Does Cheating Hurt Anyone?

What About the Individual?

Ø Cheating sabotages academic growth. Cheating confuses and weakens the process by which students demonstrate understanding of course content. Because the grade and the instructor’s comments apply to someone else’s work, cheating prevents accurate feedback, thus hindering academic growth.

Ø Cheating sabotages personal growth. Educational accomplishments inspire pride and confidence. What confidence in their ability will individuals have whose work is not their own?

Ø Cheating may have long-term effects. Taking the “easy way” in college may become a habit that can spill over into graduate school, jobs, and relationships. And consider this: Would you want a doctor, lawyer, or accountant who had cheated on exams handling your affairs?

What about the Community?

Ø Cheating jeopardizes the basic fairness of the grading process. Widespread cheating causes honest students to become cynical and resentful. This is especially true when grades are curved and the cheating directly affects other students.

Ø Widespread cheating devalues the college’s degree. Alumni, potential students, graduate schools, and employers learn to distrust degrees from schools where cheating is widespread.