Montana Tech confronts international student academic dishonesty

The report of Montana Tech's experience with Saudi Arabian students' cheating raises challenging questions. The first is the possibility that cultural background may in some cases cause students to see rules differently - whether it is the change of a grade, having someone write a paper for you, or passing on details about an exam to others who will subsequently take the test. The second challenge is that, as access to study abroad expanded in Saudi Arabia, the standards of admission widened which may have resulted in students who weren't really qualified being admitted to the institution.

While the report raised question about how the Saudi students' cases were handled at Montana Tech,, the broader issues are how cultural differences influence patterns of behavior and the possibility that U.S.A. institutions, motivated by revenue generation, may be offering admission to students who can't really succeed without added support, services, and time. These issues are not unique to Saudi students.