Despite the possibility of being suspended or expelled from NIU, some students have opted to take the easier route.

According to Judicial Office records, there have been 101 academic violations so far this year, with 29 this semester. But the number has decreased, compared to 151 violations in 2001.

If a student is caught in flagrant cheating — cheating that was pre-planned and carried out — the student will be suspended or expelled.

A suspension is when a student is removed from NIU for one to two years. An expelled student is removed for anything more than two years, though Judicial Director Larry Bolles said expulsions now average four years.

Some students receive a failing grade in the course, or a zero on the exam or project in question.

Activities that can be classified as cheating include signing a person in for attendance, copying a test or exam and plagiarism on papers.

Bolles attributes some of the cheating to laziness.

“I’m seeing more students who are too lazy to do their homework,” Bolles said. “One person will work harder while the other looks for shortcuts.”

Bolles said there are other pressures that may lead to cheating, such as the new higher grade point average requirements for certain majors.

“I don’t want [the major GPA requirements] to result in students cheating,” he said. “I want that to result in students working harder.”

Bolles said some students choose majors that aren’t right for them. He said the students who cheat aren’t the ones excelling in their classes — they are the ones having difficulty. He said students sometimes would rather “cut the corner” than switch from a major too difficult for them, which may be because of family or cultural pressures to be in a certain field of study.

“There is a temptation to do whatever it takes to get where you want to be,” he said.

Senior biology major Heather Host said she thinks more students cheat than get caught.

“I’ve seen it in classes,” she said. “Where I’ve taken classes and the person next to me has got their notebook open in the back of the class.”

Host said she wouldn’t cheat.

“There’s always that chance where you’ll get that professor that checks up on you,” she said.

Colin Odonnell, a sophomore computer science major, said he would cheat if pressured.

“It depends on the situation,” he said. “If you’re really tight for time.”

Veronica Conner, a freshman family consumer science major, agreed.

“I would [cheat] if it came down to it,” she said. “Only if it was absolutely necessary.”

Conner said she also thinks plagiarism is easy because of the amount of information on the Internet.

Bolles warned about that.

“Professors are not as dumb as you think they are,” he said. “[Students] need to stay off the Internet because the professors are out there heavier than the student.”