On January 25, President Barack Obama presented the world with his State of the Union address, informing Americans what his national plans and priorities would be for the next four years. And once the topic turned to college affordability, he made a statement that piqued the interest of university students and faculty. “Let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down,” Obama said. “Higher education can’t be a luxury – it is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.” Iowa State is ranked third in the U.S. for highest debt rate.

So you know that page of your class syllabus with the long, wordy paragraph about Academic Dishonesty? You know, the one you throw away because all you care about is the class schedule (and maybe not even that)? Let it be known that that piece of paper is taken very seriously in college. Cheating has become all too common and all too creative on campus. Students have devised ways to work around cheating safeguards that have been said to prevent such cheating practices. But journalism professor Joel Geske says, “If somebody really truly wants to cheat, they are going to find a way to do it.” Students in his online JLMC 477 course tipped him off about students cheating on the unit quizzes.

Contains descriptions of stereotypes of various majors found at Iowa State.

You may be shocked to see the same professor scheduled to teach the same course you took with them last semester. Obviously your analysis of them and their teaching wasn’t read, right? While there’s a slim chance this is true, it’s most likely not the case. Even though they’re still employed and that dreadful course is still offered, what you wrote at the end of the semester can have more influence on instructors and courses now than ever before.

A photo series of student employees around campus.