Jevon Li/ Staff Reporter
Studies from numerous universities show that the rate of cheating has risen about twice as much from 2019 ever since the start of the pandemic. Recently, over 600 students in the Faculty of Business in University of British Columbia have been told to retake the exam after some students were caught cheating when their professor didn’t give the instructions clearly prior to the exam.
“Using Google and the internet to look up terms, definitions and formulas is very different than copying and pasting a question from an exam into a search engine with the purpose of finding the exact answer,” says Kyla Gunderson, the professor of the class.
Students that violated the academic integrity were caught using online resources like Chegg.com, a paid study website that provides step-by-step textbook solutions, or collaborating with other students.
Usage of Chegg.com during Exam
This is not the first time students getting caught cheating using Chegg.com. Not too long ago, there was another incident in UBC where professors suspected students cheating using the site in their chemistry final exams.
Because of all the concurrent incidents of people cheating, UBC is now working with Chegg to help minimize the chance of them happening again.
A Challenge to Academic Integrity
“The number of students who are cheating is almost certainly higher than the number being caught or reported.” However, cheating or violating academic integrity in any other way are strongly not recommended for any students.
“The consequences of being caught cheating can seriously hinder your academic career,” says Matthew Ramsey, director of university affairs at UBC.
Some students have also claimed that they don’t feel ‘right’ after cheating.
“It’s better to do bad on an exam than to feel the pure fear you’re going to feel when you’re waiting to see if you’re caught. And the feeling of guilt afterwards doesn’t go away,” says a student in Ryerson University who has cheated in exams but never got caught before.
While Universities and online tutoring sites like chegg.com are working on tightening their rules on helping students in exams, people hope that less students will fall into the trap of online cheating again in the future.
Sources
UBC accounting class told to redo midterm exam after students accused of cheating online
UBC students to retake online exam because of possible cheating
UBC students told to redo midterm exam after some accused of cheating online
Professors say students cheated using Chegg, following MATH 100 cheating incident
Academic Integrity has Become a Concern amid Online Learning
More students cheating during online classes, universities say
Calgary post-secondaries see rates of academic misconduct, cheating rise during pandemic
Another problem with shifting education online: A rise in cheating