It’s the end of the semester and you’re worried about your grade. It would be really simple to just look over at someone else’s test, or take that paper you saw online. But ask yourself ” Is it worth it?”

Scholastic dishonesty is a topic that professors discuss with students not only at the beginning of the semester, but also all throughout the year.

Assistant Director for Student Judicial Affairs, Todd Wollenzier said his staff tries to prevent scholastic dishonesty by “speaking at orientation and get invited into classrooms by faculty.” Judicial Affairs also works with the faculty “on how to work their syllabus and also provide faculty with brochures and web site information to give out to their students,” Wollenzier said.

However, some students cheat on esams in a variety of ways. 

“I have seen people put answers around their water bottle” said Freshman Biology major Meghan Contreras. “I once saw a guy put a note cart in his baseball cap during a math exam.” 

In “big auditoriums people will put reviews by their feet” said Freshman English major Ryan McQuade.

Most people either have stories of what they have seen in regarding scholastic dishonesty or what they themselves have done. There is a misconception though that all scholastic dishonesty is cheating on a test. “There are four major categories [of scholastic dishonesty]: plagiarism, cheating, collusion, and falsifying an academic record” said Wollenzier.

According to the Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP), “any student who commits an act of scholastic dishonesty is subject to discipline” and the student’s discipline records will be kept with the office of Judicial Affairs, separate from students’ academic records such as transcripts.

When students are accused of scholastic dishonesty, they can request a hearing with a judicial hearing officer. If students are found guilty of scholastic dishonesty,  students can appeal any decisions made within a 14 day period after the date of the decision. 

If a student is found guilty of a  violating the student code of conduct,  the punishments could vary from disciplinary probation, suspension for the institution, revocation of degree, and any other punishment deemed necessary.

After all the work the faculty and staff go through to warn students to not be academically dishonest, why do students cheat?

“The majority occurs when papers are due, to maintain a grade, or to advance to a better grade” said Wollenzier.

Finals are a time when students feel the most stress and also a time when the most cheating occurs.

Wollenzier said “I don’t think its common, does it happen yes, but my personal belief is that it’s not common.” It seems that students have realized it just doesn’t seem worth the hassle.