Before I became an exchange student to the USA over a quarter of a century ago I was prepped. I was told about and explained American values that I would encounter and would have to adjust to. One that was profoundly hammered into my consciousness was "do not cheat at school". I had never cheated at school so I had no reason to begin now, but I was impressed by stories about American students being left alone in their classroom during an exam and not cheating. It was a matter of honor.
When I taught evening classes to adults at The Hague University I was flabbergasted when I found out that grownups cheated on papers and exams. What I found even more shocking was that they weren't kicked out onto the street. This probably has to do with the ludicrous rule that Dutch universities receive financial backing from the government based on the number of students that graduate. Quantity. Not quality.
At my university there was a formal rule that you couldn't do anything that would damage the institutes' repuation. I think it is evidence of the insight that an educational institution has many moments of truth and everyone involved is responsible to uphold the brand image.
In Dutch news over the last couple of weeks it has become apparent that at several universities students have been getting away with cheating.
I don't get cheating, because eventually you end up being caught. Maybe not by the school, but future employers and colleagues cannot rely on your knowledge and expertise. But that is not the worst of it. What does it say about your character? How many other lines are you likely to cross? How can Dutch organizations be socially responsible if they are hiring unethical cheating graduates?
This situation is bad in a lot of ways:
- Of course not everyone cheats, but the ones that do, screw it up for all other graduates. If the news gets out that people cheated their way to graduation that piece of paper called a diploma becomes worthless. Not only for themselves but also for former, current and future students.
- The brand of the insitution becomes weak. And as lots of regional universities have merged over the last decade or so, one brand name covers a range of programs at different locations. So the cheating may have been going on in Amsterdam at the Economics bachelor program, but everything else is infected too. So you apply for a job in Rotterdam, with a degree in Communication from Arnhem and they confuse you with the Finance cheater in Amsterdam. Tough luck!
- Organizations will have hired the cheating graduates with questionable morality. This is not good for the morality of the organization in particular or Dutch organizations as a whole.
So what to do? A couple of things I think:
- Become aware as a school and as a society that these practices damage your educational brands and in the end your national knowledge economy. Become aware that the quality you deliver in education results in good quality graduates. They in turn lead to a society with organizations that are able to perform and compete succesfully.
- Parents, educators, schools and society should emphasize the positive: knowledge is power in the sense that it creates individual possibilities.
- Honor those who do well in school. Don't scoff people for being a good student.
- Don't keep your exams where the students or an accomplice can get to them. (I know this is basic but apparently people haven't thougt of this yet, otherwise it wouldn't have happened.)
- Make it a rule that cheating is rewarded by being kicked out of school and not being able to apply to any other university in The Netherlands. Any cost incurred or financial backing lost by the school must be paid by the student.
- Communicate the rule to future and current students.
- Have students (and their parents if underage) commit to this rule when registering and enrolling. It then is a contract.
- Live the rule. Be honest and honorable in other aspects of life too.
- Enforce the rule if necessary.
Of course ideally, parents raise kids that aren't morally challenged. Ideally we do not need rules or laws to govern us. Ideally our moral compass would be enough. Unfortunately it isn't the case for everyone.
This is not just a Dutch problem. In the 28 years since I graduated from my American highschool, American society has shown not be immune to cheating students. Just google "cheating students" and you'll find that even in Communist China students cheat. If we should have learned one thing from the collapsing of banks and the economic crisis it is that integrity is important.
From a perspective of branding your school, your organization, your country, integrity is important. From a perspective of civil society, integrity is important too.
Am I exaggerating? I don't think so.
Are there other solutions possible? Sure! Please share them.
