INTEGRITY AND DISCIPLINE IN ACADEMIA: DEALING WITH STUDENTS’ MISCONDUCT ON TWO ISRAELI CAMPUSES

Higher education underwent a huge massification process since the 2nd half of the 20th century. What used to be a reserve for the elite opened its gates to the middle, lower middle and the working classes. Consequently, students' profile changed dramatically. Integrity, honesty, discipline and violence became a major problem on campus. It is taken for granted that the prevalence of misconduct is the outcome of students' characteristics, institutional culture and environment, and faculty attitudes and behaviour. Mainly, it reflects society at large. The problem is bound to deepen in the 21st century. The article tries to outline the problem and its emergence, both in the world as well as in Israel. It then analyzes in detail an Israeli case study. It is based on minutes of two Israeli Disciplinary Committees on two different campuses: One university, the other- a public college. It tries to answer several questions: What is the volume of misconduct cases brought before the committees? Is it stable? Does it change over time? What is the breakdown of misconduct cases brought up before the committees? Does it change over time? Is there a difference between a university and college in this respect? What are the penalties imposed by the committees on the guilty students?