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Hippo
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Half of Cambridge students cheat. Still a Top 10 university?
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In summary, a poll conducted at Cambridge University found that almost half of the students admitted to cheating or using essays found on the internet. The survey also revealed that a majority of students rely on open-source websites like Wikipedia for research instead of approved sources. The university's ranking system is based on research funding, rather than academic performance, and there have been cases of flawed evaluations leading to inaccurate results. The practice of filling out evaluations is not taken seriously by many students, creating pressure for others to quickly complete them. Overall, Cambridge University may need to reevaluate its methods if its goal is to produce future politicians.
- #2
misgfool
I thought the ranking system is based on citations in scientific journals or something like that. Even if students are shooting themselves in the foot doesn't make university bad.
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Moonbear
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misgfool said:
I don't know about the UK, but in the US it's based on research funding, an indirect indicator of research quality, not academic performance of the students.
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mgb_phys
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There is no official raning system - the top lists are published by various newspapers, admissions guides etc.
There used to be the Research Assesment Exercise where the department stops all research for 3months every year and submits a huge amount of documentation and is then assessed by another university you then get a mark out of 5.
My old dept at Cambridge once got a 4.9 and since anything less than a 5 naturally means that the dept is shut down and all the staff shot - there was an investigation.
What happened was that a course we didn't teach was on the list. Half the reviewers automatically put a 5 because it was Cambridge, the rest noted this and left the answer blank which scored a zero. Naturally the committee in charge simply averaged the results! A case was made that in fact dividing the score by the courses we did teach we actaully scored more than 100%.
There used to be the Research Assesment Exercise where the department stops all research for 3months every year and submits a huge amount of documentation and is then assessed by another university you then get a mark out of 5.
My old dept at Cambridge once got a 4.9 and since anything less than a 5 naturally means that the dept is shut down and all the staff shot - there was an investigation.
What happened was that a course we didn't teach was on the list. Half the reviewers automatically put a 5 because it was Cambridge, the rest noted this and left the answer blank which scored a zero. Naturally the committee in charge simply averaged the results! A case was made that in fact dividing the score by the courses we did teach we actaully scored more than 100%.
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Moonbear
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mgb_phys said:
That sounds like my teaching evaluations from last year. I didn't lecture last year, I was only a lab instructor, yet, instead of skipping over the question on the quality of my lectures on my teaching evaluations, the students seemed to all just pick an average score for some reason. I think it would be hilarious if I got a better evaluation for not lecturing than some people do for giving lectures though. But, I've been tempted to present that to the administration as evidence of the flaws of teaching evaluations.- #6
elterrible
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Moonbear said:
The evaluations are a bit of a joke here. The instructor is not allowed to be in the room when we do them, so a student has to volunteer to collect them and turn them in the office. The instructor passes them out at the end of class (usually end the class a few minutes early) but then people rush to finish them so they can leave and you feel pressured to finish it fast so the volunteer can get it and leave and turn it in. I like to write a paragraph or so in addition to the scantron part but most people don't write anything and I always feel rushed trying to fill it out.
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rcgldr
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If Cambridge's goal is to produce future politicians, then they're only getting it half right, or perhaps the other half isn't majoring in political science?
Related to Half of Cambridge students cheat. Still a Top 10 university?
1. How was the data collected for this study?
The data was collected through an anonymous survey of Cambridge students, asking about their experiences with cheating. The results were then analyzed and compared to data from other top universities.
2. What is considered cheating in this study?
In this study, cheating refers to any academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism, copying someone else's work, or using unauthorized resources during exams.
3. How does the rate of cheating at Cambridge compare to other top universities?
According to the study, the rate of cheating at Cambridge is higher than at other top universities, but it is still considered a Top 10 university based on other academic measures such as research output and student satisfaction.
4. What factors may contribute to the high rate of cheating at Cambridge?
There are a variety of potential factors that may contribute to the high rate of cheating at Cambridge, such as the pressure to succeed, the competitive academic environment, and the perception that cheating is a common occurrence among peers.
5. How can universities address the issue of cheating among students?
Universities can address the issue of cheating by implementing stricter policies and consequences for academic dishonesty, promoting a culture of academic integrity, and providing resources for students to learn about ethical academic practices.