WHY DO COLLEGE STUDENTS CHEAT?
By: Katrina Givens, Nishat Huq, Albert Hernandez
"As of 2011, 75%-98% of students have admitted to cheating at least once in their academic careers"
One of the main reasons for cheating on college campuses is
related to the performance pressure many students face in order to
simultaneously make above average test grades, finish difficult and lengthy
assignments in a timely manner, participate in clubs, organizations, and
community service, be accepted by peers both socially and academically, and
keep up with the expectations of their parents and professors. As if this
wasn’t enough, these pressures are solidified by the awareness of potential roadblocks
for future jobs should these goals not be met. Basically, most college students
who are serious about their future strive to be the “perfect student” which
will one day lead to the “perfect job”. While this is a very common goal, the
stress that comes with trying to balance so many objectives in a limited amount
of time often leads students to cheat simply to keep their heads above water. Studies show "77% of students feel stress over academic concerns" that eventually leads to academic dishonestly ("Is your college," ). This type of performance pressure that often leads to cheating is a direct
result of Role Strain in a college student’s life.
In logical
terms, it seems almost impossible to keep up with the many tasks faced by
college students with the expectation of excelling in every single one. Unfortunately,
this does not stop students from putting enormous pressures on themselves to
make that “A” grade in every class, stay involved in various campus
organizations, impress others socially and academically, and build the perfect
resume for their future jobs. Role strain comes into play as the
incompatibility of these various roles eventually become too much for students
to handle, and they "feel pressure to develop unorthodox means to get competitive and marketable credentials" ("Why do students"). As the deadlines build up and stress becomes unbearable, it is no
surprise that cutting corners to get by becomes a very attractive solution. Most
students view cheating as the easy answer because it frees up their schedules
and lessens the burden role strain plays on their lives. The stress and lack of
time forces students to give up studying for hours on end and create cheat
sheets, buy old tests from students who have already taken the class, or pay
someone else to write a dreaded essay. These cheating techniques use up one
fourth of the time traditional studying methods take, include much less work,
and even secure a good grade. With the saved time, students are free to attend
club meetings, earn social points with their peers at the local bar, and work
on resumes for that job they’ve dreamed of since sixth grade. Cheating opens up
time for the rest of their busy schedules that is essential in keeping up the
image of a “perfect student”. After a while, students realize that cheating is
one way to not only earn good grades, but it can take away some of the pressure
that led them to cheat in the first place by providing more time for their busy
college lives.
=
My data
supports the role strain theory by suggesting that too much conflict among
roles in a single status can drive students to cheat in order to succeed.
However, my data has also revealed another disturbing theory. Unfortunately,
over time, good grades have become more important to students than the actual
education, and cheating has become more reliable than taking the time to learn
the material. Nowadays being the “perfect student” involves prizing high grades
over creativity and the ability to apply education in real life scenarios. When
five students were shadowed for a year in order to research the sources of
their high-achieving intellectual engagements, it was found that the "students spend most of their time finagling the system in pursuit of good grades”
rather than earning a genuine education" (Palmer, 2005). Instead of being concerned about the
learning skills they’ll receive from not taking the easy way out, students feel
like the most important thing they do is get the grades whether that be by
“hook” or by “crook”.
"Students spend most of their time finagling the system in pursuit of good grades"
Eric Roberts, a Stanford University faculty member
stated, “the relationship between stress and cheating in an academic
environment is not simply a problem of student integrity” but instead "cheating
has been linked to social pressure put on students to prize high grades over
education and other values including creativity and imagination” (Palmer, 2005). This
conclusion, although unfortunate, is a viable explanation as to why the pressure
to be a “perfect student” has increasingly emphasized good grades (even by
cheating) rather than an authentic education. In addition, students see other
students excelling at school (probably by cheating as well) and feel the need
to fit in with their peers academically. In a way, students are cheating to
“save face” by creating the impression that they can handle all the stress of
being a college student as well as make the good grades that now define the
ideal student. Pressure to fit in academically comes into play and is also
enforced by parents and professors that create such high standards for their
students that it is impossible for many of them to keep up without resorting to
cheating at some point in time.
"Cheating has been linked to social pressure put on students to prize high grades over education and other values including creativity and imagination"
Due to the
abundance of pressure faced by college students to perform and the increasing
importance of good grades, cheating is almost inevitable. Excelling academically,
being involved on campus, fitting in with peers, and living up to the
expectations of parents and professors is no easy task, especially while it is
all done at the same time. Role strain is helpful in explaining how balancing
all these roles can result in a student cheating to create more time for
themselves and keep up the image of being able to handle all the aspects of
college life.
Relating to the Role Strain Theory, Role Conflict is the tension caused by competing demands between two or more
roles pertaining to different statuses. This theory explains that while
students are students, they hold other roles as well such as “friend”, “family
member” and “worker”. Their responsibilities lie in several different areas,
which again leads to time management problems as well as role conflict, causing
students to resolve to cheating.
Being a student is already tough enough, having
to deal with several classes, assignments, and school activities is a full
plate. But how many college kids are trying to pay for their college education
at the same time they’re in school? Their expectations from work include being
productive, on time, and professional. Not only is this a very time consuming
role to partake in, it demands as much attention as a “student” role does. Over
a span of the last 3 decades, 30- over 50% of Full-Time college students were
employed (Weissman, 2012). That’s almost 1 in every 2 students! So it might sound reasonable to
plagiarize on a college paper, or copy your friend’s homework assignment for
tomorrow when you’ve come home at midnight from a long day at work.
Besides having to fulfill
professional roles, what about being expected to be the loving family member,
or devoted friend? 53-54% of college students admit to being stressed about their families and relationships (Is Your College Student Stressed, 2011). Can your time given to school affect your relationships
outside of class? The need to give time in order to create a social life for yourself
can sometimes be just as important as your studies. Socializing can help you
meet classmates to study with, make supportive friends, and simply make you
happier. Also, one of the biggest values college students hold is their freedom
and independence, being able to just have fun, be rebellious, and do as they
please. Fulfilling this role most definitely creates Role Conflict, and once
again limits the span of time students truly have to devote to their studies.
Why not just rely on cheating if it will give you the few extra hours you need
to just relax and be yourself?
Being able to completely fulfill
all three of these roles can be nearly impossible without making one sacrifice
or another. Each role you’re responsible for doesn’t take into account of all
the other duties you’re in charge of; only you can manage that. In these days,
it's common to try and do it all by just using your time as best to your
advantage as you can. Being able to pick and choose what is important to really
do in school, and what you can get done by just cheating is a skill that
apparently most college kids acquire and practice to some extent for the best
of their interests. It’s not that college students think it’s completely okay to cheat, but students tend to
agree that cheating is almost essential in order to be successful in college.
"Assuming that most university students feel they should fulfill the threefold role, it seems that the student scarcely has enough hours to seriously pursue each to its fullest, and thus must cut corners somewhere." (Knop, 1969)
Even though there are several reasons why college students cheat, the Role Strain Theory and the Role Conflict Theory help to effectively illustrate two explanations behind the high rates of academic dishonesty. As individual college students continue to cheat, they amass to hurting the academic integrity of the entire college as “getting the grade” has become increasingly more important to college students than the actual education they receive. While the high numbers of cheating will probably never decrease significantly, the reputation and effectiveness of universities and colleges may be affected by the dishonesty of college students, as caused by the multiple roles, expectations, and pressures that lead to Role Strain and Role Conflict.
Works Cited
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Palmer, B. (2005, February 23). Pressure for good grades often leads to high stress, cheating, professors say. Retrieved from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/february23/cheat-022305.html
1 Weissman, J. (2012, JUNE 22). How
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