the original poster should report the cheater were attacked as namby-pamby do-gooders who were callously causing the student to get a bad grade.
How can I find out whether such views are prevalent at schools my son is considering? I don't think my son would enjoy being in a culture like that.
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DesperateDad
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| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 03:46 am |
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| not sure if there is a good answer, cf. Many colleges have "honor codes" but I have no doubt that cheating occurs on some of those campuses. One college that always impressed me was Davidson: students take their finals whenever and wherever they want, unproctored -- all on their honor system. Of course, a take home exam is not unusual on any college campus, but, in essence, this whole college has take home exams (I guess).
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warblers
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 01:28 pm |
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I agree with d-dad; Davidson was the school I immediately thought of when I read the thread title. In addition to the unproctored exams, their honor code allows them to have "community bicycles" that anyone can use! The program I did last summer was through Davidson, and I was very impressed with the honor code. When it came time for the final exam, some of us went down to the local café, ordered a drink, and wrote the essays there. Very nice. 
Haverford is another school that takes its honor code seriously.
Last edited on Wed May 14th, 2008 01:32 pm by warblers
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lfm
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| Joined: | Sat Jul 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | California USA |
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 01:43 pm |
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Caltech is another school that takes the honor code very seriously. Almost all tests are take home. I have heard that on the rare occasion they are given in class, the prof cannot stay or provide a proctor, because that would also be a violation of the honor code.
Harvey Mudd has a similar set up.
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mackinaw
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Michigan |
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 02:46 pm |
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I have to put in a plug for Reed. There is much emphasis that learning is for one's own benefit, and so little emphasis on grades. Much of the work is research and writing, not exams. And IIRC most of the exams that I took were "take home," and usually also "closed book." The typical instruction would be something like: "When you are done preparing for the exam, put away all of your books and notes, open the exam, and spend no more than 2 hours on the exam. Return your completed exam during class on Wednesday." Reed also has an honor code, something they call the Honor Principle, which is not a complex set of rules and procedures (do's and don'ts), but literally a broad statement of principle.
http://web.reed.edu/honor_principle/
Last edited on Fri May 16th, 2008 11:33 pm by mackinaw
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John5616
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 03:13 pm |
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| St. Olaf and the University of Virginia are also a couple of schools that take their honor codes pretty seriously.
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Alumother
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 04:57 pm |
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| Princeton also has a strong honor code. The only instance I know of cheating one kid then was sent home for good, the others made to take a semester off. The code has been in place for at least 30 years if not more.
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MaizeBlue
Member
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 05:52 pm |
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Check out Haverford's Honor Code and Honor Council. http://www.haverford.edu/studentlife/honorcode.php
http://www.students.haverford.edu/code/code.html
"The students of Haverford College bear a great deal of responsibility for self-governance, both academically and socially. The clearest example of the trust placed in the students by Haverford's faculty and administration is the Honor Code— one of the oldest in the country, and one of a very few with a social dimension."
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Deja
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Posted: Thu May 15th, 2008 11:26 am |
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CardinalFang wrote: One thing that I notice when scanning threads at CC is the calm acceptance of cheating. Certainly not all posters, or even, I'd venture, the majority of posters, but there is a substantial minority of students who see nothing wrong with cheating.
I was also dismayed to read how widespread cheating is in many schools (if one would believe it from the CC sampling).
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peabodie
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Posted: Thu May 15th, 2008 12:18 pm |
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| D liked schools with honor codes, particularly Haverford and Connecticut College. Our tour guides at both schools made a point of saying that while they were sure there must be cases where people have cheated at each school, they had never encountered any cases of it happening.
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Descartes
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Posted: Thu May 15th, 2008 02:49 pm |
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Rice is another school that emphasizes an honor code.
Of the 15 or so tours we've been on, only Haverford, Reed, Rice, and Swarthmore made a point of raising the honor code. At Haverford and Reed it was the student guides, not the admissions officers, who mentioned it. In particular, the Haverford guide took 10 minutes out the tour to sit us down and discuss the code's centrality to Haverford life.
An admissions officer at Whitman told us she didn't think the school needed a code because the students behave honorably anyway. I have no reason to disbelieve her, but it was an interesting thing to hear.
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openmind
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Posted: Fri May 16th, 2008 02:07 am |
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| Washington and Lee has a strict honor code. This shouldn't surprise anyone as General Lee was the president of then-Washington College as well as Superintendent of the US Military Academy.
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outwest
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Posted: Fri May 16th, 2008 04:24 am |
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Bryn Mawr also has an honor code. Theirs includes never asking anyone else for any grade received. Since BMC and Haverford seem to have a close relationship, it would make sense that they share this aspect.
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riviera
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| Joined: | Tue Jan 30th, 2007 |
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Posted: Fri May 16th, 2008 06:00 am |
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Honor code at Harvey Mudd:
http://www.hmc.edu/studentlife1/honorcode.html
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jocelynDAD
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Posted: Tue May 20th, 2008 07:37 pm |
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CF: If a student wishes to cheat, no Honor Code will stop her/him. 
As for a 'culture of cheating', if such exists at any school, it will not be known outside of the students currently attending.
In years past, Frats and Sororities have been known to help members with advice on Profs, classes, past exams etc. This is not cheating, but could easily be seen as such.
Most of the colleges that your S is looking at will have high standards and high expectations of their students.
Your S will have to be aware as he visits the schools and interacts with students to seek this 'vib'.
CC and this site only provides a brief and limited view of the current and past students at some schools. Be aware that many posters might still be in HS and are 'venting' not really discussing actual events.
I would suggest having a 'salt shaker' available as you read CC. 
Last edited on Tue May 20th, 2008 07:37 pm by jocelynDAD
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Consolation
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
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Posted: Tue May 20th, 2008 08:05 pm |
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Wellesley has an honor code, and the final exam setup is that you go in and take the final at whichever session you wish during exam period. (There are a few exceptions such as Art History exams that require showing slides: those are scheduled.) I never knew anyone to ask for or give out exam questions or the like when I was there. Many courses have final papers instead of exams, of course.
FWIW, there are some things that some people consider cheating--copying homework, for example, just to get it done--that other people do not.
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