The number of incidents of plagiarism and cheating is published in the annual disciplinary report, recently released by the Dean of Students' Office. The report lists the number of incidents of both academic and non-academic infractions as well as the penalties assigned to address the infractions. According to the report, there were eight incidents of plagiarism in 2000, and "penalties ranged from probation and failure on paper to probation and failure in course." Four students were found guilty of plagiarism in 1999. However, students found guilty of cheating decreased from 12 to 11 from 1999 to 2000.
While the Student Senate has been engaged in discussions about an exclusively self-scheduled exam system, Lieber said that the number of cheating incidents "does not seem to be connected to the use of self-scheduled exams." He added that, "It is hard to know what goes on that is never caught."
"Possibly increased pressure" is one factor that Elana Bernstein '03, who is a member of the Committee on Discipline, said she suspects in the surge of cheating cases. "The caliber of students here is really high and people may feel the need to keep up," she added. "I know it is not because the faculty are lax or because of unproctored exams."
About 50 percent of cheating occurs on final exams, according to Lieber. The rest is spread over exams during the semester. "It's a bit disturbing that the past several semesters have shown an upward trend in incidents of cheating and plagiarism," said J. Ashley Ebersole '01, a member of the Committee on Educational Policy. "But I personally do not believe that this is a huge problem at Amherst. The thinking is that the widespread availability of plagiarism-friendly material on the Internet has led to a rise in that sort of infraction, but that offers little explanation for an increase in old-fashioned cheating."
According to Seth Birnbaum '02, a member of the College Council, the majority of cheating and plagiarism occurred during last spring semester.
The College Council is discussing what actions to take in response to the increase in academic infractions. The College currently is undergoing a year-long trial period of a plagiarism tracking program, according to Birnbaum (see article below). The program scans for similarities between student papers and papers available on the web. "It would not be mandatory," said Birnbaum. "Some professors would choose not to use it."
The College is responding to the rise in cheating and plagiarism by educating students and faculty. According to Birnbaum, the College will provide more information to "bring it to the attention of professors ... and instill the impression that there is supposed to be a kind of honor code."
Lieber noted the importance of "bringing the problem to the attention of the community."
"Making sure that people are punished for the first offense" is another measure that Birnbaum cites as important in the effort to reduce cheating. "A lot of people do not think there is a consequence for a first offense." Penalties for first offenses range from failure on an exam or paper to probation.
Other academic infractions included one account of "forging advisor's signature," which resulted in probation and community service, and an incident of "lying to instructor about reason for missing class." What the report refers to as the "old dead grandmother excuse" led to probation.
There were 14 total non-academic infractions. "I think this year has been pretty typical, nothing remarkable," said Bernstein.
Two students were responsible for false fire alarms, and one failed to evacuate a dorm during a fire alarm. The false alarms resulted in probation, alcohol education and placement at the bottom of Room Draw. The student who failed to evacuate during the fire alarm received a warning and alcohol education.
One student who made harassing phone calls was penalized with probation, alcohol education and community service. Two students were placed on probation, removed from their dorms, and placed at the bottom of Room Draw for harassing a roommate.
One student was placed on probation for vandalism.
Also, two students were dismissed from the College, one for the sale of illegal drugs and the other for physical abuse and verbal intimidation.
There were two prank infractions during the year 2000. Two students received probation for "misappropriating Campus Police uniforms and wearing them to the Williams basketball game."
Three freshmen removed an ice cream cooler from Schwemm's to James and distributed the contents to dorm residents. These student were placed on probation, forced to pay for the cost of the ice cream and damage to the cooler and were assigned community service and alcohol education.