An engineering student speaks out against cheating

The following remarks are from a student in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science. His identity has been concealed at his request.

I filed a complaint to the university in spring 2004 (during the final exam period) because I was shocked at witnessing students openly cheating off each other’s exam papers.
The worst was the fact that they were accomplices with the invigilators (I use the term “seemed to be” since the invigilators did not get convicted).

In fact, the plagiarism was so evident that I was at the opposite side of the class, and I could hear the paper crumpling in the back.
I was so angry at this unfairness that I wrote a complaint to the dean and [other administrators]. I am glad this complaint did not get lost in the bureaucratic ocean.

The student wrote to the dean to thank him, and it was through the dean that we heard about this case. We asked the student to assess the new examination policy, and special measures in ENCS.

The seat-assignment strategy is good, because this way, we’ll be able to compare two students’ copies, but this will work only if there is doubt. Therefore, the invigilators should be told to write down the seat number of the students they have doubts about. This way, the correctors will have some hints as to who might have cheated during the exam, and compare the suspected exams accordingly.

Now, how to know if students are cheating? The critical time is when they are told the exam is over. They take advantage of the noise and the people standing up to ask a student an answer, or merely look at someone’s paper. The invigilators should take this into consideration.
Everybody knows it’s easy to copy at an exam at Concordia University, and so far, I’ve noticed a lot of cheating during my “career” at the university.

[At CEGEP], our every move was supervised, and the teachers were very severe on cheating. When I sat at my first exam at Concordia, I was expecting even tougher rules, but on the contrary, I felt like in high school.

I shall add, though, that many students suffer from being pressured by their parents. Some students may end up relying on unprofessional practices in order not to [disappoint] their relatives. But a multicultural university implies rules that apply to everybody, no exception. Concordia University prepares students for the “real world,” where plagiarism is strictly forbidden.

Regarding the conformation of originality form [now a requirement in Engineering and Computer Science], I believe they should remove this obligation and make every student sign [a form] at the beginning of a course or at registration to ensure they know what cheating is, and the consequences.

They should put conformation of originality forms everywhere, because it is really infuriating when you get to hand in your assignment and you do not have one of these forms with you. If you don’t hand it in [with the form], you’ll lose marks for lateness.