Ethics Scenario 1
Melissa is a pre-med student at a large university. She prefers taking classes that relate directly to her emphasis. However, Melissa knows that she has to take general education requirements to graduate. She decides to take "An Introduction to Art History," an easy class, to balance out the hard science classes she must take this quarter.
It turns out that Art History has weekly homework assignments--nothing difficult, but Melissa never seems to have time to do them. She reasons that she shouldn't waste her energy on class content that she will never use. Still, the teacher does grade the homework and Melissa cannot afford do poorly in the class because medical schools will care about her GPA. She ends up copying a classmate's homework on a weekly basis. Does Melissa really need to spend time on this gen-ed when she has more important classes to worry about?
Taken from: http://www.scu.edu/ethics-center/ethicsblog/thebigq.cfm?b=385&c=10020
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In my opinion, yes, Melissa should spend time on this gen-ed. It is very important not to copy someone else's work because that is plagiarism. I think Med school will care more about plagiarism than a C. If you get caught plagiarizing then you might as well not even apply to Med school. They might think that if you are willing to cheat on easy homework, then you are willing to cheat when it comes to actual medical classes. Yes, taking classes that you don't need for real life stinks, but they are still classes. Academics should be taken seriously. And no one should ever be plagiarizing.
ReplyDeleteI agree that If she is caught plagiarizing, it could ruin her future professional plans. If she is serious about going to medical, she should be serious with all of her current classes which include the gen-eds necessary to graduate. Med school may even like the fact that she took an art history class because it is so different from her major.
DeleteShowing diversity in your schedule and trying new things is what college is about. It is good that Melissa is taking this gen-ed because maybe if she tries to focus in this class she might actually enjoy it. Some people may find a gen-ed they love so much they might even decide to minor in certain subjects. It is essential she takes time out of her day to study and do this homework on her own. Plagiarism looks terrible on resume if she tried to get into med school after getting caught cheating.
DeleteYes Melissa should take time and study and do her own work in this art class. It doesn't matter how easy or what gen-ed class it is cheating is unethical and against school policy because it is plagiarism. Struggling through classes no matter what subject can help you become a better student and learner by gauging how to time manage and get your homework done at a reasonable time. If caught cheating this could mean no one will want to trust that you won't cheat in the future as well.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that cheating is cheating, no way around that. Although I think that her sticking with her class and putting in the work herself is less about the fact that the hard work will make her stronger, and more about the fact that you need to put the same amount of effort into all of your classes because each class counts. Med-schools look for how well you do in those classes just as much as they do the others. Also, it's not hard to spot plagiarism. It's really not.
DeleteI agree that learning by doing is a big part of learning in general. In regards to time management it is something you learn as you get better at it and get more assignments to do in a short time.
DeleteMelissa is in a situation that almost every college student seems to worry about. It is very hard to put full effort and dedication into a class that you know you don’t need for your future profession. Melissa feels as if it’s useless work that doesn’t do much other than allow her to graduate. She should not avoid the work completely and just not do it because she needs good grades for medical school. This situation is also based on time management. Melissa feels as if she doesn’t have time to balance the easy work for this class, but if she really tried, she could use better time management to actually do the work herself. I know there is not much motivation for Melissa in this class, but actually attempting to learn and picking up new knowledge could help other skills or areas in her life and future. My morals and values show that any form of cheating is wrong. Even if I feel the class is useless, we should always do our own work because it is your grade which represents your work ethic. It’s important to be honest with studies, so Melissa should put in the extra effort to do her own work even if that may involve managing her time better or sacrificing something else throughout her week.
ReplyDeletePeyton I completely agree with the fact that Melissa shouldn't avoid putting in the work for a class that doesn't involve her profession. Yes time management is something that she needs to work on in order to be more successful in her school life. Cheating is also something that I agree on with what you said. Cheating is a way of showing that someone doesn't put effort into doing things which can create bigger problems later on in life.
DeleteCreating bigger problems in life is a great point. If she is willing to cheat now what will she be willing to do later on in Med. school... or worse when she's a professional? I'm sure there will be other things in her life that she doesn't want to do but has to. Now is the time for her to learn how to put forth effort when you don't want to.
Deletethsi is a very tough position for melissa but in the end she should definitely be doing her own work. Cheating off of someone else will not help her learn the content, and is plagiarism. Actually doing the homework will be more beneficial, and allow melissa to become better at managing her time more efficiantly. This will also be beneficial when it comes time for med school, she will be able to manage her time more effectively, and be more prepared in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because cheating is morally and legally wrong. Copying someone else's work will get her nowhere, and who said she will never use this content in real life? Maybe when Melissa is networking or trying to get into medical school, someone she is trying to impress could be really into art history and that could be her chance to stand out. You shouldn't take knowledge for granted, especially if you are paying to learn it.
DeleteI agree with you, you should always put in the effort to do whats required of you in each class because weather you know it or not somewhere down the road it may benefit you. Plus the ability to do work that you may not want to do builds life skills in the long run in the sense that you may get a job that for the most part you may enjoy but will require you to do work that you dont want to do so getting used to doing things you dont want to while in school only helps you in the real world.
Deletegiven the profession that she wants to go into, I do not think that she should be cheating. she should learn to balance her time and to make sure that everything is done right, on her own. the other student as well should not let her cheat off of her, she should be smart enough to know that both of them could be charged with plagiarism.
ReplyDeleteI never even thought about the situation from the other persons' point of view. I like that you bring this up. What is the other person doing with their life? If they want to go into a professional setting, then they are risking a lot too. Yes plagiarism is bad, but what do you think about Melissa even having to take this class in the first place? We also attend a liberal arts college, so have you ever found yourself in this type of situation?
DeleteIn this situation I understand her feeling of not wanting to try and use her time up on the class she feels like she will never need, but if she is capable and the work is easy she should definitely be doing her own work and not copying off of another students. Her doing this is considered cheating and if the professor found out about it, then that would look worse on her records if she has academic dishonesty then just having a lower grade then she uses to when she is applying for medical school.
ReplyDeleterunning of what you said, it is true that it would look worse with academic dishonesty on your records than a bad grade. then again, could you even apply with plagiarism on your academic record.
DeleteIn the my opinion it's still very important to focus on every class she is taking even though this class has nothing to do with the medical field. However by taking this class it does affect her gpa which means the medical field will look at that. I don't think it's very appropriate for her to be cheating because that will also affect her in the long run. Taking each and every class seriously can make a huge difference, whether we see it or not. Melissa also needs to learn about time management skills which she lacks based off of how she handles her classes and school work. She lacks this skill which is making it hard for her to do her own work and to actually have the ability to stay focus in this class. Learning time management skills is important especially because this is a skill everyone should have when they graduate and get a full time job. Practicing these skills can and will help out a lot.
ReplyDeletei definitely agree that melissa needs to take every class seriously so that she has the best gpa possible when aplying for med school. I also agree that if she rally wants to go to med school learning to manage her time will be very important, and the skills learned in all classes will help her in the long run.
DeleteEven though this seems like a very straightforward answer, I completely understand what Melissa is going through. However, if the issue is just the amount of work and not the content then she needs to learn how to better manage her time and schedule herself. Putting forth just some effort might give her enough credit to pass the class and get the credit. If she really wants to go to Med. school then she should understand the requirements of Med. school and know that she needs to have a high GPA. Cheating and not putting forth the effort in a Gen. Ed. class puts your chances of Med. at risk. Is this one class really worth not getting into Med. School?
ReplyDeleteI agree that Melissa should put the work into her gen-ed class and that she should learn how to time manage for her classes but I aIso think that at this point in her schooling she would already have a good idea about time management because all her other classes in her major are getting done. I think that she just needs to understand that each clsass is important and should be given the same amount of time to work on as well as not cheating.
DeleteIn my opinion I think even though the class is a gen-ed class each class is still important regaurdless of the class. You learn something from each class you take that will make you a more well rounded person. Being well rounded looks way better than someone who just sticks to one thing. Every time I have been told to make sure I get involved in more than just what I want to get into in school because schools and the people who are hiring want people who can do it all. So it is very important to do well in everything that you do.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I feel like her situation is one that most college students come across in terms of not feeling the nessessity to put time into classes they dont feel are important but on the flip side it is still something that needs to be done to be a successful student and get the GPA required to get into med school. The simple fact that if she is caught plagiarizing work that in itself will stop her goals of med school dead in the water so the risk reward factor of that alone is what in my eyes makes it not worth the effort to cheat. Also, classes you may find are not important to your major still give you nessessary knowledge that later on in life you may benefit from so putting in the effort and work to pass your classes always pays off in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that even if it class doesn't pertain to your major it can still be beneficial and get something out of it. Also if caught plagiarizing it will set her quite a bit.
DeleteIn my opinion, I feel like Melissa should spend more time on this gen-ed even though she has more important classes to deal with. I say this because although she just needed to as a requirement and has nothing to do with her major it's what she signed up for. Also it would be better for her to spend more time on it rather than to copy her classmate's work because it is never good to take credit for something you didn't do yourself. And putting more time aside for it will ensure that no problems will occur when trying to get into medical schools.
ReplyDeleteMelissa should spend time doing the homework because ultimately its what she signed up for. Its part of the sacrifice of going to college so if she's not willing to do everything to the best of her ability and get schoolwork done than the GPA will definitely reflect that. Time management should be considered for her, as setting aside more time, perhaps, could help her complete these homework assignments.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion Melissa should spend time doing the gen-ed homework. It is just as important to not plagiarize in that class as it is in every other class. Melissa signed up for the class and needs to find a way to do the homework because that is her responsibility. Finally, later on in life this class could be helpful so she should take it seriously and do her own homework.
ReplyDelete