Detecting Academic Dishonesty Online

[Don Dresden]

Detecting Academic Dishonesty Online
NOVEMBER 17, 2010.

By SUE SHELLENBARGER
Q: With online courses growing in popularity, how do institutions know the work submitted has actually been done by the student who is enrolled? It would seem the arrangement is so anonymous that it creates opportunities for students to rely on other people.
—C.G., Lancaster, N.Y.

A: This is a topic of growing concern among regulators. Recent federal legislation requires colleges and universities with distance-learning programs to verify students' identity in order to ensure that the student enrolled is actually doing the work, says Mike Lambert, executive director of the Distance Education and Training Council, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit group that operates an accrediting commission for such programs. And earlier this year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association tightened requirements for accepting online and correspondence courses as high-school credit for college athletes, insisting that teachers interact regularly with students and provide feedback on assignments by phone, email, instant messaging and other means.

High-quality distance-learning programs give instructors many opportunities to interact with individual students and get a sense of their abilities, says Kenneth Hartman, academic director at Drexel University Online, Philadelphia. "The more touch points you have with your online students, the more familiar you'll become with their academic abilities, and the better you'll be at detecting academic dishonesty," says Dr. Hartman, who is also an online instructor. Also, most schools, colleges and universities use a combination of a log-on and password system for assignments, and require that tests be administered by proctors. Typically, the proctor, usually a school official, instructor or supervisor at a tutoring or testing center, verifies the student's identity by checking a government ID; oversees the student taking the exam, then sends it directly to the college or university. Other programs use Web cams for remote proctoring.

Early research comparing cheating rates in classroom instruction with online courses suggests it may not be happening as often as suspected. One study of 225 students at Friends University, a Christian university in Wichita, Kan., found students enrolled in online classes were actually less likely to cheat than those enrolled in traditional classroom courses. One possible reason is that students in online classes are more often allowed to work at their own pace, reducing the pressure to cheat to meet a test or paper deadline. Another possible reason is that professors may develop assignments and exams designed to reduce the opportunity to cheat; for example, they may assign personalized written assignments. Finally, more online learners are adults on a non-traditional path, taking college courses later in life; such students tend to cheat less, the research shows.

[Albert Hidel]

One study of 225 students at Friends University, a Christian university in Wichita, Kan., found students enrolled in online classes were actually less likely to cheat than those enrolled in traditional classroom courses.

Duh! Who are you gonna copy off of???? Unless you keep a Chinese exchange student captive in your foot locker, there's nobody else around who knows the answers.

BTW, Friends University offers six online degree programs. If you are looking for a program where the other students are too afraid of eternal damnation to cheat properly, this is your place!

[ham]

Finally, more online learners are adults on a non-traditional path, taking college courses later in life; such students tend to cheat less, the research shows.

I am old enough not to give a f-ck. I do my homework, then take the exam...and wait to see...I didn't copy off anyone when I was in high school, go figure.

[Albert Hidel]

I do my homework, then take the exam...and wait to see...I didn't copy off anyone when I was in high school, go figure.

I'm sure that's true for about 99% of us.

I had the misfortune of having one of the loser 1% in an online grad course I taught. Apparently he had obtained a model answer to homework problems from a previous student in another class (all the classes used the same format regardless of the instructor). The first model answer was footnoted, and thus included a further explanation at the bottom of the page, below the second model answer.

Dumbass student copied the model answer verbatim, except he didn't understand that the footnote at the bottom was for the first answer, so he included it in his answer to the second problem.

For some reason said student also did very poorly on the final, received one of the only two "C" grades I was allowed to award for the course. This turned out to be his second "C" grade, which flunked him out of the program. Definitely a lot tidier than going admin on him.

He really wasn't getting penalized for cheating so much as for cheating so badly. Never kid a kidder.