University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

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E 1 : E : .2 0 5 Z Although a University Committee reported 482 incidents of cheating, many were left unpunished. Dishonesty Studied by Steve Lozano s part of a re- newed plan to curb student dishonesty during the 1984-85 year, a faculty board began studying cheating by Santa Clara students. A sur- vey by the Academic Integrity Committee cited 482 incidents of cheating in 1982-83. We wanted to raise the issue, said John Stewart, Ph.D., anthro- pology! sociology pro- fessor and member of the commitee. It had not been raised enough. As members of the committee, Dr. Stewart and Carol White, Ph.D., of the Philos- ophy Department stud- ied student dishonesty with a hope to create alternative policy op- tions to foster greater academic integrity. The committee sur- veyed over 160 SCU professors and discov- ered that the respon- dents were aware of 482 cases of cheating in 1982-83. Further- more, the committee's report stated that pre- vious reports and stu- dent interviews sug- gested that the fre- quency of dishonesty is significantly greater than that observed by faculty. The committee re- port also outlined eight disciplinary measures taken by faculty in re- sponse to student di- shonesty. Approxi- mately half of the time professors either warned the student about cheating or ig- nored the incident be- cause of the lack of evidence. Only 14 per- cent of the incidents prompted professors to give a student an F on the assignment or exam. However, these per- centages can not be easily compared, sug- gested Dr. White. It's my hunch that in many cases the only thing the professors could do is warn the student, said Dr. White. It's difficult to prove that students glancing around the room during an exam were actually cheat- ing. The committee's sur- vey also specified dif- ferent types of stu- dent cheating during the 1982-83 academic year. And of the seven types of cheating out- lined, the most com- mon violations were in business, history! science and mathema- tics!natural sciences. Plagiarism from sec- ondary sources was the most common type of cheating in the arts! humanities with 57 in- cidents. Only 21 inci- dents of copying from students during in- class exams were re- ported in that division. The lowest number of reported incidents occured in engineering. Only five percent of the total number of re- ported cases were in engineering while 37 percent of the cases occurred in business. The second highest number of reports oc- curred in arts!humani- ties with 25 percent. History! social sciences and mathematics! na- tural science followed with 19 percent and ten percent, respective- ly. This problem is not unique to Santa Clara, declared Dr. Stewart. Around the country and here at Santa Clara there has been a lack of academic integ- rity, he said. Dr. Stewart cited increased pressure for students to succeed in school as a reason for student di- shonesty. The stresses for students are great, which leads to a natu- ral tendency to cheat. said Dr. Stewart. Dr. Gina De Ranieri ob- served, People cheat because universities, graduate schools, and law schools put too much emphasis on grades as opposed to knowledge in the sub- ject. College students feel that they need to get good grades in or- der to succeed. There- fore, they will do any- thing, including cheat- ing, to get the grades. Dishonesty Studied

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PROFS. REFLEC tudents weren't the only mem- bers of the Santa Clara community who eeded the opportunity llc get away from the hectic schedule of col- lege life. Administra- ors and faculty alike ecognized the impor- lltance of discussing to- ics away from the dai- y routine, and teach- rs were encouraged to attend special faculty etreats, which were rovided throughout he school year. The last faculty re- treats were held in the early 1980s and the current administration decided it was time to evive this worthwhile rogram. The 1984-85 ersions offered facul- ty an opportunity to Elk informally with niversity President William Rewak, S.J., as well as express their opinions to vice- presi- dents Paul Locatelli, S.J., and Bob Senkewicz, SJ. Six re- treats were held, each with approximately 40 teachers in attendance, at the Jesuit retreat house in the Los Gatos hills. The sessions last- ed only four hours on Wednesdays to facili- tate attendance. Fr. Senkewicz said be- tween 85 and 90 per- cent of the faculty took advantage of the op- portunity, in his words, a good turnout. The day was divided into sections, each with a discussion led by one of the administrators. Fr. Rewak's talk em- phasized the Jesuit tra- dition of the University and stressed improved collaboration between the various groups in the Santa Clara com- munity. The president said interaction be- tween students, teach- ers, non-faculty and administrators was im- portant to improve the direction of Santa Clara. In order for the University to continue to grow, Fr. Rewak said, lines of communi- cation had to remain open. Fr. Locatelli dis- cussed the academic life of the University. Teachers were asked for input on their man- datory course load which required them to teach seven classes per year. This meant that at least one quar- ter was filled with three classes. Many felt this amount of work prevented some professors from giving the proper amount of attention to each stu- dent and to research. Fr. Locatelli's section also considered Santa Clara's academic calen- dar, the benefits and problems of the quar- ter system, and the lack of classes on Q 2 2 it il Wednesdays. Finally, Fr. Senkewicz spoke on student life and plans for developing student services. Some specific questions involved the balance between male and female students, the possibility of creat- ing more space for on- campus housing, and the effectiveness of the intramural program. After each presenta- tion, the faculty was given time to ask ques- tions, exchange reac- tions and raise other areas of concern. Those faculty mem- bers who attended the retreats considered the experience worthwhile, and Fr. Locatelli was pleased with the re- sults. We received positive responses about the discussions, - said Fr. Locatelli. by Chnf. Many teachers said Stamp? 'S their day was enlight- and Klm eningf' Clark Escaping the hectic schedule of the quarter system, faculty members met at the lesuit retreat house in Los Altos Hills to discuss informally topics ranging from course overloads to the effectiveness of the intramural program. After spending a day discussing the Santa Clara approach to teaching, studentffaculty interaction, and faculty workload requirements physics professor Philip McCormick, Ph.D., talks with a colleague about the future of SCU. Profs. Reflect