The penalty for cheating should be: you fail the course in which you cheated and withdraw from all others. You're immediately suspended. You can't get back into the college until you've logged 12 months of gainful employment in "the real world". (Military service counts.)
Yes, the real world. Where you can do nothing wrong and get fired for looking at a powerful person the wrong way, and where people actually struggle. Ok, so get out there and have that experience. Now you know (a) that you're very privileged, as a college student, and (b) you have no right to complain about the unfairness of an 'F' for cheating; it's not unfair. Once you've learned that lesson, welcome back but don't fucking do it again.
Privileged? Ha. What a odd way of putting it. In what way is going to school a privilege? It's almost expected for everyone to go to a college/university nowadays. In what way is a college student privileged?
If you get caught cheating in a class, fail him or her in THAT CLASS. Mention it in their academic report, so that other teachers in the university are aware, and they the teachers themselves can decide whether or not they want that particular individual in their classroom.
A college student is privileged in that they have the free time to learn, all day every day. They may not realize how special this is until they decide, at thirty while supporting a family, that they want another degree -- and they do it via night classes, working eight hours a day and studying four, and it takes a decade.
I don't want to get too pedantic, and this may be beginning to get off-topic, and for that I apologize. But your example still isn't one of a privilege. What your example shows is that it is easier to concentrate on one thing instead of two or three things. Is time really free if you're choosing to just concentrate on one thing? Joke all we want that being a student is a job, but in most ways it is a job. Maybe not as strict as one, but if you're doing it properly, it should be as consuming as one.
Privileged? Ha. What a odd way of putting it. In what way is going to school a privilege? It's almost expected for everyone to go to a college/university nowadays.
You're right, but what I meant is that, in terms of recourse and tolerance of misbehavior, college students are privileged in a way they won't be in 10 years. Here's a case of clear wrongdoing by the students (if they can be called that) in which the wrongdoers hold the cards. You're simply not going to see that in any workplace. Give most people 12 months in a real-world work environment, and they'll see people getting fired for a lot less than that.
If you get caught cheating in a class, fail him or her in THAT CLASS. Mention it in their academic report, so that other teachers in the university are aware, and they the teachers themselves can decide whether or not they want that particular individual in their classroom.
What I suggest is more forgiving. The 12-month suspension is harsh, but after the student has completed that obligation, he or she can return as a student in full status. I don't think people should have damaged "permanent records" for cheating, but I do think the punishments should be decisive and severe enough to encourage the person to think differently about the actions that created the problem.
It's not damaged 'permanent records'. Federal law states that a student's records are private, so it's not like they can be requested outside of the university. The solution you suggest would leave someone with a whole 12 month gap where, to be honest, most people would lie and say they had to work for school, instead of explaining what really happened to cause a 12 month gap. Also, I have no idea how your suggestion would work in terms of scholarships and student loans.
The solution I suggested would perhaps make it harder for a student to take a certain class if a professor doesn't allow students with 'records' into their class, but a lot easier than a 12 month expulsion.
Yes, the real world. Where you can do nothing wrong and get fired for looking at a powerful person the wrong way, and where people actually struggle. Ok, so get out there and have that experience. Now you know (a) that you're very privileged, as a college student, and (b) you have no right to complain about the unfairness of an 'F' for cheating; it's not unfair. Once you've learned that lesson, welcome back but don't fucking do it again.