Ethics, Honesty, and Fairness in Distance Education

• Cheating and dishonesty aren't specific to education, but they are particularly important to address in educational, character-forming settings (and especially in distance learning programs).

• Technology has given cheaters and people with low ethical standards more options for dishonesty. Via the Internet, one can buy term papers, look for old tests and answers, and even find someone to act as an impersonator throughout an entire course.

• No one feels good about cheating, and most regret having damaged their character and cheated themselves out of an education. The notoriety of being a dishonest person doesn't wash away easily, so don't exchange your values for a grade in a class.

• Don't believe the spin that cheaters try to sell you—everybody is NOT cheating or lying. It is always just a few. It shouldn't be you.

• A school, college, or training program will have a code of ethics. This set of policies informs you that you can be thrown out of your program if you are caught doing anything dishonest.

• Plagiarism means using someone else's writing as your own, or presenting the ideas of others without crediting those people.

  The typical infraction is copying a term paper (or parts of a term paper) word for word and then not providing a footnote or other credit to the original author. There are websites and programs used by online instructors that can determine whether a student has quoted passages from the known literature without providing a citation. SOLUTION: Limit any quotation to a phrase or a sentence or two; then provide a citation. Write the rest of the paper yourself.

  Copying a distinctive idea (something along the lines of the thesis of a book, essay, or article) also constitutes plagiarism. Even if you do not quote or copy word for word, single ideas as well as entire arguments must be attributed to their sources. SOLUTION: If you use an argument or idea that you've read or heard before, credit the original author. Come up with your own, new argument to make your essay original.

  You must cite factual information, unless it is well known. For example, saying, "France does not use a death penalty as punishment," is not plagiarism, since the information is commonly known. Saying, "In 1999 France prosecuted 78 people who were accused of homicide," would be plagiarism if the source of that statistic were not cited. SOLUTION: When in doubt, provide a citation.

• In-person examinations: if your tests are live and in person or proctored, either on the campus of the class you are taking or at another designated site, then "cheat sheets," "crib notes," and sharing or stealing answers constitute cheating (just like in the traditional school setting).

• For "open book" and "take home" exams, the instructor will give you the details of whether you can use any source other than the book for the test. If he or she doesn't, ask.

• With BlackBoard, WebCT, and other online platforms, multiple-choice tests can be taken online. Generally your instructor will tell you that you CANNOT use your text or notes for such a test. However, such online tests are not proctored. No one from your course will see you if you cheat. Only you might know if you have compromised your morals.

• One approach the instructor can use to help you stay honest is to put a time limit on the online test, so that those who know the material have enough time to perform well on the test, while cheaters might be able to look up only SOME of the answers, and therefore perform poorly on the test overall.

• Turning in work that is not your own AS your own (without giving credit) is always cheating. So, in an online course, you cannot have another person help you unless it is specifically allowed (an unlikely event). Your work must be entirely your own.

• If you and your friend are both taking the same class, do yourselves a favor by taking the test at different times, and don't cheat by talking about the test if such talk violates the rules of the course.

The group's work must come from the group, not from outsiders. However, most instructors carefully draw a line between those assignments you can work on as a group and those, such as tests, you must perform alone. You may be asked to report on a group activity, and such a report should be honest.