In a 1999 survey of 2,100 students on 21 campuses across the country, about one-third of the participating students admitted to serious test cheating and half admitted to one or more instances of serious cheating on written assignments. Academic honor codes effectively reduce cheating.
Faculty are reluctant to take action against suspected cheaters.
Less than half of 800 faculty surveyed on 16 campuses in 1992 say they have ever reported a student for cheating. In a 1999 survey of over 1,000 faculty on 21 campuses, one-third of those who were aware of student cheating in their course in the last two years, did nothing to address it. Students suggest that cheating is higher in courses where it is well known that faculty members are likely to ignore cheating. Over half of the students admitted they have engaged in some level of plagiarism on written assignments using the Internet.