Underhand means

By Peter Walker for CNN

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(CNN) -- MBA students might be some of the cleverest and hardest-working going, but according to a new survey they also have another, more unwelcome distinction -- the most likely to consider cheating.

According to a survey by the Center for Academic Integrity at Duke University in the United States, 56% of US MBA students admitted using underhand methods such as downloading essay material from the internet and using notes in exams.

Admittedly, this is not just a business school problem -- MBA students were only just ahead of students in areas such as engineering, where 54% admitted to cheating, education (48%) and law (45%).

"Business schools have a significant problem that should be addressed," said Donald McCabe, the main author of the study and a leading expert on academic cheating and plagiarism.

Cheating was a significant problem at all business schools, "even if deans at leading schools don't want to concede it."

The study, conducted from 2002 to 2004, asked 5,300 students at 54 institutions, including 623 students at 32 graduate business schools, if they ever cheated. The findings are to be published in the journal Academy of Management Learning & Education.

"What surprises me is how willing these students are to admit to it," said McCabe, while adding that even though the survey was anonymous, he believes that some respondents would not admit to cheating, meaning the true figure could well even higher.

High pressure

According to the study, one reason for the prevalence of such misdeeds at business schools is the intense pressure to not only thrive but to beat one's peers.

McCabe said that a key factor was likely to be students seeing their fellows being dishonest, and thus perhaps edging ahead in the battle to secure the best investment banking job.

"The moment they see somebody cheating they are placed at a disadvantage," he explains.

To combat cheating, many schools have an 'honor code' system in which students sign a statement about each test saying they have not cheated, also using classroom discussions about ethical behavior.

Students are also encourage to look out for dishonesty in others, and report it if they see it.

The study also suggested that faculty members sometimes enable cheating by not creating multiple versions of take-home exams and by sending mixed messages to students. For example, students are encouraged to participate in teams but told they cannot work together on some assignments, the report said.

The report will be eagerly read at many US business schools, some of which have had to observe alumni being caught in recent corporate scandals, a phenomenon which has already made them focus more closely on ethics.

It is by no means a new problem. In 1997 found that 84% of undergraduate business students said they cheated at least once, compared with 66% of all students Even in the supposedly more innocent -- and pre-internet -- days of 1964, a Columbia University study reported that 66% of business students admitted cheating.

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