Final answer:
Cheating and dishonesty in big ten college sports and admissions have occurred historically, as evidenced by both perceptions and actual instances of academic fraud. While NCAA data suggests high academic success among athletes, the contrast with broader academic integrity issues highlights a complex situation. Cheating has significant impacts not just on individuals, but also on the institutions’ reputations and the wider education system.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question, which relates to the topic of academic integrity within the realm of big ten college sports, discusses the idea that administrators and coaches may engage in dishonest activities to further the success of their programs. Turning to factual evidence, we find a national survey from 2013 that indicates a perception among Americans that major college sports can corrupt higher education, with a belief rate of 49% to 55% within a 95% confidence interval. This perception aligns with historical instances, such as the college admissions scandal of 2019, where wealthy individuals were implicated in and sentenced for gaming the admissions system. Moreover, issues such as grade inflation and manipulation of test scores highlight concerns over academic standards. In contrast, NCAA data from between 2015 and 2019 shows high academic success among Division I athletes, pointing towards a complex landscape where both integrity concerns and examples of student-athlete success coexist.
As the repercussions of cheating and dishonesty unfold, it becomes clear that these actions not only affect the individuals involved but also the reputation and integrity of the academic institutions. Sports such as baseball and horse racing have previously suffered from scandals that resulted in changes to the sports landscape, indicating that such incidents can have long-lasting impacts.
In terms of academic integrity, it is concerning that a significant portion of students have admitted to cheating or plagiarizing, according to statistics from the International Center for Academic Integrity. This reflects a widespread challenge to maintaining honesty in educational pursuits, exacerbated by the digital age which complicates detection.