By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Unfortunately in the academic world, cheating is an ongoing concern.
Barton Community College created an academic integrity policy in 2002 to help
combat students from cheating, but had to reinforce the policy more recently
after finding themselves “under siege” during the 2018-2019 school year with
academic integrity violations.
A problem all learning institutions are dealing with, Barton reported 122 XF
grades in 2018. That number was a jump from 34 cases the year prior. The XF is
a letter grade usually associated with students that are caught performing acts of academic dishonesty.
Barton Vice President of Instruction Elaine Simmons said the main issue the
college is dealing with is contract cheating. Contract cheating is where
students pay others to complete their homework or assignments.
"I received different communications from institutions that students like to transfer to," said Simmons. "They said they were hearing things, noticing things and they were not sure. You don't take that input lightly. You have to act on that. I had no thrill in expelling the number of students that I expelled during that time, but the reputation of institution is first and foremost."
After 2018, Barton decided to revamp their Academic Integrity Council that works
with students with awareness, presentations and discussions on academic
honesty.
Barton Director of Innovation and Compliance Lee Miller said the
college reported seven XF grades in 2022.
"We're preparing students for integrity in the workforce," said Miller. "When we're sending students out, they're practicing the integrity we want them to have in their careers. They're seeing how you apply integrity as an essential skill."
Barton staff recognizes keeping up with the latest cheating techniques will be an
ongoing effort. Barton Board of Trustees member Gary Burke noted it is
important to get the cheating stopped because it does not take long until the word
gets out that “if you want to cheat, go here.”