Cheating,Public Administration Education,and Online Courses: An Essay and Call to Arms

Abstract

In various surveys, a minimum of 15 percent to more than 70 percent of students admit cheating. Cheating is especially problematic for public affairs programs because we seek to train competent, ethical public administrators and policy analysts. Evidence also indicates that cheating generates more cheating. We cannot ignore its prevalence. Cheating is even easier during entirely online courses. Therefore, public affairs faculty and programs must take cheating seriously, try to prevent it, and generally ban courses that are taught completely online.

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