Cheating during the College Years: How Do Business School Students Compare?

• Published in: Journal of business ethics Vol. 72; no. 2; pp. 197 - 206
• Main Authors: Klein, Helen A., Levenburg, Nancy M., McKendall, Marie, Mothersell, William
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.05.2007; Springer Nature B.V
• Series: Journal of Business Ethics
• Subjects: academic dishonesty; Academic success; Attitudes; Attitudes to work; Behavior; Business community; Business ethics; Business schools; Business studies; Cheating; cheating attitudes; cheating behaviors; cheating in business schools; cheating in professional schools; College campuses; College students; Colleges & universities; Ethical behavior; Ethical instruction; ethics; Fraud; Grade point average; Graduates; Higher education; Honesty; Perceptions; Professional ethics; Professional schools; Professionals; Statistical analysis; Students; U.S.A; Workplaces; United States > US
• ISSN: 0167-4544; 1573-0697
• DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9165-7

When it comes to cheating in higher education, business school students have often been accused of being the worst offenders; if true, this may be a contributing factor in the kinds of fraud that have plagued the business community in recent years. We examined the issue of cheating in the business school by surveying 268 students in business and other professional schools on their attitudes about, and experiences with, cheating. We found that while business school students actually cheated no more or less than students in other professional schools, their attitudes on what constitutes cheating are more lax than those of other professional school students. Additionally, we found that serious cheaters across all professional schools were more likely to be younger and have a lower grade point average.