A recent headline in The Chronicle of Higher Education screams, “Cheating Has Become Normal” on college campuses, proclaiming that “Faculty Members Are Overwhelmed” (November 4th online).
Let’s turn down the burners under this bubbling pot of panic, shall we? Wesleyan University has just taken a huge step forward in addressing student skulduggery and has done so in a fashion that is stunningly straightforward.
Beginning January 1st, 2025, “cheating” and “plagiarism” will, officially, no longer be regarded as meaningful concepts at Wesleyan. In other words, all work submitted by students will be considered legitimate, regardless of its source.
This new policy was recommended by a Faculty Task Force on Postmodern Pedagogy, which issued its report in October. According to Michael S. Roth, Wesleyan’s President, “the conclusion reached by the Task Force is that the traditional distinction between ‘original work’ and ‘cheating’ is arbitrary and without merit. In completing their assignments, students use words, numbers, and punctuation marks that all predated the students’ existence. In that sense, nothing a student does is original — it’s all copied.
“If an undergraduate decides to ChatGPT their way through four years at Wesleyan, that’s their choice. Sure, they will probably leave our university as ignorant as they were when they arrived, but no educational system is perfect.
“Let’s face it. The majority of voters in the United States opted for Donald Trump on November 5th. Mind-numbing stupidity is trending.”