No. of academic dishonesty cases reported on rise

The Office of Student Conduct's annual report also included 19 assaults and 13 computer-misues cases. Reported incidents of academic dishonesty are on the rise at Penn, according to statistics released yesterday by the Office of Student Conduct. Twenty-one undergraduate students were accused of violating Penn's Code of Academic Integrity between September 1, 1997, and August 31, 1998. Though the OSC did not release statistics for the previous year, Director Michelle Goldfarb said the number represents an increase from the past. The statistics for conduct violations also include 13 computer misconduct charges, 34 alcohol-related violations, 13 accusations of vandalism and 19 assaults. Although charges of academic integrity violations are up, Honor Council Chairperson Kevin Hodges said he believes the numbers may be misleading. "Professors have just been more diligent in catching students and reporting the incidents," the Wharton junior said. Hodges said the work of the Honor Council -- which was founded in 1995 by then-Provost Stanley Chodorow -- encouraged faculty members to hold a stricter stance on academic integrity violations. Violations of academic integrity rules include cheating, fabrication and plagiarism. All of the students accused of academic violations were undergraduates, and 98 percent of all other incidents also involved undergraduates. The statistics released by the OSC also include information on how the office disciplined students. Twenty-five people were given probation, while 12 were either suspended or withdrew from school. There is no mention on the report of any expulsions. Some of the sanctions were in response to incidents from previous years. Goldfarb said her office is trying to find alternative ways to respond to disciplinary cases. "We have? increasingly attempted to resolve disciplinary and other referrals through mediation or other informal, constructive means," Goldfarb wrote in a letter to the University community to be published in Almanac, the University's journal of record. Though academic and computer misconduct are apparently up, Goldfarb said assaults are trending down. Goldfarb said there haven't been any assaults since the end of the time period covered by the report. "There were some minor matters, but no assaults last semester," Goldfarb noted. Many other student conduct incidents, such as drug, alcohol and disorderly conduct violations, have remained relatively constant, Goldfarb said. These figures represent the number of complaints received -- which is not necessarily the same as the amount of disciplinary charges filed. The OSC's report does not detail specific incidents or tie types of violations to sanctions. While Goldfarb noted that the report does have merit to the Penn community, information is intentionally vague to ensure confidentiality and make it easy for people to understand the statistics. Nationwide, there has been a growing debate on college campuses over schools' rights to keep confidential specific information about conduct violations -- especially those that involve violence. The most recent higher-education funding authorization bill rescinded earlier rules and gave schools greater latitude in deciding what information to reveal pertaining to certain violent incidents. The OSC, formerly the Judicial Inquiry Office, handles all allegations student misconduct, from assaults and thefts to academic integrity violations. Any member of the Penn community can register a complaint, which leads to a confidential investigation to discover who -- if anybody -- is accountable for wrongdoing. Only incidents between members of the Penn community are investigated by the OSC, which is headquartered in an office in the Quadrangle. Goldfarb said the office did not file a report last year because of both "computer and personnel problems."