Abstract:

Universities should be governed by ethical principles. However, there are studies that show evidence of the existence of behaviors that violate them. Currently, academic dishonesty is one of the most important concerns of universities in the training of future professionals. Moreover, the effects of these behaviors go beyond the academic arena and can have repercussions on the future professional ethics and civic life of students.

Dishonest behaviors are varied and can have different protagonists, students, teachers or researchers. Focusing on student behavior, there are different forms of cheating in the assessment processes (exams, homework, thesis, ...), exams being one of the most common forms of assessment. Unfortunately, numerous studies show a high prevalence of academic fraud in universities in different countries.

This evidence of dishonesty in examinations must be combated by university institutions. To do so, the first step is to identify whether university faculty observe the occurrence of dishonest behavior during examinations. Thus, we will be able to establish whether it is necessary to implement tools to detect, prevent and/or sanction this type of behavior, in order to dissuade students.

The aim of our study was twofold:
1) To determine the frequency of dishonest behaviors during the examination process, from the perspective of university faculty.
2) To analyze whether there are differences in the frequency of these dishonest behaviors in the examination process according to variables such as the macro-area of the degree, the city of teaching or the course in which the class is taught. All this will make it possible to identify with greater precision where this type of behavior occurs and thus provide the faculty with more effective tools for the total eradication of these undesirable behaviors.
We sent an online questionnaire to the faculty of the University of Zaragoza (Spain) on potentially dishonest behaviors of students during the evaluation process, at the end of February 2023. More than 400 valid responses were received.

The results show that, in general, the forms of cheating or dishonest behaviors most frequently observed by faculty in the exam are: copying among students (looking at another student's answer, asking another student and allowing oneself to be copied), trying to convince the teacher to make exceptions, and using prohibited material during the exam. On the other hand, there are other unethical behaviors that are hardly observed, such as taking an exam for another student, or giving the teacher gifts. The characterization of the most frequent unethical behaviors does not differ according to the city in which the faculty is located, the macro-area in which the degree program is located or the course. However, the specific frequency with which these behaviors are observed differs significantly depending on the macro-area to which the degree program belongs. Thus, it is in the macro-area of Social and Legal Sciences where these behaviors are more often observed.

In conclusion, it is therefore necessary to implement preventive and punitive measures to discourage these dishonest behaviors in the evaluation processes. The academic and political authorities should take into account the results of the paper in the design of regulations and procedures that, in some details, could be adapted to the characteristics of the degree program.

Keywords:

Dishonest behavior, university faculty, undergraduate, Spain.