Update about the student who cheated:

[Quantess]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018215706

I went ahead and let the teacher know about the cheating I had witnessed, via anonymous note, the day after the final exam. No names mentioned, just enough details to make it easy to figure out who it was.

Today I found out the student did NOT pass the class.

I was with 2 other serious students from class, when the cheater, sad eyed, told us that she has to take the class over again.

[HopeHoops]

1. In my fourth semester of Russian in college, they were passing around crib sheets.

I refused to take one. Another student arrived just in time for the exam. The cheaters all got good marks on the test. The two of us without the crib sheets did not (as in C's). A significant portion of the test involved vocabulary we hadn't gone over and apparently the crib sheets had these words on them.

I confronted the professor (who I suspect created the cheat sheets for her sycophants) and both of us got to retake the test (different version) and got good grades. I took the matter to the dean, but nothing came of it. She knew the others were cheating. I could read it on her face. She even left the room during the exam and the cheaters were openly discussing answers. I did my best to avoid listening.

You are to be commended for following through on the cheating. It undermines the entire educational process. I graduated magna cum laude with two degrees and a concentration in foreign language. Those degrees only have meaning if the integrity of the testing process is upheld. I worked hard to get there. I want that to mean something. I didn't take the anonymous note route, but whatever works is good. Then again, I'm an "in your face" sort of person.

Perhaps the most important thing you can take away from this is that you taught the cheater a lesson. She won't forget that failure.

[Quantess]

2. I think it was justice, what happened. No punishment.

She just has to take the class over again, and actually show up to class and do her homework! Oh that was another thing, the teacher told her she was missing too many assignments.

It's ridiculous to cheat at something as vital as the official language of the country you live in! That's like an immigrant to America cheating at Engish as a Second Language class. What's the point?!

In your case an anonymous note wouldn't have done any good. IMO, the diploma or grade or whatever is of secondary importance. You're supposed to actually have learned the material! What a concept, LOL.

[HopeHoops]

11. Funny, but "learning the material" is why I went to college in the first place.

[laundry_queen]

3. This is a tough thing to deal with

in my first year of University, there was so much cheating going on. Our program requires laptops and quite a few people were using them to cheat. Some would open up a cheat file during a test and if the instructor came around, they'd close the file, then re-open when the instructor wasn't looking. There was one particular group of Chinese students that would email each other the files and try to pass them off as their own. The thing is the instructor can actually tell when they are handed in which computer they came from so they were 'caught' but all the instructor said was, "If I catch anyone again passing around files and submitting copies, they will get a zero." That same group was caught instant messaging each other in Mandarin during an exam. In that case the program chair caught them, but then left it up to the instructor to deal with it. The instructor then let them go with a warning, as she said, "because I can't prove what you were saying to each other, but no more IM'ing during an exam".

It's such a piss-off to me, because our school is supposed to have very strict anti-cheating rules (ie, the first time you are caught is supposed to be an instant class fail, second time is supposed to be explusion, although there is an appeals process. From what I understand it's so much paperwork that the instructors avoid it if they can, which makes the policy toothless) and I work friggen hard for my marks. That anyone would graduate from my program with only a basic understanding of the material because they cheated gives my whole program a bad name if that person enters the workforce and doesn't know what the fuck they are doing.

Good for you for telling. A classmate of mine and I had to report another student (we were doing groupwork and she wouldn't participate, and then stole another assignment and handed it in as her own) and not much was done, but she, too, failed that class. It was some comfort. As I get higher up though, there is far less cheating, as the cheaters get overwhelmed with the material eventually or get caught and so they are no longer with us in my 3rd year.

[kiva]

5. I think that your last sentence is the key.

Cheating is rampant in college, and instructors get massively frustrated dealing with it - I know I do. Most of us also know that even if we don't catch them someone else will catch them, or they will simply reach a level in their work where cheating does not help.

I tend to give them one chance and tell students who have plagiarized that they get a zero for that assignment and if they do it again I'll turn them over to the student conduct code committee. So far it's worked - they either stop cheating or drop my class.

[Quantess]

6. That reminds me of when I was in high school AP English

and we had to read a mind-bogglingly tedious book "Jude The Obscure". It was just way too boring to endure, so I read the Cliff Notes instead. (Cliff Notes. Does that reveal how old I am?)

Anyway, the teacher apparently knew what was up, and wrote CLIFF NOTES several times in red pen on my assignment. So that was the last time I tried that.

[kiva]

8. Sometimes it just takes being caught out once.

I can see the thought process - I'm busy, this class isn't my major, I should spend more time on other classes, my boss called me in to work early...and on and on. So yeah, I'm good with one warning - the serial cheaters will bail and find a class where they think they can get away with it.

Any my sympathy for Jude the Obscure - I've not read it, or even the cliff notes (yes, I know what they are...Dante's Inferno, anyone?)

[Quantess]

9. Yes, you can see the thought process.

That teacher was mean spirited, and I think she made us read Jude The Obscure just to torment us. I have not read Dante's Inferno (or should I say, I was never forced to read Dante's Inferno!), but at least it would be more culturally relevant than that bilgewater of boredom "Jude the Obscure" we were forced to read.

I had good luck with other high school english teachers, who had us read mind-altering greats like "1984" , "Brave New World", "Scarlet Letter", "The Great Gatsby", "Lord of the Flies". We got to read "Pride and Prejudice", one of my favorites, although some football players complained.

I remember how the high school football heroes got glorified treatment, even in English class. Teachers should leave their athletic admiration at the door. It's my friday night.

Edit to add: yes, I can understand cheating, if you are taking the class only because you have to and you don't think it will add any value to your life. However, this was the equivalent of an immigrant to USA cheating in their ESL class.

[kiva]

12. My worst read was Pamela.

It just went forever, and halfway through I was hoping they all would die *spoiler* no such luck.

I understand why someone would cheat but I also support heavy penalties - suspension and expulsion - for serial cheaters. If a student gets busted once and learns...good. After that, the reasons don't matter. If you don't have time to do the work, then drop a class or do what you need to do to make time. If you are not capable of doing the work you shouldn't be in the class - get out, do whatever remedial work you need to do, then take it again. If you're too lazy, leave college and do something that you're not too lazy to do.

And yeah, the example you gave is pretty much laziness...now go !

[HappyMe]

4. Good.

I'm glad.

[riderinthestorm]

7. She used Google translate. Of course she failed. nt

[Quantess]

10. So many reasons why she failed the class.

#1 hardly ever showing up to class
#2 not doing a lot of assignments
#3 using google translate to write an essay exam
#4 an anonymous tip she cheated