On the Hill
Wednesday, Aug. 23, 1989
section D
They've heard it all before
by Susan Newburger Kansan staff writer
Gary Thompson laughs whenever he thinks about the beer-drinking dog.
"A student came in with an enrollment card that was really a mess," said Thompson, director of student records. "He said that his dog had knocked over a bottle of beer on his enrollment card, and then the dog tried to lap up the spilled beer."
University of Kansas staff members often encounter inventive, humorous or routine excuses when students are lost in the maze of university bureaucracy concerning enrollment, grades, fees or any number of confusing requirements and deadlines.
"Our function is not to laugh at situations," Thompson said. "Some have really serious reverencions."
He said he thought the student really wanted to change his enrollment time and had mutilated his teeth. He was doctored, the change wouldn't show.
"Students are no different than others," said Joe Vanzand, coordinator of advising for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "They feel the need to stretch the truth to cover their shortcomings."
the window of Fraser Hall shows Lippincott (left) and Dyche halls. Behind the buildings are Memorial Stadium and the Campanile.
But sometimes fact is funnier than fiction
University, schools punish cheaters
Kathy Hall, college administrative assistant, smiled when she told the story about the student who missed a final exam because he was jailed for indecent exposure.
"The student was part of a fraternity initiation," she said. "He was taken out of bed and left naked in a park. He was arrested, and so he missed his exam because he was in jail."
Some stories are even handed down.
Vanzandt told a story which happened to a former director of summer orientation.
There was a family on campus with their daughter for orientation, he said. When the father asked to see the agricultural school, the director realized that they were at the wrong university. The daughter had actually enrolled in Kansas State University, but they had come to Lawrence accidentally.
accordingly.
"The daughter liked KU," Varzandt said, "so she matriculated."
Other stories are deadly.
"Final exam periods tend to be fatal to grandparents," Vanzandt said.
Students do not realize that their excuses may not be unique.
Because deaths do occur, but not as frequently as the excuse is used," the student must produce a documentation of the death with the petition," he said.
She said the usual approach to excuse-making is that it wasn't the student's fault.
"The first time the excuses were fresh," Hall said. "Now I react differently after the 40,000th or 50,000th time. The problem is new and genuine to the student."
"But some are honest," Hall said.
"I always don't just bleep off."
However, others list several differ- ent reasons.
"To be effective, the adviser has to take the story being told as fundamentally true," said Vanzandt. "Even if we suspect that the student is lying, we give advice on the basis of what he says."
"It's almost like they're saying,
'Pick any of the above,' she said.
Staff members said they would tell the humorous stories as a way to release stress or to stop burn out.
But monstony may be dangerous for the staff member trying to solve a student's problem.
"Telling yourself that the person doesn't know that you've talked to 10 other people that day helps," said Pam Houston, assistant to the dean of liberal arts and sciences.
Photo illustration by Patrick G, Brungardt/KANSAN
"Our goal is to get the student to really tell the truth," he said. "They may be embarrassed by the truth or don't really have a valid reason."
He said excuses often mask a real problem.
"You've got to trust somebody," he said. "You have to accept their problems.
The center encourages students to solve their own problems.
Bur Turvey, associate director of the student assistance center agreed.
" generally the goal is to help the student to be self-reliant so they can correct the situation," Turvey said. "So if we want to see how they can correct the situation."
Mount Oread
by Heather L. Anderson Kansan staff writer
Canadian Ben Johnson lost a gold medal because of it. Ivan Boesky of Wall Street went to jail for it. Former president Richard Nixon resigned because he did it.
Pressure to make good grades,
to get a good job, laziness and
apathy are all factors that contribute
to student cheating.
Cheating. An easy thing to do,
but often a big mistake to make.
Jim Williamson, Lawrence graduate student, said, "People are doing what they think they have to do to compete for grades and jobs so instead of studying, they cheat."
Sheila Immel, assistant to the dean of student life, said that both students and faculty could be held accountable for cheating.
An example of this is test files. A certain responsibility regarding the files rests with the instructor to change his or her tests. If the instructor uses the same test over and over again, then the student cannot be faulted for using the files, she said.
Use of test files is considered cheating by many people because not everyone has access to them. She said she would like to see
Some examples of misconduct are forging an adviser's name on an add or drop card, paraphrasing information from a book without cliting it and listing bibliography information that the student never used. Depending on the severity of the offense, punishment ranges from reduction of a grade to expulsion.
instructors make files available to all students so they could use the tests for study aids.
In many cases, the difference between cheating and using study aids is a fine line.
Ted Vaggallis, senior instructor in Western Civilization, said that his department considered Cliff Notes and New Analysis notes to be study aids as long as they were not used as an alternative to the assigned readings.
A brochure on academic integrity at the University of Kansas defines academic misconduct as plagiarism, cheating, fabrication and falsification of information, helping others cheat and tampering with materials, records and grades.
The problem that most students encounter is relying solely on the notes instead of doing the work, he said.
Students charged with academic misconduct have the right to a hearing before an impartial board made up of faculty and administrators. A student may be represented by counsel or an adviser at the time of the hearing. If the student is unhappy with the decision, he or she has the right to appeal to the judicial board.
Dave Shulenburger, associate vice chancellor of academic affairs, said the students most likely to cheat were those with low grades who did not feel that they had anything to lose.
Most schools abide by the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities in the Student Handbook, but some schools have their own policies.
John Garland, associate professor of business, is helping to draft an honor code for the school of business.
Under the code, the first academic misconduct offense is punishable by a grade of "E" in the course and the student is not allowed to take any business courses for one year, he said.
If the person commits a second offense, he or she is kicked out of the school and sometimes out of the University.
Academic integrity breakdowns increase among KU students
by Heather L. Anderson Kansan staff writer
Beginning this fall, faculty and administrators will take a strong stance against students who cheat.
Dave Shulenburger, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, said that the first step was a printed notice on blue books warning students that if they cheated, they could be expelled from the University.
The anti-theating notice was proposed because evidence showed increased academic misconduct. he said.
"It's not that we have a crisis," Shulenburger said. "But employers and graduate schools need to know that a degree from KU means something."
Shulenburger said that most people cheat because they believe it is acceptable and many times are unaware that what they are doing is cheating.
Sarah Elesland, Lawrence junior, said that she did not think that the blue books would have an impact on people who cheated.
"I don't think people even read instructions, so I don't think that the notice will help," she said. "When somebody is desperate, it doesn't matter."
Another step in the crackdown on cheating is an academic integrity brochure distributed in English 103 classes.
Sheila Immel, assistant to the dean of student life, said that the brochure's goal was to increase awareness of cheating and to educate students of their rights if they were caught cheating.
She said that academic integrity applied to faculty and administrators as well as students.
"When a graduate student does work for a professor and the professor puts their name on it, that's cheating," she said.
I don't think people even read instructions, so I don't think that the notice will help. When somebody is desperate, it doesn't matter.'
— Sarah Eieslana Lawrence junio
Larry Sherr, Chancellors Club teaching professor for business, and author of the brochure, said that he grew concerned about the high level of cheating after he began giving surveys in his business statistics classes. The surveys consisted of several questions, including one that asked students if they had ever cheated on an exam at KU.
In 1983, more than 50 percent of the students questioned responded that they cheated in their classes. He said that last year the average was about 40 percent.
"We know we're dealing with a big number." Sherid said.
One problem with apprehending offenders is that many instructors do not have time to attend the hearings for a student accused of cheating, he said.
Instructors who report a student for violations must take about three days out of their schedules to participate in the grievance hearings.
Sherl said that because of this, many instructors find the hearings more of a problem than a solution. So she suggested the process be made easier so that instructors would be more willing to turn in students who cheat.
Audra Langford, Lenexa junior,
said, "I think the scariest thing
would be to see a teacher catch
someone cheating. I don't think it's
enough to read a policy."