Faculty Perceptions of Academic Dishonesty: A Cross-Campus Comparison of Three Institutions in the Southeast

Abstract

This study was to determine the frequency and types of academic dishonesty that were occurring at three public institutions as perceived by the faculty. Additionally, this study examined the faculty attitudes and perceptions toward academic dishonesty, and how these perceptions differed based on the following factors: tenure status, academic discipline, faculty rank, number of years of teaching, age, gender and faculty awareness and understanding of the academic dishonesty policy at the institution. In order to gather data, the survey instrument was adapted from two different surveys of faculty perceptions of academic dishonesty. The first was from Dr. Wehman’s (2009) study on faculty perspectives of academic integrity on an urban campus (See Appendix C), the second part was from a Dr. McCabe's (1993) study on faculty academic integrity (See Appendix D). Data analysis revealed that the faculty members’ awareness of academic integrity strongly impacts their attitudes of dishonesty than the experiences within their own classroom. Generally, faculty did not personally witness any dishonest behavior within their classroom, but do understand what cheating is, and how to implement policies if the situation arose. Additionally, most faculty inform students of their academic dishonesty penalties within their classroom, but, they often do not take preventative actions to stop it. Lastly, when placed in a situation of dishonesty, the faculty members indicated that they would ignore the incident. Implications for policies and procedures related to academic dishonesty are discussed.