International students are more likely to cheat than Americans

A recent study has showed foreign students are more likely to cheat than American students, particularly Chinese students according to the faculty members interviewed.

The Wall Street Journal examined more than a dozen large public U.S. public universities and found an average of 5.1 incidences of alleged cheating for every 100 international students they have. This same study found only one incidence of cheating per 100 domestic students.

Students from China were identified by faculty members as having a greater tendency to cheat.

According to the report, Universities don’t all define and track cheating reports exactly the same way. Most record the number of incidents, but some record the number of students involved. WSJ’s analysis tabulated cheating reports as the universities defined them.

Recorded incidents included telling  professor that they lost their ID so another student took their exams for them and some use the old fashion way by simply looking at the exam next to them to cheat.

A professor of geography and development from the University of Arizona said: “Cheating among Chinese students, especially those with poor language skills, is a huge problem.”

The associate dean of students Chrissy Lieberman, from the University of Arizona, said: “Students don’t always understand what plagiarism is.”

The president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at the UC Davis told the WSJ that some students in China got burned out by cramming in high school.

He added: “They are busy with social stuff and everything they missed before. They start to cheat. They didn’t put in the time but they want to pass the test. That is kind of a cultural thing.”

A Georgia Institute of Technology student explained to the WSJ, that it is hard for students to understand why it is not okay to cheat. She said: “In China, it’s OK to cheat as long as you’re not caught.”

“Their comprehension is so bad the cheating is a nonevent. I can tell you everyone is dealing with this, across disciplines, across universities.” said Adele Barker, a professor from the University of Arizona.

She added there are usually four or five Chinese students who sit near each other during a test and they all provide the same version of a wrong answer.

Beyond the undermining of academic integrity, the incidences of international students cheating can have detrimental effects on them, as well. A student who is caught cheating is at risk for suspension or expulsion, which can be used to revoke their student visas if they are not registered at a U.S. college.

However, despite the problems of the rise of academic dishonesty, students are reporting that they do it to receive better grades and the majority of them do not get caught.