take home exam situation

[surfinillini]

don't do takehome exams as a group, a bunch of us in my fraternity did this in a history 100 class of 2000 people, we thought they wouldn't be able to see it...well we were wrong and 8 of us had to accpet an F as a final grade, luckily I took the class with credit/non-credit which is kept hidden from the profs so it really didn't matter for me [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[gumpzilla]

It also seems pretty clear to me upon reading the replies to this thread so far that people either don't understand that it's graduate school or that that makes a difference.

[tonypaladino]

[ QUOTE ]
It also seems pretty clear to me upon reading the replies to this thread so far that people either don't understand that it's graduate school or that that makes a difference.

[/ QUOTE ]

If it's the case that people don't understand that it makes a difference, why don't you explain the difference? Or do you just like sounding pompous on the internet?

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]

If it's the case that people don't understand that it makes a difference, why don't you explain the difference? Or do you just like sounding pompous on the internet?

[/ QUOTE ]

He's not kidding when he says the grades don't matter, which is the difference (not that it justifies cheating as an undergrad) - there really should be no incentive to cheat. Maybe if you're on an NSF fellowship or something grades matter, but for the most part the only distinction that's important is whether you're failing or not. And even that's pretty flexible. Numerous friends of mine had a GPA below what the university nominally allows at some point, and all that happens is you get a letter saying "Knock it off" and there's zero enforcement. Even the guy I know who has failed basically every class and has been fired from a research position once is still here three years later. This is neglecting that to fail these classes generally requires you to be seriously not trying. The professors don't want to fail you, because it's a pain in the ass for everybody, and the classes aren't what you're really there for.

At least in the sciences, what matters when you're done is what research you've done, who you know, etc. Nobody gives a rat's ass about your grades. Maybe the story is different if you're going for a master's degree in spirituality or something like that, but I doubt it pretty highly.

EDIT: Is everybody's concern with not talking to other people simply that you'll get ratted out? Man, that's lame.

[pokerlaw]

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It's a graduate class so grades don't really matter.


[/ QUOTE ]

so where is the incentive to cheat?

I'm in a fairly competitive (in that grades matter to an extent) post-graduate program right now and aside from wanting to get A's, I want to learn the coursework because a) i enjoy it, b) i'll have to use it in my career; and c) I am paying tuition so that great professors can teach me. Cheating fails to achieve any of those benefits of the degree. Not to mention the awesome time anyone who gets caught will have.

I don't care if everyone else in the class is working together against me, I'll study my ass off and try my best anyway.

[ethan]

63% of you suck.

When I was in grad school, I once saw a note on the chalkboard in an office that the first year students shared saying `The solution to problem 2 of the take home is on p. 126 of the book on the table.' The person who I am convinced wrote that note said that he didn't understand why I thought it was wrong to do so.

[webmonarch]

[ QUOTE ]
63% of you suck.



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Yeah, I was really surprised by this. Really surprised at the number.

Personally, I would just not want to know that I cheated. I mean, even if the prof. didn't, I would.

Also, if there is one thing I have learned, its that grades mean jack [censored] when it comes to what you really learned. Of course, the world doesn't work that way, so I guess in the end, I'm not that surprised.

[mmcd]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
63% of you suck.



[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I was really surprised by this. Really surprised at the number.

Personally, I would just not want to know that I cheated. I mean, even if the prof. didn't, I would.

Also, if there is one thing I have learned, its that grades mean jack [censored] when it comes to what you really learned. Of course, the world doesn't work that way, so I guess in the end, I'm not that surprised.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not going to rush on something just because some self-important academic [censored] says I should. If I have 24 hours to get the thing turned back in, I'm going to do it at my own pace, and almost certainly wouldn't do the whole thing straight through with no breaks.

[goofball]

Anyone who cheats here should be thrown out of school. Especially if you're in a fcuking graduate programm for christ sakes. You're supposed to be studying something you love and motivated to learn.