Cheating in the Classroom

Cheating is always a potential problem in the university or college setting. It is very problematic for students, in that their learning is being circumvented. Cheaters will be less competent as graduates. Would you want, for instance, an accountant performing audits in your office who cheated his way through business school?

Cheating in the Classroom

Students who cheat also run the risk of being expelled, if caught. Cheating is problematic from an ethical standpoint, in that students who cheat in school will likely behave unethically in real life scenarios, placing the public at risk. The nursing student who cheats or plagiarizes will later become the nurse who falsifies client records and covers up medication errors.

Cheating is problematic for college programs, in that the integrity and competency of the entire program of study are at stake. If a school of nursing, for instance, has a reputation for student dishonesty, then the public loses respect for that nursing program. Employers will be reticent in hiring new grads from that program, due to the notoriety. The entire program suffers. Honest students are placed at a disadvantage because of the actions of the cheaters.

Types of cheating that occur in the classroom involve much more than the "traditional" passing of notes during exams and the sideways furtive glance at a neighbor's test. Students may store "cheat notes" in baseball caps, pullover jackets (sleeves or capes), written on the inside labels of water bottles, "tattooed" on forearms or scribbled on desktops. More techno-savvy forms of cheating involve the use of texting with cell phones, i-pods, buying textbook test banks over the internet, and sharing information about the exams via virtual means. Entire websites exist to give students advice on the latest techniques of cheating.

What can nurse educators do to safeguard the learning process in the classroom during quizzes and examinations?

Here is a list of suggestions that is by no means comprehensive:

  • Help students know and understand the nursing school's honor code, as well as the ana code of ethics. Also, cover the university or college's academic dishonesty policy and consequences for indiscretions.
  • Require students to spread out during testing (every other seat), if possible. Rotate seating during examinations.
  • Use proctors to circulate throughout the classroom during the test. A rule of thumb is one proctor per every 25 students in a room.
  • Avoid using standard test banks. Create your own multiple choice test items or alter the test bank questions substantially.
  • Use more than one version of the test during each examination. Change examination items significantly from semester to semester.
  • Require students to sign a "no cheating" affirmation on each test.
  • Do not allow cell phones, i-pods, pullover jackets, or baseball caps during the examination. Labels must be removed from water bottles. Bookbags and notebooks should be stored away from the desk (preferably in the aisle).
  • Do not allow students to take unproctored tests online. This is only asking for trouble.
  • If the cps "clicker" system is being used, require students to leave their clickers in the classroom (or remove batteries) after completing the test. Otherwise, students can get together in the hall to compare answers and they can still access and change their responses until the exam is officially "closed out" by the instructor.

I have found, in my experience, that the vast majority of nursing students are honest and ethical. Actual incidents of cheating are rare. Therefore, I caution educators to always treat students with respect and dignity. Avoid creating a suspicious environment in which everyone is "assumed" to be cheating. Cheating is a serious offense and students should be considered "innocent" unless caught in the very act. Still, instructors must remain vigilant. Hopefully, the advice given in this column will help the nurse educator prevent and detect any cheating that may be occurring in the classroom.

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VickyRN

About VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN

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It was widely discussed in my BSN program about the practice of nursing instructors submitting student papers for publication as their own. The nursing school administration confronted my class one day and gave a big spiel on cheating and the consequences and made us sign documents. I sat there and thought to myself, "You people have the nerve!"

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
It was widely discussed in my BSN program about the practice of nursing instructors submitting student papers for publication as their own. The nursing school administration confronted my class one day and gave a big spiel on cheating and the consequences and made us sign documents. I sat there and thought to myself, "You people have the nerve!"

Where were they publishing them? In the Weekly Reader? This definitely would not fly in my CON. I say this after the eye-opening experience of grading scores of undergraduate student papers - many of these would easily pass for high school or junior high school papers :banghead:. Ethical issues aside, none of these papers would qualify for publication.

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

When I sat for my LPN boards, there were of course other people there taking tests for other licenses as well -- not just nurses. About half way thru the test, 4 people come in, went to a person sitting several cubes down from me, told her "get your things and come with us." My first thought was, "things? she has things? I didn't get to keep my things...."

I don't know if she was there for LPN, RN, or some other license, but they took her out and she never came back. I always wondered if she was like the ones in my class that used the "cellphone calculator" to text each other the answers...you may get to do it in class, but they watch you like a hawk during your boards....

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I never had anyone tell me that my papers were worthy of the Weekly Reader. I read plenty of work that needed to be retouched in an ESL class, but that was not my shot to call. I am only stating what went on at my school. It was important enough to be talked about for years and I didn't see anything funny about it. And common sense would say that the instructors reworked the papers to make them ready for publication. Since they got published, somebody thought the original work was up to some standard. Personally, since they felt it necessary to threaten students with expulsion for cheating, I feel the guilty instuctors should have been fired.

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

I agree 100% that the faculty who did this should have been fired. Wow.

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
I never had anyone tell me that my papers were worthy of the Weekly Reader. I read plenty of work that needed to be retouched in an ESL class, but that was not my shot to call. I am only stating what went on at my school. It was important enough to be talked about for years and I didn't see anything funny about it. And common sense would say that the instructors reworked the papers to make them ready for publication. Since they got published, somebody thought the original work was up to some standard. Personally, since they felt it necessary to threaten students with expulsion for cheating, I feel the guilty instuctors should have been fired.

Not disputing what you're saying, but I have heard of PhD students' papers being stolen by faculty to be used in publications (mainly in the peer review process). (Not at my university, however.) This possibly MIGHT occur in Masters programs. It would be EXTREMELY rare for this to occur in undergraduate programs.

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

I was recently at my chemo therapy class where there is this test at the very end. I was surprised when some nurses (not students, RNS), from the university (OHSU) were boldly going over the answers and then arguing over one, too much!!! And the irony to this cheating business, I and others witnessed this. I was to put it mildly, shocked. I even told the instructors (from OHSU) about it while they were grading the tests and they didn't even flinch. Isn't that strange? Shouldn't a university have higher standards?

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Or how about HESI cheating. We were divided into three groups to take the HESI with a lime limit of a couple of hours. The first group started at 830, the second started at 1130, and the third group started at 1300. By the time the 1300 group started, their buddies had already called them with "heads up" on questions that were on the exam.

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Specializes in COS-C, Risk Management.

I taught briefly in an LPN program and cheating was rampant there, as well. The policy was that confirmed cheaters were to fail the class and would need to reapply to the program for the next year. Sadly, had that actually been implemented, we would not have had a graduating class for the two years that I was there. Although exams were well-proctored, I would estimate that 90% or more plagiarized their term papers, at least in part, and the majority of them cut and pasted entired paragraphs from the internet. Several turned in papers that were printed directly from the source, complete with web address at the bottom, and one went so far as to purchse his. What a disappointment.

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

I think what is at fault here is in my situation when given the opportunity to use one's notes and book to take an exam, perhaps the test givers are reluctant to sit and observe us or perhaps believe that all nurses follow a certain law of conduct. As I witnessed, that sadly is not always the case!

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Specializes in Critical Care-Neuro/Trauma ICU.

I don't know how other instructors proctor tests, but we are only allowed to use school issued calculators, bookbags and purses are not allowed in the room on test day, and we aren't even allowed to have a water bottle-even a can of soda. They are VERY strict about cheating at my school...and this past semester we even had a very angry group of subpar students accuse some of the above-par students of cheating on a test.

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