Document Type

Class Paper

Publication Date

4-27-2015

Abstract

Academic dishonesty- a commonly used term on high school and college campuses nationwide, but what exactly does it mean? According to Delta College, academic dishonesty is referred to as, “any deliberate attempt to falsify, fabricate or otherwise tamper with data, information, records, or any other material that is relevant to the student's participation in any course, laboratory, or other academic exercise or function.” This could be anything from looking at a classmate’s quiz paper or jotting down someone else’s answer on a homework question to purposefully plagiarizing on an academic, research paper or stealing the test key from the professor’s office. Any and all forms of academic dishonesty are immoral and unethical, and every offense is deserving of serious punishment by the school or organization in authority of those found guilty of such dishonest acts.

While academic dishonesty is a rising issue all across the United States among almost all ages, specifically in college age students, it is also a major problem at the college that I personally attend, which is Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) located in the small town of Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Though most cases of academic dishonesty here at OBU would be considered minor offenses, many students at OBU cheat or plagiarize on a daily or weekly basis. I, personally, have had students ask me to tell them what questions were on the test or what I put down on an individually assigned homework assignment. I have not participated in these acts of academic dishonesty of course, but the fact that copying, cheating, and plagiarizing have become such mundane acts frightens me. Some realize the seriousness of their actions, while others believe it to be no big deal. Either way, academic dishonesty of all kinds is occurring on OBU’s campus and this issue needs to be further addressed by Ouachita’s faculty and staff. While the school has made attempts in the past to fix this problem, it is still occurring on a regular basis. I propose that the students and professors of Ouachita Baptist University unite to come up with and implement not only more rules and regulations to punish those who have been academically dishonest, but also ideas of how to prevent cheating and plagiarism in the first place.

Due to the fact that my audience consists of the faculty, staff, and the entire administration of Ouachita Baptist University, I know that my audience is a mature group that will listen to my ideas and take them seriously. However, I also know that my targeted audience is very busy with their normal day-to-day work. Therefore, I believe that a PowerPoint presentation will be most effective for my audience due to the fact that a presentation is visually appealing and tends to keep the attention of the audience. I also realize that a PowerPoint usually does not take a great deal of time to present and I believe that my audience will appreciate my effort to use their time efficiently by respecting that each member of my audience is on a tight schedule. I believe real change can occur once I reveal my thoughts and opinions on new and improved solutions in an attempt to fix the issue of academic dishonesty occurring on the campus of Ouachita Baptist University.

Comments

Composition II

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