Soviet academic credits

Fri Jan 31 01:26:49 UTC 2003

Greetings
On the cheating problem: not everybody, not always, but still very often.
Rife is a good word. In my living room  I have had Russian professors at
major institutions joke about cheating antics they at least witnessed if not
actually participated in as students. I have had Russian students
delightedly report spending test time in the restroom so they could help out
their American friends who were dealing with finals, but who seemed to have
a weak bladder. I did explain to the Russian that he was risking his own
studenthood.

I asked one professor what he did to discourage the habit and he reported
carefully seating the students, etc. and then watching attentively,  but he
did add that oral exams were instituted for the purpose of eliminating any
discrepancies.  Unfortunately, I also know of one case where the oral exam
was used to keep a Jew out of a university. (The professor had total
control, and the student had no paper proof.)

Genevra Gerhart

http://www.GenevraGerhart.com

ggerhart at attbi.com
(206) 329-0053

-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU]On Behalf Of Richard Robin
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 12:03 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Soviet academic credits

Dear Seelangovtsy,

I certainly did not want to imply that cheating in Russia makes those
degrees worthless. Indeed, there are, as I indicated, strong arguments to
suggest that a Russian diplom is worth more than an American B.A. But
casting aside issues of non-major general curriculum requirements, which are
few in most Russian universities and take up over half a typical U.S.
curriculum,* the fact is that brazen cheating is rampant in Russia. Of
course, cheating exists in U.S. colleges, especially in connection with
Internet paper banks. But a palpable difference exists in the culture of
academic cheating (teachers in Russia: “It’s not that awful; we did it
 too…”). The same applies to college admissions, where many of my Russian
colleagues have thrown up their hands in terms of their participation in
приёмные комиссии; the fix is often in long before the prospective student
takes entrance exams.

As far as the дипломная работа goes, it’s true: the tradition of a senior
thesis is pretty much dead in the U.S., except in some honors programs. The
master’s thesis has also followed the senior thesis into the grave. That
provides another argument for formal recognition of a Russian diplom as
something higher than a B.A.

I should also add that the rampant wink-and-a-nod cheating that one sees in
undergraduate study in Russia is largely absent from graduate study. There
may be many reasons for this, but certainly the structure of programs at the
level of Kandidat and the quality of the entrants has a lot to do with it.
Then there’s the fact that formal testing is kept to a minimum (literally –
кандидатский минимум) and the required thesis gets a going over no less
exacting than an U.S. Ph.D. dissertation. Of course, the quality of research
varies from place to place and person to person, but plagiarism is not an
issue.

For that reason, when I look at a Kandidat degree to determine whether it is
the equivalent of a U.S. Ph.D., I have to weigh the formalities of the
program with the person’s academic record in the years following the
granting of the degree.

* An argument is to be made that the absence of college general curriculum
requirements is not as noticeable in Russia where students come with a
firmer high school foundation in most subjects, especially languages, world
literature, geography, math, and the hard sciences.

_________________________________
Richard Robin, Associate Professor, Chair
German and Slavic Dept.
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20008
rrobin at gwu.edu
http://home.gwu.edu/~rrobin
Читаю по-русски во всех кодировках.
Chitayu po-russki vo vsex kodirovkax.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Your Name" <babyaking at STRATOS.NET>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 1:42 PM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Soviet academic credits

> X-Mailer: CoreCommMail
> X-IPAddress: 137.148.71.60
> Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 13:42:16 -0500
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> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> Professor Robin's method of translating Soviet-type degrees into a
> U.S. equivelant is quite useful, in my opinion.  An objective
> standard of measure is offered that can be applied by all.
>
> However, the esteemed professor intimates that a Soviet degree
> is ipso facto of less worth than a U.S. degree, due to "cheating".
> The assumption is made that no cheating takes place in the U.S.,
> and that cheating takes place in former Soviet institutions of higher
> learning unless proven otherwise.
>
> Understand my chagrin upon learning of how I "cheated" in order
> to recieve a Master of Arts in Philology from St. Petersburg State
> University, or how my wife's Master of Arts in Art with a
> consentration on Art Conservation was obtained other than
> through 6 years of study and dedication.  She will be justly
> shamed this evening when I show her this e-mail.
>
> In other words, I would suggest using measureable criteria in
> judging the worth of a degree from other than one of our "highly
> superior" institutions of higher learning.  I agree that there is a
> place for measuring the knowlege of the person who is applying
> for a place in a university department.  That is the norm no matter
> where the person obtained his or her degree, I believe.
>
> Lastly, are not students in institutions requiring five years of study
> required to write a thesis or some equivalent project involving the
> application of all learned material?  I know that one may obtain a
> masters degree in the U.S. by merely taking a few more classes
> instead of writing a masters thesis.
>
> To my mind the current system in Russia follows a formal
> approach, requiring that the student obtain the faculties to be an
> effective analytical thinker, then apply them in the last year of study
> on an appropriate research topic; in writing a thesis.
>
> For that matter, what are these seminars students take in Russia
> throughout their courses of study all about?  Perhaps some
> analysis takes place there.
>
> Hopefully my comments will stimulate some analytical thinking
> about Russian institutions of higher learning.
>
> Respectfully yours,
> Hoyte King
>
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