Academic misconduct: responses from deans and nurse educators

The purpose of this study was to describe what deans/chairs and faculty in baccalaureate nursing programs perceive as academic misconduct among students. Subjects were asked to describe a positive and negative incident that reflected student cheating and/or plagiarizing and to describe the setting where the incident occurred. Various types of cheating and plagiarism were described by the subjects as occurring in the classroom setting. In the clinical setting, incidents of false documentation and faked home visits were reported. Results of this study support the need for a clearer understanding among students of what constitutes plagiarism. Students who become involved in academic misconduct need to be identified early and policies must be developed that will assist administrators and faculty in dealing with these issues.