Cheating on homework

Last week I received an email where the sender wrote: “My best friend asks me to allow him to copy my homework. I do not want to lose a friend but also do not want him to cheat. Please advise.”

My answer: “The issue of copy someone else's homework is quite common in schools today. It is NOT because students CANNOT do the homework but it is likely that they do not have enough TIME to study. Maybe they are too busy playing videogames all day? or maybe they spend too much time in parties at night? Suddenly they realize that they must turn in the homeworks if they want to pass the class and they panic so the easiest thing is to copy somebody else's work and hope that nothing will happen. Of course, if get caught, it could be a failing grade, or school probation.

The issue with this type of cheating is if students can do it once, they will do it again and the whole learning can become a “cheating games” with severe consequences. If you think professors do NOT know then probably you are over optimistic. Most professors do have experiences with this kind of situation. If certain homeworks look similar, a simple check can reveal the issue. Even if the professor does not catch the cheating, your best friend is cheating himself and compromising his learning. By allowing him to copy your homework, you also help him NOT to learn and as a “best friend” you would not do that, wouldn't you?

No student would go to college with the intention of cheating so the root cause is mostly on the time management issue. Learning to managing time in school is an important part of learning the skill needed for the workplace. Even the best students sometimes have trouble with time and professors know this. My advice is your friend should ask for an extension rather than turning in something that is NOT his work. Your “best friend” should come and talk to the professor and ask for additional time to turn in the homework. A student who politely requests a few days so he can study more and do his work MAY get what he asks for. In that case, professor knows that he is dealing with a mature, honest, and sincere student and who is going to punish an honest student? Your friend does NOT even need to reveal the reason if it is the first time. Most professors would rather see students learn something by having extra time than just turn in a “sloppy” homeworks.

If an extension is NOT possible, your friend may “negotiate” to turn in the homework late for a lower grade. Learning to negotiate is also an important part of learning the skill needed for the workplace. Many professors may issue a small penalty for late homework. As a professor, I do accept late homeworks up to two days at a penalty of 5 point deduction per day, to make sure that students do manage their time accordingly and to be fair to other students. Late homework means students actually do put in the efforts to learn something and it is better than “copy somebody's works”.

College is where student learn to manage the time, understand the priority, and accept the responsibility. It is also part of growing up, you will learn from your mistakes. The reason students go to school is to get educated, to learn and learning is a good habit. You may forget what you have learned, you may forget the mathematic formula or the calculus equations few years from now but you will never forget the learning habit. So please keep a good study habit as it will help you for the rest of your life.

Sources

  • Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University