Detecting and Preventing College Cheating in the Electronic Age

1. Detecting and Preventing College Cheating in the Electronic Age Drs. Bud Banis and Jennifer Siciliani Presented At the University of Missouri-St Louis 3rd Annual Conference on Teaching & Technology October 29, 2004

2. Cheating is ubiquitous: • Steroids in professional sports • Shoddy work for fair pay • Poor pay for quality work • Sales of property with hidden defects • Used cars • Behavior at traffic merges • Marital infidelity • Political campaign promises, broken • Unearned credentials (i.e. college diplomas)

3. Thoughts that tend to be associated with the decision to cheat • If cheating were wrong, then it wouldn’t be so easy • The rules are unfair; no one could possibly adhere to them • No one could possibly do this much work without “help” • The professor doesn't care • It probably won't be detected • The professor is an incorrigible, pompous buffoon • Everyone else is cheating • If I don't cheat too, I will lose • Everybody cheats/lies!

4. The Psychology of Cheating • The Fallacy of the Commons Each English village set aside a central grazing area (the "commons") with enough space and grazing resources to allow each villager to graze one cow. Nearly every person tried to sneak in an extra animal for grazing. Their rationale – my grazing one extra cow can’t hurt the land and affect the outcome. It’s only one more cow.

5. The Psychology of Cheating • The Fallacy of the Commons The problem – all villagers thought the same thing and the land became barren for the whole village. Everyone tried to cheat, forgetting that their cheating had a cumulative effect – when added to the cheating of all others – that resulted in nothing for anyone.

6. But… cheating is self-defeating • Cheating can be described through game theory and the prisoner's dilemma model: • People who drive up the shoulder and cut in cause traffic jams • People who do lousy work will be paid what they are worth • Companies who offer lousy pay will get what they pay for • Free-riders on team projects will end up on inferior teams • A degree from a second-rate university will be inferior

7. How do we, as teachers, teach the lesson early? • Clearly define cheating to students with several examples • Explain that avoiding cheating is an active (not passive) process • Help students to know and understand the Student Code of Conduct and how it relates to their work at the university • Show that you care and that you are watching • Be open about controls in place (smile * you’re on camera) • Reward honesty • Define and encourage transparency

8. How do we, as teachers, teach the lesson early? • Provide a learning environment in which students can ask questions about work expected, especially when they feel totally lost concerning work to be due (this can lead to desperation that in turn, leads to cheating) • Be reasonable in workload expectations • Be fair in assessments and grading • Don't make rules you can't enforce • Prosecute transgressions consistently and fairly • Incorporate lessons on ethics and cheating in the curriculum

9. Incorporate lessons on ethics and cheating in the curriculum Examples: Game theory examples above Incentives and the decision to cheat What the students think about cheating Coverage of the university procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty and indiscretions

10. It might help to add an affirmation for the noncheating student to sign Acknowledging that perjury may be a prosecutable criminal offense, I swear under penalty of law, that I have not and will not give or receive any unauthorized assistance on this exam (assignment, paper, etc.). Name: Student number:

11. Detecting and Preventing Cheating in the Electronic Age: • Cheating may be easier, but detection is easier as well: • Plagiarism and Google • Different versions of exams (random questions, different numbers) • Coincidence scores • Paper checking services online • Electronic surveillance during exams • Electronic sleuthing

12. Example of Electronic sleuthing • Statistics problems incorporating student numbers • Detecting dissonant results • Back calculating to the source of the solution

13. Back calculating to the source of the solution • Sensitivity analysis and EXCEL Table Tool • Back calculations with EXCEL Solver • Find these videos and more at collegecheating.com and collegecheating.net

14. War Stories and Discussion • We all have them! Sharing these with others and hearing others’ experiences will help you to: • Handle cheating when it happens in your classroom • Find support and peers’ advice for dealing with situations as they happen • Understand and be aware of various forms of cheating