Re: Attention Experienced Professionals

From: Alan <alan_at_erols.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 09:03:26 -0400
Message-ID: <2svekuF1pqvj5U1_at_uni-berlin.de>


"Louis Frolio" <froliol_at_yahoo.com> wrote in message news:94c28610.0410110443.69fcb8c2_at_posting.google.com...
> ats <damorgan_at_x.washington.edu> wrote in message
news:<1097466882.758451_at_yasure>...
> > Laconic2 wrote:
> > > Alan,
> > >
> > > I believe you.
> > >
> > > But I think it's just a symptom of a deeper problem.
> >
> > Which, I presume would be, the lack of ethical behavior in our society
> > and the lack of pressure from peers to behave ethically?
> >
> > Daniel Morgan
>
>
>
> I would not presume that it is just a problem in our society; in some
> cultures cheating is an accepted means to an end. While in graduate
> school many of my colleagues were from around the world: China, India,
> Germany, etc. There was an incident in one of my classes where one of
> the foreign students got busted for cheating on a rather important
> assignment. When confronted this person vehemently insisted that he
> did not do anything wrong and that his actions " .. were perfectly
> within accepted boundaries .." back home. If I were the prof I would
> have given him his walking papers, especially being that this is
> graduate school and it is understood that you are there because you
> have a specific interest to be there. This person pleaded his case so
> well that he was given a chance to redo the assignment which set off a
> mini revolt against the prof who gave him a second chance.
>
> Louis V. Frolio

I was aware of the cultural differences. It's understandable in countries with huge populations and little opportunity- you'll do anything to get ahead- but that's why I emphasised that cheating would not be tolerated in my class. The one incident that involved an American student was borderline, but the person was still penalized. When I was a grad student at this same school (not all that long ago), the students observed a fellow student (the one foreign student in the class) cheating on a mid-term exam. We met during the break, and decided to report the student to the professor. She was expelled. Today, the classes are about 75% foreign students. A few were very good, but most of them should not have been admitted, IMO. Universities are a business, and some tread a line between increasing their enrollment ($$$), and protecting their reputation. If a foreign student is expelled, there is a near 100% chance that they will be sent home. If a school gets a reputaion among the foreign students for being tough on cheaters, they will likely go to a different school. This would not play into the need for increased enrollment, so some schools tend to be lenient. I have a friend who teaches at another school who reports the same problems.

Note that I am not a xenophobe, but what I observed is what I observed, and I will not be "PC" just to be "PC". Received on Mon Oct 11 2004 - 15:03:26 CEST

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