Tech-Savvy Cheating: New Insights into

Honest Assessments

Presented by Laura A. LeDoux, Esq.April 15, 2015

IACBE Conference

Academic Dishonesty – A Rampant Problem

Background

•Academic dishonesty is on the rise• Is cheating a learned behavior?• Is technology really the problem?•What can we do as educators to alleviate this problem

while still availing ourselves of the benefit of the technology?

Literature Review

• There is divergent research regarding whether the online forum contributes to academic dishonesty• It appears that the instructional setting plays less of a role

in the prevalence of cheating than other factors•Many other factors play a role in academic dishonesty such

as: age, background, year in school, and membership in social organizations•No studies focused on the foundational reasons for

cheating and how they were impacted by technology

Hypotheses• That instructor diligence is the main deterrent to

academic dishonesty• That the incidence of academic dishonesty increases

throughout the students’ academic careers and reaches its apex in the senior academic year•When penalties are not communicated incidence of

academic dishonesty increases

Method of Research•Anonymous participants included:• 93 undergraduates from various hybrid and face-to-face

Business classes at institutions in Southern California• 43 freshman, 8 sophomores, 3 juniors and 39 seniors

Results• The forum in which the assessment is presented is less

important than how it is presented• The majority of students who cheat are not caught and/or

disciplined (94%)• The greatest deterrent for students is the clear and continuous

communication of expectations and penalties (93%)• The greatest deterrent for students who were not caught is

their own personal guilt (29%)

% Tempted % Who Cheated % Caught Cheating % Aware of Policy0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Academic Dishonesty Rates – Freshman and Seniors

Freshman Seniors Total

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Total0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

84%

100%

67%

82% 84%

68%

75%

50%

70%66%

54%50%

67%

56% 55%

30%

100%

33%

82%

53%

Cheating Rates by Class Rank

#REF! Aware of Penalties Tempted to Cheat Ethics

Unprepared45%

Overwhelmed27%

Grades20%

Pressure8%

Main Reasons Students Cheat

UnpreparedOverwhelmedGradesPressure

Clear Penalties65%

Proctoring23%

SafeAssign13%

Main DETERRENTS TO CHEATING