CLEVELAND, Ohio – More than 80 percent of college students claimed in a recent survey they have cheated in some way while in school.
The advent of online schools and increasingly sophisticated mobile devices have made it easier for students to cheat, said Kessler International, a firm that provides private investigation services, forensic accounting and digital forensics.
Kessler surveyed 300 students from both public and private colleges, including online universities.
The survey found:
- 86 percent claimed they cheated in school.
- 54 percent indicated that cheating was OK. Some said it it is necessary to stay competitive.
- 97 percent of admitted cheaters say they have never been caught.
- 76 percent copied word for word someone else’s assignments..
- 12 percent indicated they would never cheat because of ethics.
- 42 percent said they purchased custom term papers, essays and thesis online.
- 28 percent said they had a service take their online classes for them.
- 72 percent indicated that they had used their phone, tablet or computer to cheat in class.
Professors use technologies, including text-matching software, webcams and cheat-proof tests to try and catch cheaters. They may also ban laptops, smartphones and smart watches from exams.
If caught, students face suspension or expulsion.
According to research and surveys over the past 12 years by retired Rutgers University professor Donald McCabe and the International Center for Academic Integrity, 68 percent of undergraduates and 43 percent of graduate students admit to cheating on tests or written assignments.
In a study on the “digital revolution” by the Pew Research Center in 2011, 55 percent of college presidents said plagiarism in students’ papers has increased over the past 10 years. Among those who have seen an increase in plagiarism, 88 percent said computers and the internet have played a major role.
McCabe told theatlantic.com he is hesitant to blame today’s student cheating rates on easy access to the internet and computers.
His said data shows the percentages of student cheating did increased once the internet became ubiquitous, but now are actually trending down again, toward pre-internet levels. But fewer students are participating in his surveys and there is a growing apathy toward cheating at school.
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