Foreign students are cheating five more times than domestic students in universities, according to a report. This is based on an analysis from 14 huge public universities in the United States for school year 2014-2015.
The Wall Street Journal's investigation found out that public universities had recorded 5.1 reports of alleged cheating for every 100 international students. Only one report of alleged cheating was recorded for every 100 domestic students.
U.S. universities say foreign students, particularly from China, are more likely to cheat https://t.co/kQDJYVkhM5
— Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) June 8, 2016
Higher Fees Paid By International Students May Be A Factor
The Daily Mail reported that one theory is that universities are being "more lenient" on international students who cheat due to the higher tuition fees they pay the schools. The Journal reported that international students frequently pay two or three times the regular fees because of special programs and that these payments help public universities who have to deal with lesser state subsidies.
"I can assure you that somewhere someone at the university is doing a calculus about how much tuition they would lose if they start coming down hard on students who cheat," Beth Mitchneck told the Journal. Mitchneck is a professor of geography and development at the University of Arizona.
Chinese Students Singled Out In Teacher Interviews
Chinese students were particularly mentioned by teachers when interviewed by the Journal about cheating, Fortune reported. "Cheating among Chinese students, especially those with poor language skills, is a huge problem," said Mitchneck.
Chinese international students offered mixed reactions to the finding when interviewed by the Journal, with one saying that it was alright to cheat in China. One said that it was not so, instead saying that Chinese culture pressures students, leading them to find shortcuts. Still, another said that after being burned out in high school in China, Chinese students now want to enjoy and they start cheating.
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