Des Moines Register
05-03-06
Universities, employers on lookout for liars
Application reviewers are analyzing documents more carefully as scandals
surface around the country.
By LISA ROSSI
REGISTER AMES BUREAU
Ames, Ia. — Iowa State University faculty say a recent investigation into a
graduate student just about to graduate who is accused of lying about her
resume is an isolated incident, but reports of cheating and misrepresenting
academic credentials have increased nationwide, experts say.
In response, career counselors and admissions officials are advising new and
recent graduates to craft resumes with the utmost honesty.
Ana Montanez, 23, of 1400 Coconino Road in Ames, was arrested Thursday
and taken to the Story County Jail on the charge of falsifying academic degrees,
on accusations that she submitted a false transcript and two forged letters to aid
in gaining admission to an ISU master's degree program.
At ISU, admissions officials routinely take special precautions - including spitting
on papers to see if the ink smears - to ensure the validity of documents, said Pat
Parker, ISU assistant director of admissions.
She said staff members are scrutinizing application documents more carefully,
because, in the computer age, there are more ways to make a record than there
used to be. She declined to speak about the Montanez situation specifically.
The charges faced by Montanez come as attention is turning toward less-thantruthful practices, especially among college students. Harvard University
sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan is being accused of borrowing passages from
books. At the University of Northern Iowa, faculty are cracking down on
plagiarism, with some professors asking students to sign honor codes, officials
there said. In 2002, a researcher at the University of Iowa was accused of saying
she had a Ph.D she'd never obtained, police there said.
"Private business and admissions committees are more scrutinous of materials
submitted through the application process," said Tim Dodd, executive director for
the Center for Academic Integrity, located at Duke University.
Dodd, who said he doesn't have solid numbers, only a sense that lying on
academic resumes has increased, said dishonesty among students can
ultimately weaken the value of a college degree.
"People will hesitate before they go to a neurosurgeon," he said. "We can't exist
like that as a society."
Montanez is a graduate student in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
who has not yet entered a plea for the charge. She declined to comment for this
article.
According to court papers filed in Story County court, she was scheduled to
graduate this month. A criminal complaint said she waived her Miranda rights
and admitted to police that she submitted a false transcript to ISU.
Philip Hernandez, who will graduate from the same program this weekend, said
the charges against his colleague send mixed messages to other students who
are exploring their own academic morals.
"I think that it does devalue the message that we are trying to send," Hernandez
said.
Hernandez said he has attended class with Montanez, and didn't suspect
dishonesty.
"She often talked about her undergraduate experience and about some of the
experiences she had there and the values of the institution," he said.
Police said Montanez submitted false transcripts, seemingly writing on parts of
the paper with pen, from Saint Mary's College in California, where she was one
course short of obtaining a degree.
Daniel Robinson, who is director of graduate education and a professor in
the department in which Montanez studied, said faculty will likely review the
admissions process and the relationship between the registrar's office, the
graduate college and the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies department.
Apply honestly for jobs, admissions
Experts said employers and admissions officials are scrutinizing degrees more
closely than ever. Here are some tips for recent graduates on what they should and don't have to - disclose.
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE: Students need to disclose all academic experiences,
not just the good ones, said Pat Parker, ISU assistant director of admissions. If
admissions staff suspect an applicant has omitted information, they will write a
letter asking for clarification. If they don't get a response, they do not proceed
with admission, she said.
PREVIOUS ARRESTS OR CITATIONS: If you are asked to answer questions
about previous arrests or citations on an application separate from a written
resume, you must be honest, said David Fitzgerald, with the Pomerantz Career
Center at the University of Iowa. For example, Robinson said one student
decided against listing a minor offense on a job application because he thought it
had been expunged. Because of that, he didn't get the job. "The employer said
the offense wasn't the issue," Fitzgerald said. "The fact they weren't candid on
the application is why they didn't get the job."
JOBS THAT ENDED POORLY: If asked about any job, an applicant needs to be
ready for the question, "How did it end?" Fitzgerald said. Even if the job ended
poorly, the applicant should disclose it. The way to win in this situation is to
couch the situation in terms of what the applicant learned from a job that ended
poorly, he said.
FAMILY LIFE: Fitzgerald cautions prospective employees about being
combative, but said they do not need to discuss nonrelevant items, such as
where they plan to live, whether they have a partner of one kind or another,
whether they're married or whether they have children. An appropriate answer to
a family-related question could be, "There's nothing regarding my family that
would keep me from being at work or doing my job," Fitzgerald said.