Preventing High-Tech Cheating

Final exams are on the horizon and for students anxious for summer break; the temptation to cheat has never been greater.  And it's getting easier especially with iPods, cell phones and laptops becoming more popular on campus.

Administrators at Missouri State University say technology is giving some students an unfair advantage.  So with exams just days away, teachers are starting to look for early warning signs.

Electronic devices aren't just helping students study for final exams anymore, they're being used to help them cheat.

"It simply provides another mechanism which could be used badly.  It's like anything else; a tool can be good or bad, depending on how you use it.  So, one reason I think we've seen an increase in all sorts of academic dishonesty is because the tools make it easier." says Edward Proctor, the Electronic Resources Librarian at MSU.

The Academic Integrity Council at MSU says poor planning drives many students to cheat.

"That night before desperation, I think that is what drives most students to go online trying to get term papers or making up a cheat sheet and smuggling it into class." says Dr. Tom Tomas with the Academic Integrity Council.

The council deals with 40 cases of campus cheating each year and says camera phones or phones with internet access allow students to download research papers or even capture images of charts to help them pass a test.

Proctor says, "My suspicion is that people who do this are the ones who fear that they were failing anyway.  But it's a far worse, black mark on your record to have been caught and convicted of cheating then simply failing a course."

A few years ago school leaders adopted a policy to ban cell phones in the classroom to curb the problem of cheating, but technology advances are making it harder for many schools to catch up.

"I respect their policy a lot because I work really hard for what I do and I think the others should work just as hard." says Jennifer Brown, a student at MSU.

Kate Donato, another MSU student, adds, "I think, really the new technology, the teachers are pretty aware of it, you know.  If you come with an iPod, they'll tell you to take it out, especially if you're going to have a test or something."

There is website many professors are using to spot cheaters.  It’s where research papers are turned in to help educators identify term papers that contain unoriginal material.