Repercussions of Academic Dishonesty

Repercussions of Academic Dishonesty

The consequences for academic dishonesty such as cheating, unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism and other forms of dishonesties related to academic work can be very serious such as suspension from the program or expulsion from the institute where a student is enrolled. Any violation of the rules given by the instructor of program or deviation from responsible conduct of research may be considered as violation of academic integrity. It is up to the supervisor to decide that how to handle the violations for academic integrity or in simple words, the supervisor is authorized to deal with the academic dishonesty on the part of a student. The instructor or supervisor determines what action are appropriate to take. Such actions may include

1. Allowing the student to redo the assignment for less credit.
2. Assigning a failing grade to that plagiarized or cheated assignment.
3. Assigning the student an additional substitute assignment
4. Withdrawal from the class or course

The action taken for a research project can be in the shape of termination of the student from participation in the research project. In addition to this the supervisor can also file a case before the disciplinary committee to take a strict action against the student for academic dishonesty. The disciplinary committee or board of the institution can impose full range of sanctions including probation for a certain period, suspension for one or more semesters, dismissal from the institute or any other educational sanctions.

In addition to these sanctions which are imposed on student by the university or institute, there are several other consequences which can be faced by the student including serious social, moral, ethical and academic concerns. The moral consequences of cheating includes the habit forming nature of cheating, formation of the habit of shirk work and devaluation of integrity and fairness in life. The formation of habit of cheating in academic activities indicated that those students who are habitual in nature for cheating and think that they can get away with it may continue to cheat on work place, in family life and all the other aspects of life. They always try to search for some middle or easy short way to success no matter how illegal it is, instead of working hard in life to achieve their goal. In long run, this practice of cheating not only affects their personal life but also proves harmful to their family and all those who are affected from their actions of cheating.

Plagiarism is similar to steal away the property of some other person. A person who creates some original work such as some design, piece of writing, some idea, music or art is the sole owner to it. His intellectual property is considered as currency for him. It is also a possible source of income for the original creator. When a person plagiarizes or uses that work without the permission of the original author, this amounts to loss of intellectual property, recognition and possible income for the original author.

Instructors are unable to accurately access the performance of that student who plagiarizes or cheats for his academic work. They cannot evaluate the skills of the student of mastery of his knowledge which is necessary for his field. Academic dishonesty results in granting the grades to that students who do not deserve those grades. This practice can create serious harms for these type of students in workplace because they are incompetent and obtain that position fraudulently. When credentials are granted to those students who have committed academic dishonesty and do not deserve those credentials, confirming that these students have successfully completed the program or course, causes harm for not only themselves but also prove harmful for the workplace and for the society. For example a student who is habitual for cheating and academic dishonesty if awarded with the grades, starts practicing medicine, law or engineering for earnings, can cause serious harms to the public safety. Academic dishonesty in practical concerns also put an ultimate impact on employer’s choice for choosing alumni. The person who have obtained grades dishonestly if hired for some post, is not able to work efficiently. His potential incompetence will be a great hindrance in the work place. This incompetency of graduate will reflect badly on the graduate alma-mater and the employer will change his choice regarding the hiring of further graduates. This will badly harm the employment prospect of the future graduates. They will not be hired by the companies or will be hired for very low package.

...