This morning, we had a Microbiology exam and I saw the girl beside me googling the questions on her Blackberry under her desk. I had already finished and turned my exam in (the reason I could look around). It immediately made me fume inside because I study and have somehow managed to obtain two degrees without EVER cheating! I didn't hesitate to get up and walk up to the professor and tell him that she was cheating. She's fortunate I didn't holler out, "Are you cheating?" immediately upon seeing her with her Blackberry, to be honest.
I abhor cheaters, and it drives me nuts thinking that there are people in this class that will study hard, go to tutoring, and struggle to EARN a C, whilst she may "fake" her way to an A.
The trouble is, I'm not sure that the professor was able to observe her doing it himself and at this point it's a she said-she said situation. I guess I want to know what I should do if I see it again?
Should I call her out in front of the entire class?
Totally Agree. There will always be cheaters no matter what school or class you are in. Obviously they don't know the material thus is why they are cheating. They will eventually fail e.g. taking the NCLEX
If it were me I wouldn't bother saying anything only b/c then you have someone you have to watch your back from UNLESS they wouldn't know it was you who snitched, then you could tell the professor to watch out for phones.
Just my 2 cents.
The same person would cheat on the NCLEX if they could. Think for a minute about the incredibly stringent measures taken to prevent cheating on the NCLEX. Why shouldn't there also be measures taken to prevent cheating before you get to the NCLEX? Either what they're teaching you in nursing school is important, or it isn't. If it isn't, then they need to adjust the curriculum. If it is important, then it's important that students learn the material, not just learn how to copy it off of their smart phones.
At the nursing school I attended, anyone caught cheating was immediately expelled. No ifs, ands, buts, or second chances. And IMO, that's exactly how it should be!
Depends on if it is pre-nursing. If the micro is a prereq which they will base nursing school entrance I would call her out in front of the class. Also I think its an issue of integrity. One day that person could be a nurse. Some people can get through nursing school despite the odds. And the NCLEX can be taken as many times as they have money to pay for it.
dont say anything.it will all catch up to her one day. it is the instructors job to be vigil. besides, she cant take that blackberry into any pearson vue testing center and get away with it.
I am of the mind that a wrong committed should not go unchallenged. It doesn't have to be big and loud and dramatic. It can be a simple matter of approaching the person and saying "I saw what you did". "If I see it again, I'll report it"
It's a matter of honor. The person who witnesses the offense and does nothing, is the same as the one who commits it.
You've already had plenty of responses, but I'll add my own, anyway. :) If I were in that situation, I wouldn't say anything in front of the class. What I would probably do is say something to the professor privately about witnessing cheating and leave it at that unless the professor asks for more details. Some schools have a code of conduct that says you should report cheaters -- if yours does, a vague report to the professor would cover you.
My A&P professor doesn't allow us to have anything at our desk during tests except our Scantron and a pencil, although she doesn't say anything about my pencil sharpener or reading glasses (). She makes us line the rest of our things up against the wall before she hands the tests out.
I had a instructor that made us turn our cell phones off and put them on the desk in front of us. She found it hard to believe a student wouldn't have a cell phone.
why are you snitching? just worry about yourself if its not affecting you
Most nursing programs have a policy that if you know about cheating and don't say anything, then you get the same punishment as the cheaters (which is usually expulsion). Would you want to risk your own nursing career just to avoid being called a snitch?
And it also could be affecting her. If this instructor, or other instructors grade on a curve, then the higher grades caused by cheating will result in the OP getting lower grades, an over all lower GPA and possibly hurt her chances of being accepted to nursing school.
This isn't about being a snitch or not, it's about integrity.
There are still people in my nursing class (graduating in 8 weeks) who cheated their way through a&p and who knows how many other classes. Our school has a 95-100% NCLEX pass rate. I sure hope it catches up with them, but I don't think it ever will....
(They were never reported because they were in with the extremely cliquey nursing department professors who have actively run out at least 5 students in my class. Not worth the personal risk.)
My first question (which doesn't really need an answer) is how can the professor let someone get away with this? Our exams were so closely monitored and their were so many rules in place (i.e. could not even have a cup of coffee on your desk) it was nearly impossible to cheat.
OK, back to the issue. I would never call someone out in the classroom during the middle of an exam. It increases everyone stress level, it can negtively imact people's views of you, and it raises questions about your wandering eyes (even if you were done with your exam--no I am not trying to say you did anything wrong, but others may look at it differently; at my school we had to leave the testing room after we were finished with the exam). I would talk to the professor in confidence in his/her office after the exam. At that point they can look into it and choose to act in an appropriate manner. If they choose not to do anything, then tough break for you, but at least you don't have to carry it around and you cannot get in trouble for not doing anything.
why are you snitching? just worry about yourself if its not affecting you
I'm glad most of society doesn't wander through life with this philosophy. It didn't work out so well in World War II with the Jewish population...
Personally I don't want a nurse taking care of me or my loved ones who cheated her/his way through nursing school and the NCLEX.
OP, you don't need to be dramatic about it. You just report it and the professor will deal with it. It gets to not be your business when they are personally dealing with the student.
Eventually, cheating will catch up with her. She won't pass her boards that way. The only way to become a nurse is to pass the NCLEX and she can't cheat on that.
). She makes us line the rest of our things up against the wall before she hands the tests out.
noahsmama
827 Posts
The same person would cheat on the NCLEX if they could. Think for a minute about the incredibly stringent measures taken to prevent cheating on the NCLEX. Why shouldn't there also be measures taken to prevent cheating before you get to the NCLEX? Either what they're teaching you in nursing school is important, or it isn't. If it isn't, then they need to adjust the curriculum. If it is important, then it's important that students learn the material, not just learn how to copy it off of their smart phones.
At the nursing school I attended, anyone caught cheating was immediately expelled. No ifs, ands, buts, or second chances. And IMO, that's exactly how it should be!