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Are Cuesta College students serial cheaters?

April 9, 2015

cheatA Cuesta College history teacher recently caught 67 of his 250 students cheating on exams. [New Times]

Dr. Anthony Koeninger noticed that students across his six classes had performed unusually well on the first few quizzes of this semester’s “History of the U.S. to 1865” course. He then changed the order of questions on the midterm and the results changed.

Koeninger said he believes that a student or students from the previous semester’s course distributed a master copy of the correct answers to his multiple-choice exams. The master copy spread, and the 67 students showed up to the midterm with the answers lightly shaded in, Koeninger said.

The college is punishing the students by giving them “zeros” on the midterm, sending them letters of reprimand and requiring them to write essays about academic dishonesty. Cuesta administrator Sandee McGlaughlin said the students face additional punishment, but she did not disclose what it is.

After getting caught, multiple students apologized to Koeninger for cheating. Some students shed tears, Koeninger said.

Most of the students who cheated are still attempting to pass the class. Only a small percentage dropped the class.

Koeninger said the students deserve a second chance.


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From the looks of the posts here-it appears many blame the professor because he did not change the test questions regularly. That is one of the sickest flaws in logic I have seen lately. We don’t live in a society where people have to be forced into being honest because they are so depraved and so lacking in integrity!


Okay, late APRIL FOOLS! You have to be seriously bullet proof from all the little sociopath students these days. No one wants to actually learn or study these days–they must be forced into it. (Everything–including good grades–must be delivered on a silver platter).


Dr. K was a “virgin”. Welcome to the real world; the world where you keep on eye on things-monitor them constantly: keep score. You have to be sharp these days….or they come out of the wood-work to screw you over. Get some hashtags, and maybe dress a little gangster. Blast their ears with a little hip hop in class these days. Send out a text or two on the weekend that says “I have my eye on you….Dr. K”. Show em who boss-man is.


THAT is really how our world is today.


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He’s worked there for 12 years and was voted one of the top instructors by the student honor society!


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The honor society is a whole different breed of animal. I was always on the honor roll at school and deeply appreciated my professors. I have a genetic flaw, however, and that is that I love learning and opt for honesty most of the time. (Only with small things though….like when my mom asks if her eye shadow makes her eyelids look more crinkled…you gotta lie then).


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Yeah, because it’s so easy to get an A with all of the old tests floating around campus.


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We have to grade those test’s before we can see whats in them… We will be able to keep our grades and our teachers…period. A friend told me that the principle cheated on his test and has not taken one for years. Any wonder?


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“tests” not “test’s”, “what’s”, not “whats”, “principal”, not “principle”. Are you kidding me?? College level??


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I heard the majority of the cheaters were student-athletes (playing on Cuesta teams). Any truth to that, CalCoastNews? If true, were there any repercussions for their teams? Is that why they seem to have gotten off so lightly? r


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Why would anyone in America be surprised. Based on the amount of corruption in government and business how could you expect anything different from the kids. The lesson being taught to all is get ahead any way you can, lie, cheat, steal as long as you don’t get caught. Cuesta will probably produce some excellent future congresspersons or CEOs.


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Sorry, using old tests to study off of is a long standing “tradition” in many colleges. Any teacher who fails to change up the test at least a bit is just being lazy. I remember many fraternity houses had files on every class you could think of going back a decade. And believe me, you can’t cheat your way through all college classes…it catches up with you


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Good on the prof for calling them on it, and making it public. A lesser teacher might have dealt with it quietly or not at all.


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Gee, that never happened before. It was going on since I was at Cuesta. Maybe the teacher should mix up the order of the test everytime


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Wait a minute. The teacher used the same exam, or at least the same questions, multiple years? That’s not good common sense. It invites the outcome.


Maybe the problem is Cuesta “education” has become nothing more than getting the right multiple choice boxes filled in.


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Any chance of a reprimand for Dr. Koeninger who gives the same multiple choice exam from semester to semester?


Talk about phoning it in.


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I was thinking the same thing, lazy professor.


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According to New Times, he said he changed it yearly but hadn’t done so yet this year. I am sure that he learned a lesson from this too.


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So all kids taking the exam in the 2nd semester know it will be the same as 1st semester.


Change your questions dr. Lazy. Put in a little more effort at the expense of the taxpayer.


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I don’t know about Cuesta, but at Cal Poly, the only accolades you receive from the admin is for publishing and bringing in grant money. In this case, it’s a better career move to reuse old material as generating new exam/quizzes takes a lot of time.


Then again, giving multiple choice exams is a public admission of laziness. It’s college; time to toss out the scantron machine and actually do your job.


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