Course Hero to Host Some Other Something with Teachers

Plus, NY Post says student accused of misconduct killed himself - but it's the Post. Plus, UNLV's weak response to cheating. Maybe.

Issue 99

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This being the 99th Issue of “The Cheat Sheet,” the centennial edition will have to wait just a bit since there won’t be an Issue this Thursday. I’m in Austin to host a panel at SxSW Edu. Number 100 will be out next week.

Course Hero to Host Another Thing with Teachers

Cheating provider Course Hero is hosting yet another something-or-other about education. This one is called, “Rising Together” - whatever that means.

Again, educators have signed on to lend their names and the credibility of their institutions to cheating. Announced speakers include some familiar names (see Issue 92) plus folks from the University of Colorado-Denver, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Morehouse School of Medicine and Arizona State University.

For a previous List of Shame - educators who stood next to Course Hero the last event - see Issue 44.

And proving that Course Hero itself has no shame, or that irony is dead, this time the cheating profiteer is hosting a discussion on cheating titled:

The Pressure to Cheat: Understanding Why It Happens, and What Can Be Done to Prevent It

As for what can be done to prevent it, I have an idea - stop helping students cheat. Stop telling students that buying answers is fine.

Just last week I used the Course Hero on-demand answer service to ask a question, making it clear that my question was for a test, during the test. Yes, I literally told them it was for a test I was taking right then.

I received an answer in minutes (see Issue 97).

I understand why Course Hero wants teachers to join them on stage - it confuses students and boosts their credibility. I have no idea why some teachers keep saying yes.

NY Post: Student Accused of Academic Misconduct Kills Himself

The headline is sensational and so are the accusations - that a student at a high school boarding school in New York, was put in isolation after being accused of cheating. There, in isolation, the student hanged himself.

To be clear, the school or authorities did not confirm any of the details about the academic misconduct or the isolation - those came from the student’s family. And, as they say in New York City, “It’s the Post.” Which, translated, means this may not be the most accurate reporting.

Nonetheless, the story is out there. If further details emerge, I will do an update.

UNLV Makes Cheating Students “Just” Pay $15 for an Online Integrity Course. Maybe.

Speaking of unreliable sources, this post on Reddit claims to be from a student at the University of Las Vegas Nevada (UNLV).

In it, the “student” says:

I cheated on a CS 302 assignment and got caught by the professor, and he reported it to the office of conduct and I have my meeting coming up tomorrow.

After asking what to expect, the poster shared an update:

UPDATE: just got finished with my meeting with Mr. Phillip Burns and I just have to pay $15 for an online integrity course, no probation or suspension since it’s a first time offense the penalty is low-level i guess

I asked UNLV to confirm whether they had an online integrity course, if it was $15 and whether accused or acknowledged cheaters could encounter it as a consequence of misconduct. They have not gotten back to me yet, though they say they will.

If it turns out to be true, the implications are pretty clear. Students talk to each other and aren’t going to take academic integrity seriously when they hear that the penalty for getting caught is to “just have to pay $15 for an online integrity course.”