I absolutely do NOT understand why adults choose to cheat in a computer class.  They have PAID to be here to better themselves, increase their earning potential and further their abilities in their chosen field.

What good does it a persons do to cheat in a basic computer class?  We provide FREE tutoring!!!

This is a Basic Microcomputer Class, it is intended to HELP you as you go to other classes to prepare reports, spreadsheets, and presentations using MS Office suite!

If they get caught (and tonight makes number 9,10,11 and 12 that have been busted) they must withdraw or receive an "[b]F[/b]!!!"

To top it all off, the students have already been told by myself, and others who have been caught, that it is not worth the risk!

GEEZ!  

TheRedGoat

PS.   Now, even though I have hard proof in my hands of identical prinouts on individual 'free form' problems (no two should EVER be alike, period!) I must listen to four people lie to me (they always do) and then argue with them over the 'evidence.'  

Then ANOTHER meeting with the Dean to discuss this problem!!!

Catch this, of the [b]12[/b] caught [b]8[/b] are from the SAME class!!!  

Stupid, idiotic thing to do in a fundamentals class with less than a month left in the class.

Simple, flunk them, 'the world needs ditch diggers too you know"

When you hand 'em their [b]F[/b], say: "Would you like fries with that?"

Continue to maintain your standards. They cheat because in most situations there no longer are any consequenses even if they should be caught. Often the appeals process potraits the student as the victum. Likewise, policies regarding proper credit of original works and siting source material are seldom enforced as well.

Those students willing to cheat have not yet been taught that confidence comes from the mastery of a skill or feild of knowledge; not merely a warm and fuzzy grade.

Dan

You've got an honor code at your school/ community college?  Turn to that.

Thank you all for letting me vent my irritation and anger.

I met with the Dean this morning and I know I have his full support.  I showed him copies of the work, and I discussed the problem with another Computer Science faculty member.

To make a long story short, my syllabus (a binding contract between myself and the students) clearly states...

"Students are expected to uphold the school's standard of conduct relating to academic honesty. Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit. [i]The guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that a student's submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be that of the student's own work.[/i]"

[b]The penalty for violating the honor code is severe. [i]Any student violating the honor code is subject to receive no score for the work and/or a failing grade for the course.[/i] If a student is unclear about whether a particular situation may constitute an honor code violation, the student should meet with the instructor to discuss the situation in advance.[/b]

Four new "F's" in the gradebook.  

TheRedGoat

Honest dean Martin... I can't lie to ya!  I didn't do it!
-Rodney Dangerfield

I have only had this happen ONCE this semester.  One student allowed another to borrow a disk containing Part 1 of an assignment.  Part 1 was required to complete Part 2.

Both students immediately explained why part 2 was identical, apologized (sincerely), understood they would receive NO credit for the assignment (this means they are no longer exempt from their Final Exam) and did NOT argue about it.

Their stories matched.  One student had lost Part 1 and just wanted to avoid retyping the assignment.  It was obvious that both had done 'some' seperate work, but some 'identical parts' were containded in each.

Every other instance, both parties lied, changed their stories, backtracked, lied again and tried to mislead me again.  

TheRedGoat

dont let them accumulate too much bad karma, fail them now. youre doing them a favor in the long run.

When I was in college, so many people, who were members of ACM, CHEATED BIG TIME! It was all organized, mainly with ACM, and they threw the curves in most of the CS classes!

I mentioned it to the profs, and they did nothing (since they are helping the ACM).

Also, I noticed around here, that the local college teachers don't really grade the programs or tests. I know two girls, who could not program C++ for the life of them, and did horrible on all of their tests for several semesters. You should see their programs! They always got A's on them, and they would NEVER function, or compile! go figure. I wrote a couple of their homework programs, just for practice. My friend gave them my programs to turn in for their homework, and of course, they got an A, and so did all the other people! The teacher never even looked at the code to see that it was WAY TOO ADVANCED (I mean complex as hell, with hardly any lines of code, using recursion, etc.) for what the student was learning and doing on tests... go figure! (Also, sometimes they would all turn in the same code, and the teacher didn't even notice!)

They graduated with a Computer Science Degree!


I have seen SEVERAL people that claim they have the experience, they get hired, they get high salaries, and usually do crappy programming. They somehow either fit right in, or have to move on until they find a place that will either train them or they don't care...