Preventing Cheating & Plagiarism as an Online Student

Academic misconduct

Some of the most common forms of academic misconduct include obtaining a copy of an exam before taking it, changing your grade in a professor’s grade book, and working past the designated time limit on an exam. This shady behavior not only puts you at risk for academic discipline but also cheats you out of the opportunity to develop knowledge in your discipline.

The consequences of academic misconduct go beyond your specific academic pursuits too. You’ll also lose self-respect and fail to develop your critical thinking skills. Avoid these behaviors at all costs, and tell your professor if you see someone engaging in them.

Bribery

While rare, students and professors should always stay alert to any instances of bribery in academic settings. This type of misconduct occurs when a student or professor tries to bribe another party in exchange for money, services, goods, a better grade, etc.

Students bribe professors by offering something they want in exchange for a passing score or the option to bypass a particular assignment. Professors can bribe students, too, by offering an academic advantage in exchange for something they want. Accepting bribes can lead to immediate dismissal for both students and faculty members.

Collusion

Collusion occurs when two or more students work together on an assignment that calls for individual effort. If you’re taking a chemistry class and struggling with an assignment, for example, asking for help from your friend who is a chemistry major and would easily understand the topic is considered collusion.

Any independent projects must be the work of you and you alone, representing what you understand about the subject and giving professors the information needed to grade you on your efforts fairly. While you can certainly discuss ideas and materials with your classmates, you should not ask for their help on specific assignments.

Deception

Deception happens when you knowingly provide misleading information to a professor or other member of the school community. For instance, telling a professor you need an extension on an assignment because a family member is in the hospital when they aren’t qualifies as deception.

Further, online learning provides unique opportunities for deception. For example, perhaps you turned in an assignment late but the learning management system glitched and showed it was on time. This is deception if you fail to acknowledge the glitch even though you did not set out to deceive.

Double submission

Double submissions occur when students use any material they previously submitted in another class or a different institution for a new assignment. Even if you rewrite parts of the old submission, it is still considered a double submission and should be avoided.

The exception to the double submission rule is if you have similar assignments for different classes. In this case, go to both professors, explain the situation, and see if they will provide approval for submitting the same (or similar) papers for both classes. You must receive approval before using this option.

Fabrication/falsification

When students knowingly falsify or make up data, citations, or other supposed facts as part of an academic assignment, they are guilty of fabrication/falsification. For instance, suppose a student writing a history paper slightly changes a quote or fact to fit their thesis better. This is a falsification of data and can lead to harsh penalties. Another example is a science student changing the results of an experiment to get a better result. Professors study their academic subjects for decades, making it unlikely that a student could mislead them or use falsified information.

Impersonation

Impersonation happens when someone other than the student meant to complete a task, assignment, or exam does it on their behalf. It also includes attending a class on behalf of another learner.

While anti-cheating software makes it easier for schools to conduct digital proctoring through computer cameras used to observe students while taking exams, essay mills continue to exist. These allow students to pay others to write papers for them and turn in the work as their own.

Plagiarism

If you intentionally or unintentionally use the words or ideas of others, fail to give proper credit, and try to pass them off as your own, you commit plagiarism. While it’s fine to use quotations or write about how someone else viewed a particular idea, failing to cite their contribution properly is considered plagiarism.

Many colleges and universities use anti-plagiarism software that scans papers against massive databases to see if any uncited work appears in the paper. That said, some information is considered common knowledge and does not require citation. For instance, if you read in a book that World War I started in 1914, you do not need to cite this as it’s considered common knowledge. If you’re unsure, cite the source to be on the safe side.

Using forbidden resources/tools

This type of misconduct includes using tools like improper calculators or computers, smartphones, or other technology not approved for exams. It also involves storing answers, formulas, or other information on approved computers or calculators and using them during an exam.

Using forbidden resources/tools is often easier for online students who can more easily alter the environment outside of a professor’s field of vision (i.e., the camera’s view). Examples of forbidden resources include using the internet or textbooks during exams prohibiting these types of aids. Obtaining test questions or answers from students who took the test earlier or accepting help from peers with knowledge of the exam are other examples.

Other types of cheating

Other types of academic misconduct include misrepresentation, sabotage, and disruptive behavior. Sabotage occurs when students attempt to prevent others from completing their work, either by tampering with books from the library or stealing their materials.

Misrepresentation occurs when you lie to professors, either about your work or when faced with charges of academic dishonesty. Disruptive behavior is any type of behavior that makes it more difficult for fellow students to learn, including disrespectful behavior or sharing inappropriate material on the learning management system.

Complete plagiarism

Akin to stealing and/or intellectual property theft, complete plagiarism occurs when students take a complete work from someone else (e.g., manuscript, essay, or research study) and claim it as their own. The most severe forms of punishment usually come with complete plagiarism.

Source-based plagiarism

Engaging in source-based plagiarism means fabricating or otherwise being dishonest about the sources used in academic work. This involves knowingly mislabeling an actual source or creating a fictional source to serve your purposes. Similarly, failing to cite both primary and secondary sources falls under this category.

Direct plagiarism

When you transcribe another person’s exact words without giving them attribution and including quotation marks, this constitutes direct plagiarism. Using the words of others is perfectly acceptable, but you must properly cite them.

Self-plagiarism

This type of plagiarism happens when a student uses a part or whole of previous work without receiving permission from all professors involved. If you wrote a paper in high school that could work for a college assignment, you can only use it if you get permission from your high school teacher and your current professor. Otherwise, it’s self-plagiarism.

Paraphrasing plagiarism

The most common type of plagiarism, paraphrasing plagiarism occurs when you slightly change the wording or structure of a phrase or sentence belonging to someone else but do not put it in quotations or provide a citation. As long as the original idea remains, you must give credit to the original author to avoid plagiarism.

Inaccurate authorship

Inaccurate authorship takes two forms: either failing to provide credit for contributions or providing credit for work that an individual didn’t actually write. You should acknowledge every contributor to a piece of work fairly and accordingly.

Mosaic plagiarism

Also known as patch-writing, mosaic plagiarism occurs when you use the same ideas and structure as someone else but rewrite it slightly using synonyms and other similar words. Whether borrowing a phrase or a whole passage, you still need to credit the idea to the original author.

Accidental plagiarism

Accidental plagiarism occurs when you mistakenly don’t give proper credit to the original author of a book, research, or idea. Unintentional plagiarism takes many forms, making it easier to unknowingly make this mistake. Examples include:

Though unintentional, accidental plagiarism can still involve repercussions. It’s a student’s responsibility to check an assignment for plagiarism before submitting it.

Intentional plagiarism

Intentional plagiarism is knowingly and willfully using someone else’s work (or your own previous work) without giving proper credit. While accidental plagiarism may still have a penalty, it is a far less serious offense than intentionally misrepresenting another’s work as your own. Examples of intentional plagiarism include:

Copyleaks

Advertised specifically for colleges, you can get 20 scans each month for free without entering a credit card. Features include multiple language scanning, various file format usage, and accessibility through all types of devices.

Dupli Checker

Dupli allows you to check one document of up to 1,500 words each day for free and does not require registration. You can either copy and paste it into a text box or upload a document.

Grammarly

In addition to providing professional editing services, Grammarly Premium includes a plagiarism checker that compares your work to billions of online text and academic papers. The program costs $12 per month with no minimum contract.

Turnitin

Developed especially for university students, Turnitin offers a great and easy way to ensure you don’t plagiarize another’s work. The app provides a score based on how much overlap text is found in your document, and it is currently free for students.

Unicheck

This tool operates online via cloud computing, so you don’t need to download any special apps to use it. The program provides a plagiarism report after scanning the document and highlighting any unoriginal text. You get a 275-word free trial before having to pay $4.99/month for a subscription.

1. It can result in a failing grade for the assignment or the entire course

Professors are well within their rights to penalize you for cheating. Depending on the severity of the misconduct, you may receive a failing grade for the assignment or even the entire course. While something like accidental plagiarism may result in the former, intentional plagiarism can result in expulsion from the class.

2. It can mean a mandatory anti-cheating course

Many colleges and universities require students caught being academically dishonest to participate in a mandatory anti-cheating course to stay at the institution. While this can potentially save you from failing a full course or being kicked out of the school, it will add to your course load. Still, it’s a small price to pay for a second chance.

3. It can end in school suspension or even expulsion

Serious instances of cheating such as impersonating another student, intentionally plagiarizing, or falsifying data can lead to dire repercussions, including suspension or expulsion. If it’s your first offense, the school may bar you for a semester. If it’s a second or higher offense, the school may ask you to withdraw.

4. It can damage your academic reputation

Even if you don’t get suspended or expelled, cheating leaves a permanent stain on your academic reputation. Professors talk, and they know that you previously cheated in a class. They will see you differently and may be unwilling to write you letters of recommendation for graduate school or a prospective job.

5. It can affect your job search

If an employee asks to see your academic transcript, they have the potential to notice that you had an issue with academic dishonesty while in school. Even if they don’t learn the truth from your transcript, they may notice that you don’t possess the same skills and knowledge as candidates who earned their degrees through honest hard work, especially if cheating was a regular habit for you.

6. It can cost you your scholarship

Because many scholarships are awarded based on merit, scholarship committees who discover a student didn’t earn the funding on their own merit are well within their rights to take away the award. Some could even require you to repay funding already received if demonstrable cheating happened during an earlier period of funding.

7. It can have legal consequences

Stealing the intellectual property of others can result in legal consequences, as original authors seek damages in the form of money. If you’re working on an outside student-consultancy project with a real-world client, cheating and plagiarism can also result in formal action if your behavior damages that organization.