A few boards have gotten some chatter about the Fuqua cheating incident and a few papers have picked up the story. But only the facts of the case are being published, while non-students speculate about the integrity and reputation of Fuqua. So I feel compelled to clarify my thoughts and feelings on the situation.
Fuqua is brave. As some people have pointed out, cheating surely happens at all universities and business schools. But Fuqua has taken a stand about cheating. They could have swept this incident under the rug and no one would have been the wiser. But instead, they had the courage and integrity to do the right thing, regardless of the negative publicity it may have caused. That speaks volumes about the character of the institution and its students.
Fuqua fosters integrity and teamwork. The actions of a few do not reflect the character of the whole. We are a school that supports one another, whether it be helping fellow classmates find jobs, understand an assignment, or comforting them through a difficult time. It's part of our culture and is what makes us unique and our alumni network strong. What's more, we value teamwork in the context of honor and integrity. This means while we are a support system, we also are careful not to cross ethical boundaries, especially when it comes to cheating. This incident has shaken our foundation, and that is why it is not being tolerated by Fuqua. The actions of a few have violated our trust, but it will not violate what we stand for.
Fuqua is compassionate. We all make mistakes. It's actually part of our culture and is what, in my opinion, makes the United States great. We can fail, learn from our failures, and then rise up to succeed and be applauded for it. As I mentioned before, business school is a training ground, and better to make these mistakes now then when it hurts even more people. If those students who were suspended for a year choose to return to Fuqua, I'm sure they will be treated with the same respect and given the same opportunities as any other student. While cheating will not be tolerated at our school, a second chance will be given.
I love Fuqua. It was the best decision I could ever had made for business school. Not only have I learned so much, but I have made incredible friends, met incredible people and have a support system I can count on for the rest of my life. This incident has actually confirmed my passion for Fuqua, because I know that the school lives by its honor code; it's not just a plaque on a wall. And that means that the students it brings in will also live by that code. There will be exceptions every once in a while, but when that happens, I know that the school will take steps to make things right.
That's powerful. And maybe, just what the business world needs.
Showing posts with label honor code. Show all posts
Showing posts with label honor code. Show all posts
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Here we go again
Last year, Duke made headlines, thanks to the men's lacrosse team. As I had blogged earlier (see post labels), this incident never really affected our business school community, since we were well-insulated from the antics of the undergrads. But now, this incident has hit a bit closer to home. Duke is in the news again, and this time, it's the business school students with the antics.
I've posted the article from the Durham Herald-Sun below. Hopefully this won't make quite the same headlines as the lacross scandal. I think this has hit us hard because Fuqua is a tight-knit commuity and most of us value the honor and integrity not only of each other and our school, but also of business itself. Business school is the training ground for (hopefully) leaders of tomorrow, and if we don't build an ethical foundation now, then we'll be sure to have more Enrons and WorldComs in the future.
I believe in celebrating different cultures, and I also believe that when you're in Rome, you do as the Romans due. And while there are shades of gray across cultures, there are some philosophies that remain constant. I believe ethics is one of them.
Last week, there were police officers tramping around Fuqua's campus. I went up to one and asked why they were there...after all, there are never police officers around our campus. They told me that the Dean had to tell some bad news to some students (the honor code violations) and, in light of the recent events at Virginia Tech, the Dean wanted the police there as a security measure. Anyway you look at this incident, I guess no one is insulated from the world anymore.
Fuqua students may face expulsion
BY BRIANNE DOPART
The Herald-Sun
April 27, 2007
Nine students at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business could be expelled for cheating on a take-home exam, according to Mike Hemmerich, the school's associate dean for strategy and institutional research.
Thirty-eight daytime business students at the school were accused of honor violations in 22 separate cases heard by the school's judicial board over the past several weeks. All but one of the 38 were accused of cheating in a third quarter class while one was charged with "a lying offense."
The charges stemmed from the outcome of a single take-home test taken by 410 of the first-year class's 411 students, Hemmerich said. Friday, the university's judicial board announced it found nine students guilty of "extremely severe offenses" while 15 were found guilty of "severe offenses" and 10 were found guilty of "minor offenses," he said.
Four students were found not guilty of violating the honor code.
The honor code, the preamble of which is posted in "any classroom at Fuqua" according to a statement released Friday by Douglas T. Breeden, dean of the school, is distributed to all students who enter Fuqua. Violations of the code include lying, cheating, stealing and failing to report those offenses.
The school's decision was explained to Fuqua students at a Friday afternoon session. Some students said they felt the punishment for the cheating students was not harsh enough, but at least one student said cultural differences might have confused some of those taking the test and therefore the punishment was too severe.
That student was putting up a poster, which read: "9 EXPULSION is all we need??????? PUNISHMENT OR EDUCATION?????" It also bore a statistic stemming from Duke's own Center for Academic Integrity that says 56 percent of American MBA students reported having cheated in a 2002-2004 survey.
Hemmerich declined to comment on reports that the majority of those charged with the offense were international students. The university is bound by law to keep the identity of the charges against students private, he said, and identifying the charged students as international students could "identify" some of them.
He said that international students do attend a summer program before entering the school that addresses the cultural differences between the U.S. and their respective countries of origin.
Erwin Chan, a second-year student who believes the expulsions were well warranted, said the school's decision to take action against the alleged cheaters spoke to Fuqua's commitment to integrity.
"I think you should see [the expulsions] as a sign we do take integrity very seriously," he said, adding that the school's decision to welcome back those found guilty of less offenses was a testament to his school's compassion.
According to the study performed by the Center for Academic Integrity, which polled 5,300 students, MBA students were more likely to cheat than their engineering, law and education student counterparts -- a finding that led the author of the study, Donald McCabe, to urge business schools to address their significant problem with cheating last fall.
"The type of student attracted to business is exceedingly decisive and often will substitute expediency for ethics," said the center's executive director Tim Dodd.
Hemmerich said the school's new fall curriculum will offer a class called "Global Institute" that will address the issues of leadership and ethics in business.
For the nine guilty of extremely severe offenses, the punishment will be expulsion and a notation that will appear on their transcript for four years.
The 15 guilty of severe offenses received a lesser punishment of a one-year suspension, an F in the related course and a notation that will appear on their transcript for three years. The punishment was similar for the 10 guilty of minor offenses, but the notation on those students' transcripts will appear for only one year.
The single student charged with lying received a zero grade on the take-home test and will have a notation on his or her transcript for three months.
I've posted the article from the Durham Herald-Sun below. Hopefully this won't make quite the same headlines as the lacross scandal. I think this has hit us hard because Fuqua is a tight-knit commuity and most of us value the honor and integrity not only of each other and our school, but also of business itself. Business school is the training ground for (hopefully) leaders of tomorrow, and if we don't build an ethical foundation now, then we'll be sure to have more Enrons and WorldComs in the future.
I believe in celebrating different cultures, and I also believe that when you're in Rome, you do as the Romans due. And while there are shades of gray across cultures, there are some philosophies that remain constant. I believe ethics is one of them.
Last week, there were police officers tramping around Fuqua's campus. I went up to one and asked why they were there...after all, there are never police officers around our campus. They told me that the Dean had to tell some bad news to some students (the honor code violations) and, in light of the recent events at Virginia Tech, the Dean wanted the police there as a security measure. Anyway you look at this incident, I guess no one is insulated from the world anymore.
Fuqua students may face expulsion
BY BRIANNE DOPART
The Herald-Sun
April 27, 2007
Nine students at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business could be expelled for cheating on a take-home exam, according to Mike Hemmerich, the school's associate dean for strategy and institutional research.
Thirty-eight daytime business students at the school were accused of honor violations in 22 separate cases heard by the school's judicial board over the past several weeks. All but one of the 38 were accused of cheating in a third quarter class while one was charged with "a lying offense."
The charges stemmed from the outcome of a single take-home test taken by 410 of the first-year class's 411 students, Hemmerich said. Friday, the university's judicial board announced it found nine students guilty of "extremely severe offenses" while 15 were found guilty of "severe offenses" and 10 were found guilty of "minor offenses," he said.
Four students were found not guilty of violating the honor code.
The honor code, the preamble of which is posted in "any classroom at Fuqua" according to a statement released Friday by Douglas T. Breeden, dean of the school, is distributed to all students who enter Fuqua. Violations of the code include lying, cheating, stealing and failing to report those offenses.
The school's decision was explained to Fuqua students at a Friday afternoon session. Some students said they felt the punishment for the cheating students was not harsh enough, but at least one student said cultural differences might have confused some of those taking the test and therefore the punishment was too severe.
That student was putting up a poster, which read: "9 EXPULSION is all we need??????? PUNISHMENT OR EDUCATION?????" It also bore a statistic stemming from Duke's own Center for Academic Integrity that says 56 percent of American MBA students reported having cheated in a 2002-2004 survey.
Hemmerich declined to comment on reports that the majority of those charged with the offense were international students. The university is bound by law to keep the identity of the charges against students private, he said, and identifying the charged students as international students could "identify" some of them.
He said that international students do attend a summer program before entering the school that addresses the cultural differences between the U.S. and their respective countries of origin.
Erwin Chan, a second-year student who believes the expulsions were well warranted, said the school's decision to take action against the alleged cheaters spoke to Fuqua's commitment to integrity.
"I think you should see [the expulsions] as a sign we do take integrity very seriously," he said, adding that the school's decision to welcome back those found guilty of less offenses was a testament to his school's compassion.
According to the study performed by the Center for Academic Integrity, which polled 5,300 students, MBA students were more likely to cheat than their engineering, law and education student counterparts -- a finding that led the author of the study, Donald McCabe, to urge business schools to address their significant problem with cheating last fall.
"The type of student attracted to business is exceedingly decisive and often will substitute expediency for ethics," said the center's executive director Tim Dodd.
Hemmerich said the school's new fall curriculum will offer a class called "Global Institute" that will address the issues of leadership and ethics in business.
For the nine guilty of extremely severe offenses, the punishment will be expulsion and a notation that will appear on their transcript for four years.
The 15 guilty of severe offenses received a lesser punishment of a one-year suspension, an F in the related course and a notation that will appear on their transcript for three years. The punishment was similar for the 10 guilty of minor offenses, but the notation on those students' transcripts will appear for only one year.
The single student charged with lying received a zero grade on the take-home test and will have a notation on his or her transcript for three months.
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