Ethics Issue: Would you report cheating

[AllieRat]

Hypothetical Situation but would you report a cheater if you weren't sure if they actually cheated or not? Let say you see a student writing down the conversion tables from their nursing text onto their desk in pencil. During the test you're too absorbed in getting a good score you don't see them use the written table. Upon leaving you see that their desk is full of erased pencil marks. Do you point this out to the professor without knowing if they used them for sure? Do you assume the professor is already aware of it and pointing it out will make them think less of you. Or do you let them hang themselves since if they doesn't know them now they'll more in likely fail the final which will make them inelligible for the program?

[Alloramadai]

I will continue with my original plan of speaking with our BSN coordinator. However, I found it incredibly interesting that the mean score of our test yesterday was 67 - twice as many people failed as past.

Makes me wonder if the copy of the test that was shared was a good copy? It also shows that simply studying/learning the material provided and not trying to get over on the system pays - I got a B. :)

[tencat]

Hmmmm.......I really hadn't thought about this topic before. I think that if I were in a situation where someone had cheated, I would mention to the instructor that I thought someone was cheating during the test (without mentioning names) and let the instructor decide what to do with that information. I agree with several others that what goes around comes around, and eventually the cheating will catch up with them in one way or another. If they make a huge habit out of cheating and don't learn anything I imagine that they'd run into a brick wall when they go to to take the NCLEX, and they probably wouldn't make it to the point where they were actually out unsupervised among patients. It's hard to cheat on performing during clinicals, so maybe it would catch up with them there.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

A little difficult to report something you're not 100% sure about, and to get results from it.

[AllieRat]

She dropped the program :) decided she never wanted to get into Nursing so why bother with it... Sad thing is they didn't pick anyone in her place so our class this year is 2 people shorter due to early drop outs and they didn't choose replacements. Semester is going well though not feeling overwhelmed (yet) :chuckle

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Makes me wonder if the copy of the test that was shared was a good copy? It also shows that simply studying/learning the material provided and not trying to get over on the system pays - I got a B.

Not every instructor writes good test questions.

[student4ever]

My school has an absolute zero tolerance policy on cheating. We have all signed the honor code, and if I see someone cheating and I KNOW they're cheating, I will definitely say something to the instructor, right then and there. At my school, if you are suspected of KNOWING that someone is cheating and you did not report it, you are considered cheating as well, because you didn't inform anyone. If I saw someone writing things down but didn't actually see them use it, I would tell the instructor that I saw something that looked like it might be cheating, but that I hadn't directly seen any cheating going on. Honesty is the best policy in my opinion. I wouldn't point out any names, unless the instructor actually asked... instructors know who is sitting around you, and are quite sharp (most are anyways) at seeing what's going on. I personally won't jeapordize my A on a test because I don't want to rat out someone for cheating. And I think cheating goes way beyond morals. It's a simple case of stealing. You're stealing information that you're not supposed to have during a test unless you've done your work and you KNOW the information like you're supposed to! Plain and simple. I don't care if everyone in the class hates me because I ratted out a cheater or if I ruined the curve because I knew my stuff. I'm in school to learn, not to play around with this trivial highschool crap of no one does their best because they don't want to be the geeky smarty pants, and cheat so you don't have to waste party time on studying. It may not make me the most favorite student in the class, but I'm not here for a popularity contest! Now if someone wants to study with me or wants help with a topic that I know a lot about, just come ask me, and I'll be happy to help them learn the material. Just don't try and get a free ride off me! PLEASE!!!!!!!