Deborah, thank you for this thought-provoking perspective.  I pondered for a moment and then went straight to the "real world."  Since school is supposed to prepare you for the real world, shouldn't the consequences also?  In the real world, people don't get full credit for cheating.  In fact, once they are found out, they often face far greater consequences than staying home for a few days.  It takes a long time to build back trust after it has been broken.  I would definitely suggest that students won't understand that if they get full credit on an assignment.