Cheating In Business Schools, The Millennial Generation, Gender And Racial Diversity: Has The Paradigm Shifted

Abstract

Cheating in college is not new. In 1960 over 50 percent of students admitted they cheated. In the second decade of the 21^st century has anything changed? This research project looked at three possible new variables, the Millennial Generation, Gender, and Diversity. Results suggest the amount of reported cheating remains the same even with current “Gen Yers” in college. There was also no measured difference in cheating between men and women students. Finally, the present study found that Asian-Americans admitted to cheating far more than the average and Latino-Americans reported to have cheated in college far less than the average current students in college. This paper concludes with the following three implications: 1) Current college undergraduates, “the Millennial Generation,” may actually be more ethical as measured in this study than their Boomer Parents. 2) Women and graduates as measured in this study may be more prone to college cheating than women students in the past—trends of a new post-feminist generation? 3) Finally, diversity and the core values embedded in America’s individual subcultures, such as Asian and Hispanic, appear to significantly influence ethical choices of today’s college students—diversity within the melting pot?