Do you think much cheating goes on at Georgetown? How can Georgetown promote a culture of integrity?
Since I am a first-year student, I have not been exposed to a culture of cheating at Georgetown yet. I have heard the latest scandal of cheating and ongoing lies that surround the issue. Schools can prevent the act of cheating by taking precautions; however, those technical details will soon be outsmarted by over-achievers who will find ways to get an A. The major point of focus should be the Jesuit identity of Georgetown, I think. It does seem like an intangible purpose that would not be effective with students. But I strongly believe that if you tell someone that they are a certain way, they will start acting that way. For example, if Georgetown announced that it prefers to admit students who delineate a deep understanding and practice of ethical values, then the students would think that as Georgetown students they carry that identity. Moreover, if Georgetown were to start creating a collective identity of its students as upholding Jesuit values, the students would start to value the common good of their institution and identity rather than their individual ambitions.
This is very idealistic and most probably not too realistic. My approach might not bring solutions to this major problem immediately, but I think it is a perspective and practice that will be effective in the long run as it is implemented continuously by the faculty. In the short-term, there should be strict rules and monitoring of the students during exams. However, these two ways of dealing with cheating conflict and contradict each other. If we promote an image of the student body as honest, one with integrity and morality, as a representative of old Jesuit values, we cannot have professor walking around making sure that no one is cheating. The idea might be there, but how will it be believable?
What we do will take home quizzes for Flourishing: College and Community is a great way for professors to build that trust relationship with students. Both of our professors can probably easily tell when a student copied their answers from the book. So, there is some degree of monitoring. But the monitoring is so mild that the students are responsible for their behaviour under the light of integrity, ethics, and morality. Therefore, the Georgetown administration can promote the utilization of such quizzes in other classes as well.
