A comparison of student and faculty attitudes, beliefs and perceptions related to academic dishonesty

Background: Academic dishonesty is an important issue on every college campus in the U.S. As universities, and public health programs in particular, host growing numbers of students with non-English speaking backgrounds and differing educational practices, reports of cheating and plagiarism have increased. The goal of this study was to examine attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and perceptions of teachers and students regarding cheating and plagiarism at institutions of higher learning.

Methods: For this cross-sectional descriptive study, surveys were distributed to faculty and international students at a midsized Midwestern university. Over 120 faculty members and 140 international students responded.

Results: Nearly half of student respondents reported little or no prior knowledge of plagiarism and 45% indicated that plagiarism is not an important concern in their country of origin. In spite of receiving advice from friends (40%) and warnings from professors (66%), 28% of student responders said they had cheated or plagiarized at least once while in the U.S. Another 6% reported engaging in these practices numerous times. More than 80% of faculty said they had caught students cheating but only 22% believed that international students commonly cheat. In comparison, nearly 34% of the international students said they believe academic dishonesty is common among their classmates. Half of faculty respondents and 44% of student responders think that U.S. students cheat as much or more than international students.

Conclusions: Given the growing numbers of international students entering U.S. public health training programs, the findings of this study suggest more research is needed in this area.