> When one would finish her exam, she would come back to the room and tell all the remaining students what questions she had and how she solved them. We never considered that "cheating" and, as a professor, I always design my exams hoping that the good one (who usually choose to pass the exam early) will help the remaining crowd.
You are an outlier. When I was in school any outside assistance was tantamount to cheating and, unlike an actual crime, it was on the student to prove they were not cheating. Just the suspicion was enough to get you put in front of an honor board.
It was also pervasive. I would say 40% of international students were cheaters. When some were caught they fell back on cultural norms as their defense. The university never balked because those students, or their institutions, paid tuition in cash.
International students in graduate programs at US institions are basically buying a degree from what I've seen. The professors know they cheat and they don't really care. The students are paying a lot of money and they will get what they paid for.
> The professors know they cheat and they don't really care.
To throw another anecdote in the bucket, I know at least one professor who does not tolerate cheating from any of his students, regardless of cultural or national background, or how they're paying for their education
I've seen, on multiple occasions, the professor's recommendations get overruled by the dean or university administration. If the school wants them there, they stay.
Andés Hess (RIP) gave an examination, 2006, in his Organic Chemistry course... which ended up with 35% of the class being reported to Vanderbilt's Honor Council.
He brilliantly tested students using open-ended, single-sentence questions (with half of the page blank to show your work)... which tested foundational topics and oozed with partial-credit opportunities. You then had an option to submit "test corrections" to explain why you should gain more points for your efforts (typically considered, when reasonable).
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His first exam of the semester, there was a multi-step question which resulted in a single 1cm x 1cm box — worth 20% of the entire exam's scoring — for you to indicate whether that particular Grignard reaction resulted in a single-, double-, or triple- bond.
The majority of the class answered (incorrectly) that it would be a double-bond, by writing a `=` into the blank box. In fact, that reaction resulted in a triple-bond `≡`
35% of the class ended up just adding the third parallel line (i.e. changing what they had originally answered) when handing in their test corrections. Dr. Hess had made photocopies of all the penciled exams... and reported all the cheaters.
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I answered it correctly, originally, so was never tempted to fib a similar mistake — but this definitely opened my eyes in reinforcement of not cheating. I eventually got into medical school, and most of that 35% of branded "cheaters" did not. Ultimately I never became a physician, but remember the temptations to cheat like everybody else did. I am happier/poorer because...
A truth of human behavior: most employees will steal if they think they can get away with it. Most students will cheat if they think they can get away with it.
Religion, the concept of sin as evil, codes of behavior, moral principles of right and wrong are the systems we developed to combat these tendencies.
Nobody wants to judge people's behavior anymore, for fear of hurting feelings or anxiety about confrontation.
>40% of international students were cheaters. When some were caught they fell back on cultural norms as their defense. The university never balked because those students, or their institutions, paid tuition in cash.
Twenty years ago, at Vanderbilt, this would have been an understatement — particularly among non-citizen asians.
I remember in organic chemistry an instructor attempted to re-give the same examination ("because ya'll did so terrible") and it was struck down by a dean as not allowable simply because the Honor Code was to be invoked that nobody/groups would share answers (yeah sure okay).
The minority following the Honor Code ended up getting into lesser graduate schools (e.g. myself) — because most courses didn't curve and VU didn't give out A+ as a grade. I have specifically not mentioned the specific country which cheated most-blatantly... but everybody from back then knew/knows.
You are an outlier. When I was in school any outside assistance was tantamount to cheating and, unlike an actual crime, it was on the student to prove they were not cheating. Just the suspicion was enough to get you put in front of an honor board.
It was also pervasive. I would say 40% of international students were cheaters. When some were caught they fell back on cultural norms as their defense. The university never balked because those students, or their institutions, paid tuition in cash.