• funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      universities take plagiarism very seriously. Friend of mine teaches stage craft (how to make sets, props, costumes, lighting and sound design/planning/execution/engineering)

      First semester, first test, easy pass: Someone pokes their head into the class and my friend goes to the door to answer them, stepping outside for like ~30 seconds

      comes to mark the papers:

      “In a proscenium theater, what is the very front of the stage called?”

      Real answer: apron

      55% of the student answers: the same made up word that sounded vaguely Portuguese with no hits on Google.

      even though it’s super dumb and super easy and barely matters at all and is a one word answer to a basic question - the students ended up being investigated by the university and my friend had all his classes audited.

      • IronKrill@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        I may be dumb, but to clarify: they were assumed cheating because the word was fake, and the only reason for so many duplicated fake answers would be if they shared a faulty answer sheet. Right?

        • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works
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          9 months ago

          yeah, I mean a forgivable wrong answer would be “downstage center” “the front” “the lip” “limelights” “footlights” “wing” “leg” “curtain” “pit” - like close but wrong terminology or similar guesses.

          The fact that loads of them said the same weird wrong answer was very sus.

      • Senshi@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Still, cheating to some extent exists everywhere. This just weeds out the real lazy or stupid cheaters. Which is also some kind of quality check, I guess.

        To cheat properly, I’ve has to be a bit clever and shrewd, which is a valuable character trait. Maybe not the most moral one, but real life isn’t all moral either. 🤷‍♂️

        Sometimes the best and most efficient solutions are created by just cleverly combining the work of others.

    • firewood010@lemmy.zip
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      9 months ago

      I hope my Uni had this. I have never cheated, but cheaters sometimes have better grades than me.

      • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍@midwest.social
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        9 months ago

        I guess that would harm you if the class is graded on a curve. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be caught and penalized, only that expulsion from the university is a harsh penalty. Automatic failure of the class would hurt plenty, without utterly destroying someone’s life.

        • firewood010@lemmy.zip
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          9 months ago

          It is not harsh. Cheating is immoral and unfair, and every adult knows that. It is in nature a forgery of your degree. Honesty needs to be highly valued and respected. We have cooperations and politicians lying everyday because of this.