End of College Admissions Tests Due to Payoffs and Corruption?

Students with actual learning disabilities may feel the brunt of new rules in college testing as a result of this latest scam where parents paid to get their children accommodations that they did not deserve ("Is the College Cheating Scandal the ‘Final Straw’ for Standardized Tests?," New York Times, March 14, 2019)? However, almost 1000 colleges do not use SAT or ACT scores to select new students.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the fairest way for colleges to decide which students to admit? Tests, essays, grades?
2. What should be the penalty for parents paying an individual, company, or college to allow their children to cheat their way into higher education?

Degree Revoked by University Due to Research Misconduct

A University of Colorado researcher lost his Ph.D. and his ability to receive federal funding for a three-year period due to misconduct in the lab ("Disgraced CU Scientist Debarred after Falsifying Data," Daily Camera, December 26, 2018). Lab personnel noted in interviews that the research "felt immense pressure from his mentor to produce quality results that could generate future funding for the lab." Based on governmental review of the case, Rajendra Kadam was found to have "engaged in research misconduct by knowingly and intentionally falsifying and/or fabricating data by manipulating peak area data to reduce variability and/or alter statistical significance for twenty-six figures and five tables in his Ph.D. thesis and in nine published papers."

Discussion Questions:

1. Would you risk having your college degree rescinded to alter research data in an experiment if your supervisor encouraged you to "produce quality results?" Why or why not?
2. Can this researcher salvage his reputation after losing his degree due to scientific misconduct? Why or why not?
3. If you were asked to engage in unethical behavior on the job, what would you do?

Physician's Unethical Research Potentially Harmed Patients

An anesthesiologist may have caused harm to surgical patients including kidney damage and death through his flawed research and potential misuse of "intravenous solutions containing hydroxyethyl starch, or hetastarch, which doctors use to stabilize the blood pressure of patients during and after surgery or trauma" ("A Scientist's Fraudulent Studies Put Patients at Risk," Science, October 26, 2018). Joachim Boldt who worked at an academic teaching hospital in Germany "likely fabricated data, ignored ethics rules, and committed other kinds of misconduct in 98 articles he published with co-authors."

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think made this doctor seemingly put his patients in danger due to his unethical research?
2. If you worked with this doctor as an assistant and saw problems with his research, would you discuss the issue with him? Why or why not?

Student Loses College Degree 15 Years after Graduation Due to Plagiarism

After a master's thesis was corrected for plagiarism and a degree awarded, it was examined by a plagiarism checker years later and more plagiarism was identified leading to a professor losing his degree ("Judge Upholds University's Right to Rescind Master's Degree over Plagiarism," Calgary Herald, September 19, 2018). John Measor tried unsuccessfully to get the University of Calgary to let him keep the degree based on the fact that it had already been given to him, so he took his case to court. However, the judge sided with the university because the "power to award degrees necessarily implies the power of rescission." Justice Richard Neufeld in his decision also noted that "institutional integrity" requires a school to uphold the value of its degrees by taking back one that incorporated academic dishonesty.

Discussion Questions:

1. Does this case change your opinion about the importance of academic integrity when you create coursework for your classes? Why or why not?
2. Do you think the university was justified in taking back the degree years after it was given due to plagiarism by the former student? Why or why not?
3. The news story mentions that John Measor also changed his story about the plagiarized thesis during the various hearings. Would you rule in his favor and let him keep the degree if he wasn't clear about what really happened? Why or why not?

Save Your Data (and Your Job) to Prove Your Research Results

An investigation into flawed research brought down a once-noted Cornell University professor who now has had thirteen papers retracted ("This Ivy League Food Scientist Was a Media Darling. He Just Submitted His Resignation, the School Says." The Washington Post, September 20, 2018). One of the problems is that Brian Wansink's results cannot be verified because data in its original form was not kept. Another related article from Vox stated that his lab employees cherry-picked favorable results to support hypotheses.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think the professor's reputation has been permanently harmed by these accusations? Why or why not?
2. Vox suggests that professors are under pressure to publish results that support their hypotheses instead of discussing why research didn't work or other questions of significance. If keeping your job depended on only finding statistically significant results in your research would you be tempted to alter results to fit your hypotheses? Why or why not?
3. It was also mentioned that "Wansink had a knack for producing studies that were catnip for the media." Do you think the professor wanted more publicity for his work, so he succumbed to shoddy research practices to get anything and everything published to feed his ego? Why or why not?

British Singer-Songwriter Accused of Adding Copied Elements of Another Artist's Song

After dealing with two previous legal disputes on using parts of other's songs, the Grammy-winning Sheeran is now defending himself against charges that he included "melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping” from a Marvin Gaye 1970's tune in his song, "Thinking Out Loud" ("Ed Sheeran Sued Again Over ‘Thinking Out Loud’ — This Time for $100 Million," Variety, June 28, 2018). The other two copyright infringement incidents involved the songs "Photograph" and "The Rest of Our Life."

Discussion Questions:

1. Since there are only so many notes in the musical scale, do you think it's easy to copy someone else's work? Why or why not?
2. Do you think Sheeran's reputation with his fans will suffer from this negative publicity? Do you think fans will stop listening to his music if it seems he's not creating new music on his own? Why or why not?
3. Do you think other singers and songwriters will not want to work with him for fear he will use their work in his "compositions?" Why or why not?

Quizlet App Misuse by University Students in Texas

Texas Christian University students received failing grades (but later had their suspensions cancelled) for using the Quizlet app to gain an unfair advantage in testing, calling into question the unethical aspects of this study help when students upload current test questions and share them ("Learning Tool or Cheating Aid?" Inside Higher Ed, May 14, 2018). While Quizlet posts an honor code on its web site, students may not know in advance that they are viewing a test question that will be on an upcoming exam. But if they see a Quizlet question on an exam, they are obligated to alert the professor that the question was seen online before the test. One professor noted that it would be best to rework questions each semester, but there may be a limit to how many different configurations can be used to state a question.

Discussion Questions:

1. What would you do if you saw a question from Quizlet on an actual test?
2. Should professors create new tests each semester to minimize cheating from students who share test questions from past exams? Why or why not?
3. How could Quizlet be changed to prevent students from cheating?

Physician Accused of Scientific Misconduct and Fraud

A physician's credentials are being called into question but the National Academy of Medicine is finding it difficult to remove him as a member after he was found to have "plagiarized five research papers, fabricated an account of his personal exploits in Iraq, and claimed unearned degrees and awards" ("Doctors Urge Elite Academy to Expel a Member Over Charges of Plagiarism." The New York Times, April 9, 2018). The article discusses the impact of this academic dishonesty on the doctor whose work was misused and the medical textbook editors who didn't check for plagiarism before their book was published.

Discussion Questions:

1. How would you feel if a colleague of yours said he was the author of your research?
2. Should doctors be held to the same standard of academic integrity as college students? A higher standard? Why or why not?
3. Should all books be checked for plagiarism before being published? Why or why not?

Academic Dishonesty Returns to Cancer Research Lab

The Ohio State University (OSU) reported that one of its former star cancer researchers (who resigned in fall 2017) used false results fourteen times in eight reports ("University Is Quick to Disclose Misconduct." Science, April 6, 2018). Most notable about this revelation was that OSU was very forthcoming with this information almost immediately after concluding its investigation. The article mentions that OSU has been under fire for badly handling other recent scientific misconduct on campus including another cancer researcher who was the subject of a New York Times investigation.

Discussion Questions:

1. If you received millions of dollars to conduct research, would you feel obligated to report more promising results than you actually observed so you could continue to get funding? Or would you clearly state what occurred in your research? 
2. A university's reputation suffers harm and its research programs stand to lose external funding if researchers are not conducting and reporting results honestly. Do you think OSU was trying to repair damage from past incidents by reporting this story very quickly? Why or why not?
3. If you were a student researcher in a lab where misconduct was occurring, would you risk your reputation and career to report the academic dishonesty of fellow students and/or professors? Why or why not?

UT Student Punished for Seeking Copies of Old Math Exams on Facebook

A University of Texas student who went online to request copies of old math tests by a professor received a penalty ("UT Student on Academic Probation after Posting in Facebook Group." The Daily Texan, January 29, 2018). While the university administrators said that they do not monitor online student activity, they will act if they are alerted about a suspected student conduct infraction.

Discussion Questions:

1. While we do not know if the student actually received any of the requested exams and the answers to the questions, do you think it's fair that the student is put on academic probation for the act of asking for the exams? Why or why not?
2. What should happen if a student supplied old exams by a professor upon request? Should that supplier get the same punishment as the requester?
3. Do you think studying the old exams gives a student an unfair advantage in future testing? Why or why not?

College Courses Prepare Students for Ethical Issues at Work

In a time of polarizing workplace issues, professors are asking students to consider their moral and ethical obligations on the job beyond the bottom line ("Business Schools Now Teaching #MeToo, N.F.L. Protests and Trump." The New York Times, December 25, 2017). "Students have said ethical issues, not finances, are a business’s most important responsibility, according to a survey of business school students worldwide conducted by a United Nations group and Macquarie University in Australia."

Discussion Questions:

1. Although a campus discussion of ethical and moral responsibility at work can be useful, how does a recent college graduate face corporate culture that condones discriminatory behavior?
2. If you have experienced unethical actions at work, how did you handle the situation? Was the outcome fair to all parties affected?
3. If a student in college does not already possess a moral compass of right and wrong, can a college class positively change his/her perceptions and actions? Why or why not?

Common Knowledge or Plagiarism?

Seemingly inadequate paraphrasing and verbatim copying recently stung a noted poet and editor in her latest book ("Writers Step In to Defend Author Accused of Plagiarism in New York Times." The Guardian (UK), October 4, 2017). Yet, seventy-two well-known authors minimized the nature of the situation even though there appeared to be obvious and frequent word-for-word verbiage by Jill Bialosky, noting that the similarities were not a case of "egregious theft intentionally performed." Find examples of her writing compared to the original sources in the Tourniquet Review. In the letter of defense for Bialosky written by the seventy-two authors, it is mentioned that she included in her book "a handful of commonly known biographical facts gleaned from outside sources.”

Discussion Questions:

1. Why would such a noted editor copy such a large amount of information from other sources and not cite it? Does she consider this information about other noted poets as common knowledge that doesn't need to be cited?
2. Is there a particular amount of common knowledge that one can include in a 200+ page book before the text appears to be very unoriginal and providing few new insights on a topic?
3. What motive would the seventy-two authors have for supporting this poet and editor if she indeed was guilty of plagiarism? Note that quite a number of these authors work with the same publishing house as Bialosky.

When Stealing Is Not Okay in Professional Baseball

Using an Apple watch to relay them to their team, the Red Sox stole signs from the New York Yankees and had to pay the price levied by the Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred ("MLB Punishes Red Sox with Only a Fine for Apple Watch Scandal," Boston Herald, September 15, 2017). Actually, the Yankees had a fine imposed on them, too, and all MLB teams were put on notice that use of technology to steal signs may prompt more substantive penalties in the future. Interestingly, the fines will be going to Florida's hurricane recovery fund, since the two teams play spring training games in the state. League rules prohibit "hand-held devices" during a game and employing technology to take signs, although stealing signs unaided by communication equipment is allowed. Since the investigation found that the Yankees employed a dugout phone "illegally in a 'prior championship season,'" they were assessed a smaller fine.

Discussion Questions:

1. Professional sports teams obviously have some rules that they need to follow for fair play, but since this penalty seems mild, are they likely to try some similar tactic to steal signs in the future, even with the threat of more severe punishment for new infractions? Why or why not?
2. Do you think players and coaches that were involved in these illegal actions feel better about not playing by the rules since the fine money is going to a good cause, namely hurricane relief? Why or why not?
3. Do these actions by both teams hurt the team or players reputations? Or are sports teams expected to do anything to win, even if it means going against the rules? Do their fans care that they acted illegally? Why or why not?

Sloppy Research Harms Your Reputation

What happens to a scientist's reputation when a journal has to pull an article because of questionable research practices ("How Retractions Hurt Scientists’ Credibility," MIT News, September 5, 2017)? Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers supported by the National Science Foundation and the Sloan Foundation found that with only one retraction or experience with an article being discredited, other articles by that author become suspect even though they remain in good stead. If articles by more famous scientists are found to be clear cases of incompetent research, their work cited by others drops even more precipitously.

Discussion Questions:

1. Does it make sense that well-known scientists experience more fallout if one of their articles is found to include obvious sloppy research? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think it takes years to establish a professional reputation that can be tarnished with one poorly researched article?
3. Do you think this situation holds true for other professions or jobs, where if you make one mistake on the job, your reputation suffers?

Dealing with Unethical Situations at Work

Learn how to handle a directive to engage in unethical behavior on the job with these practical suggestions ("When the Boss Wants You to Do Something Unethical," The New York Times, July 6, 2017). Get clarification from your supervisor to make sure you understood what is being asked of you. Research the situation to decide if the potential action goes against company policy. Determine the consequences of compromising your integrity to save your job before you bring your concerns about your boss to another person or group overseeing your boss. This article provides more great options should you encounter such situations at work.

Discussion Questions:

1. Did you think the article provided useful strategies for employees who have been asked to do something unethical at work? Why or why not?
2. Have you faced such a request to do something you thought was dishonest? Did you decide to stay on the job or resign?
3. Do you think it is important for a company to have a code of ethics, so employees know what is expected of them on the job? Why or why not?
4. Do you think companies that place an emphasis on maintaining an ethical workplace are more profitable? Why or why not?

Academic Dishonesty in Computer Coding Classes

Learning how to write code in a computer science class can be a ticket to a lucrative job, but professors are encountering students who turn in assignments with copied code from unauthorized sources ("As Computer Coding Classes Swell, So Does Cheating," The New York Times, March 3, 2017). Specialty software can catch copied code especially when students use substitutes for typical coding terms. One interesting idea at Harvard University was when a computer science professor added a “regret clause,” allowing those who confess to cheating "within 72 hours receive an unsatisfactory or failing grade on the assignment, and avoid further discipline — unless they do it again" and mentioned in an earlier blog post. Still some class members are unclear about how much consultation with other students, as encouraged by professors (and professional programmers), is acceptable. On one Harvard syllabus it states that "you may have your code viewed by others, but you may not view theirs."

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think about the "regret clause" where you can confess to cheating within a certain time to avoid harsh punishment?
2. How can professors make it clear what's acceptable collaboration and what isn't? Should they include a list of what you may and may not do to avoid cheating? Or should punishable offenses be obvious to students once they reach college?

Paraphrase Tools May Not Be Detected by Anti-Plagiarism Programs

Anti-plagiarism tools like Turnitin.com cannot necessarily detect paraphrase tools that automatically generate alternative text for passages that users submit online ("Tools That May Discourage Quality Writing," Inside Higher Education, March 3, 2017). However, in testing some of these paraphrase tools, the quality of their wording is frequently nonsensical or too close to the original text to be of any use in a college paper.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you find paraphrasing from sources challenging? Why or why not?
2. Would you use a paraphrase generator even if the quality of their output is poor? Why or why not?
3. What's the best way you have found to paraphrase text?

University Chancellor Serial Plagiarist?

Despite voicing his innocence, Fernando Suarez, chancellor of King Juan Carlos University in Madrid was dismissed as the head of a national education commission in Spain due to claims that he plagiarized the work of his students and other historians during a ten-year time span ("Spanish University Head Accused of Copy-Paste Plagiarism," BBC News, December 16, 2016). Recently, Suarez informed students that the institution would start using Unplag, a plagiarism checker that promotes "standards of integrity, academic honesty, and independent thinking," according to his email. University students circulated nine petitions calling for his ouster.

Discussion Questions:

1. If you were a student at King Juan Carlos University, does an accusation provide enough evidence to call for this chancellor to leave his position? Why or why not?
2. If you were a student at this university, would you petition the chancellor to submit his work to Unplag to check for plagiarism? Why or why not?
3. Should university officials be held to a higher standard of academic honesty or the same standard as students? Why or why not?

Should Rough Draft Plagiarism Be Sanctioned?

A former Harvard Law School student lost her case against the distinguished university when a judge said that even plagiarism in a rough draft counts as an academic dishonesty infraction ("Court Backs Harvard in Plagiarism Challenge," Inside Higher Ed, October 25, 2016). In the court's opinion, it is mentioned that there were at least 23 occurrences of plagiarized material in the student's law journal work that provided a review of a patent case. The student was able to graduate although her transcript included a plagiarism notice, which seemed to prompt one law firm to cancel a job offer.

Discussion Questions:

1. If you submit rough drafts with plagiarized material, should you face an academic integrity penalty? Why or why not? 
2. Should only work you submit for a grade be reviewed for plagiarism? Why or why not?
3. Once you are in graduate school, should the rules for academic integrity be more strict than rules for undergraduates? Why or why not?
4. How can this student build back her reputation if her law school transcript includes a plagiarism note on it?

Is an Academic Dishonesty Hotline a Good Idea?

Students at Purdue University can now anonymously call in academic misconduct starting this semester ("Purdue Initiates Academic Dishonesty Hotline," Purdue Exponent, August 30, 2016). According to the Associate Dean of Students, this new method for reporting is important to preserve the honor of the university and its degrees. The hotline idea emanated from the University Senate, in part, to "prevent cases rather than punish individuals" as the chairperson of that group mentioned.

Discussion Questions:

1. If you witnessed academic dishonesty, would you be more likely to report it if there was a hotline that allows anonymity? Why or why not?
2. Do you think your degree from a college or university would be viewed unfavorably if an academic dishonesty scandal occurred while you were a student, even if you weren't involved? Why or why not?
3. Do you think it's the responsibility of all students and faculty to report academic dishonesty? Why or why not?
4. Do you think an anonymous hotline can cause more problems than advantages? Why or why not?
5. Do you think the hotline will "prevent cases rather than punish individuals" as the University Senate chairperson said? Why or why not?