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According to preliminary findings of a study presented at the 2011 International Conference on Academic Integrity, the vast majority of college students graduate without ever being accused of cheating.

The study was conducted by Catherine Bolton, associate dean of student academic services for the Faculty of Arts and Science at Canada's Concordia University, along with Mebs Kanji, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, and Soheyla Salari, a research associate in the Department of Political Science.

While the findings in general were encouraging, some patterns in cheating were also uncovered. "We found most cases of academic misconduct are reported among students enrolled in social science programs," Bolton said in a statement. "What's more, our evidence suggests these academic violations typically occur during first-year courses."

The most common charge, Bolton said, is plagiarism. That happens, she said, in spite of warnings in course outlines and in public materials that plagiarism is not acceptable. "To significantly reduce the problem, professors, should clearly define proper citation practices and provides exact guidelines in what's expected for assignments," Bolton said.

Identifying cheaters

Incidents of cheating, the researchers found, are also reported by a relatively small group of college professors. "Could it be that professors are underreporting? If so, universities would require an alternative plan of attack," Bolton said. "We need to establish mechanisms to verify whether any incidents are, in fact, being missed."

Regardless, Bolton acknowledged, there's no way of eliminating cheating entirely, so colleges and universities have to have systems in place to handle such infractions. "There's a critical need for universities to have effective measures to identify and correct cases of academic misconduct," she said.

And according to the study's preliminary findings, discipline can have a significant impact on college students' conduct. "When caught, those who are alleged to have broken the code of conduct are usually charged and punished," Bolton said. "Few students, surprisingly, contest such charges. When given a second chance, most students opt to continue with their program and few reoffend."

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