Is this cheating?

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

IMO, yes, this is academic dishonesty and I would think it is addressed in the programs guidelines. I would also hope that an astute nursing instructor would have an inkling as to whats going on.....

I just want honest opinions on whether or not you would consider this to be cheating. Advice, suggestions, etc. welcome.
So it is obviously far from possible to offer classes one time for every student in the program to take together. The issue is is that there is always a class taking an exam before another class. The issue with that is that some teachers do not have the time to make multiple tests.
Some students have taken this opportunity to find out what the exam is like, and what is on the exam. Other students (not me) are giving students exact questions from the exam. Is this fair? Obviously the other classes are getting higher marks because they know what is on it, what EXACTLY to study, and EXACT questions.
In my eyes... this is cheating. This is Nursing school... not some underwater basket weaving 101 class. You need to know the material.. all of it, and you need to learn it and retain it to be able to apply it. If you are just getting the questions from the exam from a student who took the exam before hand, you are hurting yourself, and your potential future patients. This has just about ruined friendships for me because I'm not giving my "friends" the information they want for when they take the test. So now I'm only a friend when they want information.
Any input? I'm pretty fed up. I'm not jealous by any means. I work hard, and I get the grades I deserve. I've aced all exams to this date so far. I just get hounded by people.. "what was on the exam?" and I'm tired of it. I don't take an easy way out and I'm rather appalled that people in Nursing school would. I'm in Nursing school, stressed studying because I need to know this information and I'm expected to hand people an easy grade by telling them what was on the test instead of studying? Wth is wrong with people?!

Certifiable, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

I really believe that making a class take the same test right after another class already did it is extremely stupid of the administration. Cheating? I don't know.... but I agree with the above poster, that there is something very dishonest about it and it would make me as uncomfortable as you seem to be.

My university is lazy and doesn't invent 100% new questions for each test - maybe 80% is new, and they know that every year writes down the tests to pass on to the year below. They don't consider it cheating. Just irksome :)

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

If you steal the test and used it for an unfair advantage........that's cheating.

Cheat (disambiguation) Cheating is to take advantage of a situation by the breaking of accepted rules or standards.

Cheating refers to an immoral/unethical way of achieving a goal. It is generally used for the breaking of rules to gain advantage in a competitive situation. Cheating is the getting of reward for ability by dishonest means. This broad definition will necessarily include acts of bribery, cronyism, sleaze, nepotism and any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate criteria. The rules infringed may be explicit, or they may be from an unwritten code of conduct based on morality, ethics or custom, making the identification of cheating a subjective process. Cheating can refer specifically to marital infidelity. Someone who is known for cheating is referred to as a cheat in British English, and a cheater in American English. A "cheat" does not have to cheat all the time, but once faced with a challenge that they do actually want to win, they will go back to their cheating strategies.

Academic dishonesty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

itsnowornever, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

I always refused to talk about tests to another class. If I did, man you better believe I scared the pants off of them! LOL! I told them it was so hard, I didn't know any of the answers, I dont even know if the material was in the book! LMAO! I really scared them. I do think it is cheating, lets look at the authority of tests in our world, NCLEX...you sign a paper before testing that states that you will not talk about specific questions or topics, if it is found that you do, your license is at risk and you can get into legal trouble. That being said, yes, I think it's cheating.

zoe92 · Oct 5, 2012

That is definitely cheating. I hate the people who want to know specifics on exams so they don't have to study as much.

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

Yes its cheating and Im actually surpised it is going on. Im at a pretty big university and am part of a big class where we have had been split so that some take the class in the am and some in the pm or different days even but Ive never heard of anyone cheating. whats teh point seriously at this time in our education. It's dumb if you ask me. Besides being cheating, dishonest, and risking their future. Wow..I mean teh most people would say is oh it was bad or it wasnt too bad, but for me I try to avoid that as well because I don't wanna go in thinking I'm going to fail and its always so different for everyone.

jennylouwho · Oct 5, 2012

We go through this every term, and our instructors tell us it's cheating. If someone asks me, I'm always evasive and say things like "if you've studied the objectives you'll do great" as our tests are supposed to be from the objectives. I don't give specifics. That said, one of our instructors tried telling us that it was cheating to discuss the test with fellow students even if we'd all taken it already. Um, how is that cheating? No one is gaining anything, except perhaps a better grasping of the question. There have been times a student explained the question to me and I'm like "that's what they were asking with that wording?".

3aremyjoy · Oct 5, 2012

Yes, it IS cheating, no doubt about that!

One thought to console yourself with regarding the other class' artificially inflated grades is that while they may get stellar grades in school, when it comes to writing the board exams they will have no one pro prep them for that one, and will probably not do well at all.

We are the only ones responsible for what goes into our minds to prepare us for the boards. Taking the lazy way out will not prosper them in then end!

ixchel · Oct 5, 2012

I'm team cheating. That's not cool. And even if you were jealous, you'd have every right to be. How nice would it be to walk into an exam after studying the exact things you know will be on it? I'd be jealous of the time that person saved! Not enough to ask for exam info myself, though. These people are hurting themselves and potentially their patients by not learning ALL of the information before an exam. I think you should report this to the instructor who gives the exam.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

Of course it's cheating. If the faculty isn't doing the stats to indicate that the second section always has a higher average than the first, and the third is the best of all, they aren't doing their job. It's unfortunate that the first section students don't look as if they studied as well, are as smart, or whatever. So...do you have a student government rep that can address it? An anonymous suggestion box? A counselor in the student health department who can communicate these student concerns in confidence? An instructor you trust to pass the info along?

unicoRNurse · Oct 5, 2012

In an effort to combat that form of cheating (among others), my program has developed an exam security protocol. We are not allowed to discuss the content or nature of any quizzes or exams with any other student, period. Doing so is grounds for expulsion from our program. Exam reviews are scheduled by the lead instructor for the course - normally half an hour before and half an hour after a specified class. It's first come, first served, with a maximum of four students at a time allowed to review the exam in the presence of an instructor with one of four numbered keys. If you can't make it to exam review, you have to schedule an appointment during the instructor's office hours. The academic honesty policy is included in our handbook and in every course syllabus, and we have to sign a document specifically pertaining to the "no talking about exams" portion of the policy.

Sooo, yeah. That definitely constitutes cheating in my world.