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?
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.
Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
we have to check our papers with turnitin.com. our college pays for it. i think the instructors said to expect about 30% (whatever formula the web site uses to determine words not your own). i was extremely proud since my paper showed only 5% and every part of that was my references, which can be attributed to using apa format for them, so there was no real way to change it.
that cell phone texting thing is rampant, i had to email an instructor concerning it, though i didn't know who did it. for someone with add, it is very distracting to hear things like that in the background as well. they watched things much closer after that time.
thank you for sharing your experience with the plagiarism software. i have heard of this software, but never personally used it. in screening for plagiarism in student works, i look for odd phrases that do not fit the usual writing style of the student, the use of uncommon words in american vernacular such as "whilst," or british english spelling such as "colour." i also assign unique writing tasks that would be very difficult to "buy" over the internet (such as a thesis comparing and contrasting two divergent topics).
texting in class is one of my pet peeves. i address this behavior in my class syllabus. the consequences (if someone is discovered doing so) include being asked to leave the class. i also require students to turn off their cell phones (not just place on vibrate) at the beginning of class. still, it's very difficult for an instructor to detect this activity in a very large classroom.
a new poll conducted by the nonprofit organization common sense media suggests that students are using cell phones and the internet to cheat on school exams. what's surprising, however, is not just the alarming number of students who say they cheat, but also the number of students who think it's ok to do so.
I remember very well the amount of cheating that took place in my university, through my program. Numerous people went forth to complain about the talking during exams, the getting up and walking over to another student to copy their answers, the people who didn't spread out when told to do so, the ones on their cell phones etc. We even had students STEAL our summer pediatrics exam and go run and make copies DURING the class. Obviously the entire class got in trouble for that. There was even one girl who gave birth during one major med surg exam and the professor told her she didn't have to take the test at all!! She ended up passing the course.
I worked my rear end off in school and I was so upset when there was nothing done to these students; they remained in the program and graduated. A few of them were picked for the SNA.
I recommended numerous times to have proctors during exams, but nothing was ever done. I will never recommend my university to anyone, nor have I become an alumni based on all of this. Nursing school was a big disappointment for me.
Its funny there is so much unethical behavior in the classroom makes me wonder if it bleeds over into the workplace even with HIPPA set up to protect the patient. I know cheating was rampant in business school which helps me identify exactly why our economy is in the trouble
Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
Its funny there is so much unethical behavior in the classroom makes me wonder if it bleeds over into the workplace even with HIPPA set up to protect the patient. I know cheating was rampant in business school which helps me identify exactly why our economy is in the trouble
I agree that cheating is pretty rampant in schools... and something should be done to curve it, however..... As far as shutting cell phones off without even the option of placing them on vibrate, as an adult student and mother, I will never, ever render myself completely unavailable to my child in case of emergency and I mean never. if that should land me in the deans office to explain myself well then it must be done but I am an adult and will not be told that I can't ensure my childs safety period
Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
I agree that cheating is pretty rampant in schools... and something should be done to curve it, however..... As far as shutting cell phones off without even the option of placing them on vibrate, as an adult student and mother, I will never, ever render myself completely unavailable to my child in case of emergency and I mean never. if that should land me in the deans office to explain myself well then it must be done but I am an adult and will not be told that I can't ensure my childs safety period
Most educators will make an exception to the "turn off the cellphone rule" if the student approaches them in private. I know I would do so. The main reason that instructors ask that cell phones be turned off is to prevent the annoying habit of texting in class.
In the realm of cheating, we have to think along the sad but true lines of, if your cheating your cheating yourself and your future patients(if you even get that far). So often, students want to challenge the facts about something or they want to over-analyze and question themselves. This behavior is distructive. Listen with an open mind and open ears, partner with your peers for studying, and realize while partnering is great, you must partner with someone who is grasps the issues that you are not understanding. You can't study and surround yourself with someone totally confused, this is counter-produtive.
It is sad to realize how much cheating goes on. I went to school going on 30 years ago, so I guess either I just wasn't aware of it or it wasn't as active as it is now.
I have one thought though- no matter how much these people cheat- they can't cheat while taking boards can they? I know taking boards is different in some states- you can use a computer, but I thought there had to be another person in the same room as the test taker???
It just seems that if a student is going to cheat in school, then they will fail the boards, no?
Maybe I am not 'with it"?
I think people who cheat in school will cheat at work also. It is just the way they are throughout life- a slacker at everything they do.
Let me know about the boards- don't you sit with strict monitoring anymore?
I took my boards in Michigan, and if you had to use the bathroom, the doors to the toilet stalls were taken off, and a monitor actually went into the bathroom with you....
Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
It is sad to realize how much cheating goes on. I went to school going on 30 years ago, so I guess either I just wasn't aware of it or it wasn't as active as it is now.
I have one thought though- no matter how much these people cheat- they can't cheat while taking boards can they? I know taking boards is different in some states- you can use a computer, but I thought there had to be another person in the same room as the test taker???
It just seems that if a student is going to cheat in school, then they will fail the boards, no?
Maybe I am not 'with it"?
I think people who cheat in school will cheat at work also. It is just the way they are throughout life- a slacker at everything they do.
Let me know about the boards- don't you sit with strict monitoring anymore?
I took my boards in Michigan, and if you had to use the bathroom, the doors to the toilet stalls were taken off, and a monitor actually went into the bathroom with you....
As witnessed by the latest political scandals, questionable ethics are pervasive in our society. Higher education is not exempt; some say cheating is rampant. I question the belief that the NCLEX is an automatic failsafe mechanism for cheaters. Some cheaters will pass the NCLEX. Then they will go on to practice nursing on a vulnerable patient population.
To answer your question, the NCLEX itself is almost cheat-proof with its elaborate security. Some cheaters are just smart enough to pass it on their own merits.
VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN
49 Articles; 5,349 Posts
thank you for sharing your experience with the plagiarism software. i have heard of this software, but never personally used it. in screening for plagiarism in student works, i look for odd phrases that do not fit the usual writing style of the student, the use of uncommon words in american vernacular such as "whilst," or british english spelling such as "colour." i also assign unique writing tasks that would be very difficult to "buy" over the internet (such as a thesis comparing and contrasting two divergent topics).
texting in class is one of my pet peeves. i address this behavior in my class syllabus. the consequences (if someone is discovered doing so) include being asked to leave the class. i also require students to turn off their cell phones (not just place on vibrate) at the beginning of class. still, it's very difficult for an instructor to detect this activity in a very large classroom.