Ethics and Academics

Ethics in the Real World

What would you do? Your waitress fails to charge you for an entree. You are going to Disney world and your child is 11. Ten and under are considered children and the cost is half of the adult cost. You find a 100 dollar bill outside the GHC bookstore. You find a 5 dollar bill outside the GHC bookstore.

You own a home business. Since you only take cash payments the IRS has no way of knowing your true income. How much income do you report to the IRS? The water ban states that you should not water your yard. Your expensive plants are starting to whither away. You approach a red light in the middle of the night when no one is around. While shopping, you notice a woman stealing a lipstick and putting it in her purse. What would you do?

So, what exactly is Ethics?

Ethics The word ethics comes from the Greek word ethos or character. Definition: According to Webster’s Dictionary it is a set of moral principles defining what is good and bad with the moral duty of obligation. In other words: what a person would do even when no one is looking.

Ethics in the Academic Environment Studies show a high percentage of students claiming some level of academic dishonesty.

What is Academic Dishonesty? Adapted from: Academic Honesty, Plagiarism and Cheating: a self-instruction unit for levels 1 and 2 students. Jenny Moon, University of Exeter

Cheating – taking advantage of or manipulating a situation for one’s own benefit Plagiarism – passing off another’s work as one’s own either intentionally or unintentionally Collusion – passing off another’s work as one’s own; however, it is different from plagiarism in that the owner of the work knowingly allows the other to use his work to deceive another.

What is Academic Misconduct? Academic misconduct is the failure to follow academic honesty standards with the intent to deceive others in order to benefit oneself. Academic misconduct includes: cheating, plagiarism and collusion

Susan writes crib notes on the inside of a water bottle label and takes it with her to the test. Academic Misconduct? Absolutely = Cheating!!

Brent borrows the lab notes from another student in order to figure out how to complete his own experiment. Absolutely = Collusion!!

Chris copies an on-line article and submits it as his own work. Absolutely = Plagiarism!!

After using a book in the library, James hides the book so that it is not available to other students wanting to use it. Absolutely = Cheating!!

Joseph and Mary Ellen are both concerned that they are not fully prepared for their first speech. Joseph goes on his assigned day and earns a C. Mary Ellen s the teacher saying that she is ill. When she returns to class she gives her speech and makes an A. She tells Joseph that the extra day really helped.

Consider… How do you think Joseph feels? Is this fair to other students? Do you consider this fair play? Do you think many teachers deal with these type of issues? Do you think it puts instructors in the tough position of determining truthful and fake excuses? How do you think these situations could be avoided?

COMM 1100 Policy 1)Assignments will not be accepted after the instructor collects them. 2) If documentation is provided, make-ups for tests and speeches will be allowed, BUT notification of the absence must be provided prior to missing the test or speech. 3) Attendance is expected al ALL speech days. 20% deduction on speech grade for each day you miss. 3) Make-ups are not allowed on any other assignments, homework, quizzes, or class activities.

So, is Academic Dishonesty a big deal?

Academic cheating appears to be on rise among college students, MARK MUCKENFUSS, The Press-Enterprise, June 17, 2007, Interview: Glidden professor at UC Riverside “ He says that he suspects, those who are cheating in school are establishing a pattern for their lives.” "It will come out later in life when they cheat on their spouse and cheat on their taxes," he says. "It will keep on going and that's the problem, isn't it?"

COMM 1100 Academic Honesty Policy Unless it is a group project, all assignments are to be completed without assistance from other students (collusion). All speeches should be original creations of the student submitting them and should not rely on the work of others without attribution (plagiarism). Viewing the work or tests of previous or current students to aid in assignment completion (cheating) is expressly prohibited.

According to the novelist John D. MacDonald, "Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won’t cheat, then you know he never will.”