arXiv:2611.13358v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The extensive adoption of AI has precipitated a crisis in academic integrity. While studies attempt to quantify cheating, less is known about the motivations instructors believe students have for using AI in prohibited ways. We analyze 2.01 million posts on r/Professors to understand how instructors perceive students' justifications for AI-mediated cheating. Our qualitative analyses reveal four primary themes: (1) Academic System Gaming, (2) Digital-Academic Literacy Gap, (3) Performance Anxiety, and (4) Normalization of Dishonesty.