According to a recent report, cheating among college and university students is on the rise. However, Groveton College has successfully reduced student cheating by adopting an honor code.

According to a recent report, cheating among college and university students is on the rise. However, Groveton College has successfully reduced student cheating by adopting an honor code, which calls for students to agree not to cheat in their academic endeavors and to notify a faculty member if they suspect that others have cheated. Groveton’s honor code replaced a system in which teachers closely monitored students; under that system, teachers reported an average of thirty cases of cheating per year. In the first year the honor code was in place, students reported twenty-one cases of cheating; five years later, this figure had dropped to fourteen. Moreover, in a recent survey, a majority of Groveton students said that they would be less likely to cheat with an honor code in place than without. Thus, all colleges and universities should adopt honor codes similar to Groveton’s in order to decrease cheating among students.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

At first sight of this recommendation, it seems true that the honor code is the factor for the decrease of the exam cheating.However, the recommendation is contingent on a series of logical flaws and unreliable evidence. There are some questions needing answers before drawing the conclusion.

First, is the exam cheating a serious problem in Groveton College? The repot only tells us that the cheating is on the rise and thirty cases of cheating per year, but it does not provide the number of the students and enrollment. If Groveton College were a large college with 10000 students, thirty cases of cheating only represent a small amount of students who cheat in the exam. Thus, the exam cheating is not a serious problem in Groveton College and the honor code may not be the factor. In order to make the recommendation more convincing, the Groveton College should offer the number of students and enrollment.

Allowing the exam cheating is a serious problem in Groveton College, is the honor code really helpful to reduce the cheating? Before enacting the honor code, teachers use rigorous means to monitor students. That is why there are thirty cases of cheating per year in the teachers’ scrutiny. Perhaps, students are less strict with their peers than teachers are. As a result of this, the reported cases of cheating are on decrease. To better decide the help of the honor code, Groveton College should investigate the students.

Taking a step further, the honor code is helpful and students are strict with themselves. Is the honor code the only factor to reduce the exam cheating? Perhaps, there are other measures to reduce the cases of cheating. If students who are reported cheating in the exam get penalty and discipline, there would be less students likely to cheat. In the result of this, students are strict with their peers and it leads to the decrease of exam cheating. Without further information, the recommendation is defective.

Last but not least, do students do what they say? The students say that they would be less likely to cheat with an honor code in place than without. It is known that a self-reporting sometimes is untrustworthy. Students may say something that teachers want to hear during the self-reporting so that it makes teachers believe the honor code really works. Groveton College should answer this question to better sustain its own recommendation.

In short, the honor code is contingent on some unsolved questions. Groveton College should answer these questions and provide reliable evidence to better evaluate the recommendation. Without further information, we may not have complete and convincing conclusion.