English Pharmacy Board Reports Exam Cheating
Plus, EY fined for exam cheating. Again. Plus, International Quick Bites. Plus, a new proctoring solution announced.
Issue 254
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Class Note: This Issue of “The Cheat Sheet” is a tad truncated because I’m in Chicago today, at the American Marketing Association event on the Marketing of Higher Education.
Pharmacy Board in England Reports Possible Exam Cheating
According to news coverage, the oversight board responsible for pharmacy education and licensing in England has announced suspected cheating on its June “registration exam.”
The article says that the Board cited five cases of suspected cheating, which comes after cheating was also cited in the same exam last year. The coverage also says that a year or so ago, exam candidates protested the Board over, among other issues, “easy cheating.”
It’s scary to think of would-be pharmacists cheating. But I am actually encouraged that the regulatory board is catching cheaters. The ones you really have to worry about are the certification or credentialing bodies that don’t report cheating.
International Quick Bites
Appropriate for Quick Bites — an Italian man swallowed an earpiece after he was caught cheating on a driving exam. There is an x-ray image — if you’re into that.
In South Korea, a former official accused of taking online exams for his son, has asked a professor at George Washington University to testify in his trial. Yes, trial. He was already sentenced to two years in prison for the exam fraud. Yes, two years. According to the coverage, the professor will be, “willing to explain the U.S. school system.” I’m guessing he will say that in America we don’t care much about cheating. If that’s the case, I cannot say he’s wrong.
A paper in Zimbabwe has an opinion piece on how cheating is bad. Cool.
In Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Bar Standards Board has suspended online exams after “clear evidence” of cheating in its online exams.
EY Hit With $3 Million Fine for Exam Cheating
Texas has hit accounting firm EY with a $3 million fine for cheating on required exams, including some ethics exams.
This comes after EY was fined a record $100 million a year or so ago over the same issue (see Issue 131). So, I’m not sure another $3 million is going to get much attention in the C-suite. Still, it’s good to see regulators caring about exam cheating, considering they absolutely missed it while it was going on.
Proctoring Provider Rosalyn Announces New “Advanced AI System”
According to this press release/coverage, proctoring and exam security provider Rosalyn has a new product — an advanced AI system called StableSight.
I don’t know Rosalyn, but I feel like maybe I should. Their announcement and website say they work with Coursera, Stripe, and the US Department of Defense, among others.
The new product, the coverage says:
StableSight is a comprehensive AI-driven solution that goes beyond conventional anti-cheating measures. It features a gaze-tracking model capable of detecting secondary screens, a prevalent method employed by individuals attempting to cheat during exams. The Keyboard Correlation Model adds an extra layer of security by predicting typed text through keyboard sound analysis, thwarting attempts to use concealed devices for dishonest purposes. The platform’s approach involves identifying suspected cases of cheating and escalating them to human reviewers, underscoring a commitment to fairness and accuracy in assessing test-taker behavior.
OK - sure.
They also say:
The surge in demand for professional certifications, driven by a significant wage gap between credentialed and non-credentialed workers, has intensified the need for robust anti-cheating measures in online testing environments.
Again, sure.
Since I don’t know them, or this product, I don’t have much to add.