哈佛大學調查結果顯示近半本科學生作弊

Harvard survey reveals almost half of undergraduates have cheated on homework

中國日報網 2013-09-17 15:07

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Results showed that at least a tenth of the Harvard first-year undergraduates polled admitted to having cheated on an exam prior to starting at the university, while almost half admitted to cheating on their homework Photo: ALAMY

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An anonymous survey by Harvard's newspaper has revealed a surprising pattern of academic dishonesty among students entering the US university.

The survey by The Harvard Crimson was emailed to incoming first year undergraduates; 1,600 students responded. Results showed that at least a tenth of the students polled admitted to having cheated on an exam prior to starting at the university, while almost half admitted to cheating on their homework.

Athletes were apparently the most prone to cheating. 20 percent of students who played a university sport admitted to cheating on an exam compared to 9 percent of students who did not. The survey also revealed that men were not only more likely to cheat but were also more likely to admit to it.

The results, compared to a previous survey done on the class of 2013, suggested that cheating may be becoming more commonplace. Of the outgoing seniors only 7 percent admitted to cheating in an exam and another 7 percent said they had been dishonest on a take-home test. 32 percent of the seniors said they had cheated on homework during their undergraduate years.

The surveys come in the wake of a cheating scandal at the university which saw 120 students investigated for sharing answers on an exam in 2012. One recent graduate stated: “Cheating was commonplace when I was at Harvard, especially with students in their first year or two. I would say as many as 60 per cent of students took notes into some exams. No one really cared and the faculty, well some of them at least, seemed to recognise and yet ignore the problem”.

In an email to NBC News, Jeff Neal, a Harvard representative, explained that a committee, made up of faculty, staff and students had been established to tackle cheating, which “is a national problem in American education”.

He added: “While the vast majority of Harvard and other students do their work honestly, beginning this year Harvard College has implemented a new, more robust strategy of communicating with all students, particularly first-year students, about the importance – and the ways to achieve – academic integrity.”

In a rebuff to critics who say university has become little more than an expensive party, 84 per cent of the responding undergraduates fully expected to prioritise their academics over extracurricular activities, sport, employment and their social lives. Not a single student put academics at the bottom of their list. Not content with confining themselves to their degree subject, 59 percent of incoming students expressed a desire to pursue a secondary field of study, and 36 percent hoped to learn a language.

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據英國《每日電訊》報道，哈佛大學的報紙進行的一項匿名調查揭示了一個出人意料的事實，那就是進入美國大學的學生中存在學術上不誠實的行為。

發起該調查的哈佛大學報《哈佛深紅》（The Harvard Crimson）將問卷通過電子郵件發送給即將進入第一年學習的本科生。有1600 名學生作出回應。調查結果顯示，參與調查的人中有1/10的人承認進入大學之前就曾在考試中作弊，而幾乎有一半人承認在功課上作弊。

運動員顯然是最容易作弊的。那些參加高校體育項目的學生有20％承認在考試中作弊，相比之下，不參加任何體育項目的學生作弊率則為9％。該調查還表明，男性不但更容易作弊而且也更可能承認。

與此前針對2013班級所做的調查相比，該次調查結果表明作弊現象可能會越來越普遍。即將離校的高年級學生只有7％的人承認在考試中作弊，另有7％表示他們曾在帶回家的測試中有不誠實行為。32％的高年級學生表示曾經在讀本科期間在功課上作弊。

該調查發起于哈佛大學的一次作弊丑聞。當時，120名學生因為在2012年的一次考試中相互借鑒答案而受到審查。一個剛畢業的大學生說：“我在哈佛的時候，作弊是司空見慣的事情，尤其是在學生讀第一年或第二年期間。我要說多達60％的學生曾在一些考試中作小抄。沒有人真正在意。而且教師們（至少他們中的一些人），似乎注意到此現象，但卻置之不理 ”。

哈佛大學的代表杰夫尼爾（Jeff Neal) 在給NBC (美國國家廣播公司）新聞部門的一封電子郵件中解釋說，已成建一個由教職員工和學生組成的委員會，目的是整治作弊現象。作弊已成為美國教育中的一個全國性問題。

他還說道：“盡管絕大多數的哈佛和其他學校學生是老老實實做自己功課的，從今年開始哈佛學院要實施一個新的、更強大的戰略用來與所有學生，尤其一年級的學生，溝通關于學術誠信的重要性，以及如何實現學術誠信。

調查結果對于那種說哈佛大學無異于一個昂貴聚會的批評作出反駁。84％的受訪大學生完全是計劃優先考慮他們的學術，而課外活動、體育、就業和社會生活則為次要。沒有一個學生將學術列在他們任務清單的底部。由于不滿足于局陰在自己的專業上，有59％的新生表示出一個愿望，就是他們要從事其他領域的研究。有36％的人希望學習一門語言。