Growing Concerns in Canada Over Foreign Students’ Cheating

September 7, 2011, 1:53 pm

An increasing number of Canadian universities are noticing that foreign students are violating standards of academic integrity more often than are their domestic peers, reports The Globe and Mail. Canada has increasingly become a destination of choice for international students, who occasionally struggle with studying in English, adapting to a new academic culture, and acknowledging plagiarism. Most universities do not track offenders by country of origin, but anecdotally the institutions say they are seeing a disproportionate number of foreign students with such problems.

For example, the University of Windsor, which began tracking offenders by country of origin in 2008, has found the percentage of foreign students running afoul of rules is three times higher than that of Canadian students. Over all, however, the number of foreign students at the university breaking the rules has decreased in the past three years.

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siobhancurious

As is suggested, but not elaborated, here, a large number of foreign students “run afoul” of rules because they do not understand them. What is considered plagiarism in western academic culture is often considered homage or simple “correctness” in others. Educating students explicitly about what constitutes “cheating” is essential at the beginning of college. And when I say “students,” I mean all students, not just international ones; it’s amazing how many young people make it through even Canadian high schools without really understanding the difference between citation and plagiarism, collaboration and cheating. We expect students to know these things without teaching them, and that is not fair.
soniaplaus

As far as I can understand, it certainly could be one of the prices paid or one of the not well discussed sides of the running for internationalization of HE.
raymond_j_ritchie

They will learn eventually but it will take a long time. What sinks in very slowly is that full-fee paying international students are at best a zero-sum game. Rather like the proverbial football team that brings in $100 million a year. Nobody is supposed to notice that it costs $150 million a year to run. Where is an economic rationalist when you need one?