Institutional Policies and Faculty Perceptions of Student Academic Dishonesty

An e-mail survey of 373 faculty members at six colleges and universities in the United States, Israel, and Germany revealed that student academic dishonesty (AD) is problematic at their institutions. Professors followed institutional policy but exercised discretion in handling specific cases of AD. They also engaged in varying levels of discussion, written communication, and actions as part of the hidden curriculum designed to address the problem of student dishonesty. Eleven scenarios of AD were posed and faculty indicated the sanction they thought was appropriate for the involved student. Repeat offenders were given the most punitive sanctions. Factor analysis revealed that the scenarios had three underlying constructs, one of which related to the use of data from another student or class. On this factor faculty from the U.S. and Germany had more tolerant attitudes toward AD, sanctioning students less severely, than those from Israel. Policy implications of these findings are addressed.