University of South Carolina President Resigns Over Plagiarism

Plus, Fordham Business School has "widespread" cheating on Chegg. Plus, a former Republican member of Congress and a former President of a HBCU agree; Chegg is a real problem.

Issue 26

South Carolina President Resigns After Speech Plagiarism

CNN and other outlets have the story of the resignation of Bob Caslen as President of the University of South Carolina. Caslen, according to the news reports, lifted sections of his commencement speech and failed to attribute the source.

Given his role as head of an academic institution, that’s the right decision. Representing the work of others as your own is serious. Doing it has consequences.

Fordham Gabelli School of Business: Allegations of “Widespread Academic Dishonesty”

The Fordham Observer has the story of “credible allegations” of “widespread academic dishonesty” at Fordham University’s GSB - the business school. According to the reporting:

students enrolled in 19 parallel sections of a single course had collaborated through a third-party platform to share information.

The cheating collaboration took place on Chegg, in a required class for accounting majors. Six hundred and fifty students in the classes will have to retake the exam, which was online. In an e-mail to students, Provost Dennis Jacobs referred to the incident as “a teachable moment.”

Former Member of Congress: Companies Like Chegg “Must be Held Accountable”

Todd Tiahrt, a former multi-term Republican Congressman from Kansas, wrote in Real Clear Education, about what he called “the demise” of academic intergrity. He writes,

Today, the convenience of cheating has made it more ubiquitous on college campuses, and it will eventually cost us all. 

He continues,

How bad could it be? Judging by an online platform called Chegg, pretty bad. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the shift to online education has unfortunately also led to online cheating through websites like Chegg. While it is not the only option available for online cheating, Chegg has set a new standard for convenience.

True. Tiahrt also wrote,

Imagine a “chegging” graduate filling your next prescription or constructing your next house or piloting your next commercial flight or conspiring against one of our nation’s potential adversaries. Clearly, the prevalence of cheating today poses serious threats to our economy, culture, and even national security.

Also true. After suggesting what schools can do to curtail cheating, the former Congressman writes,

none of these recommendations addresses online cheating providers like Chegg.com that are making millions. These companies must be held accountable.

It’s one thing for people like me to say something needs to change for Chegg and its unethical counterparts. Maybe it’s something else when a former House member says it. Maybe.

Former HBCU President: Keep Chegg Out of Our Classrooms

Julianne Malveaux, former President at HBC Bennett College for Women in North Carolina, wrote in blackpressusa that “a perfect storm is brewing for cheating and plagiarism” in schools. She has one particular miscreant in mind:

one company, Chegg, is encouraging the behavior and making billions. It’s time for colleges and universities to put a stop to this company, so it does not continue to grow out of control.

She continues

A $12 billion company that has grown as a direct result of exploitation and dishonesty, Chegg provides students with tools to receive near-immediate answers to tests, homework and quiz questions, all without repercussions.

Malveaux also correctly cites the obnoxious advantage that pay-for-answers sites such as Chegg affords those who can afford it.

At nearly $200 a year, not only is Chegg out of the budget for many of these students, but it also lowers the quality of education across the board by requiring less actual learning in exchange for quick and easy good grades. Unlike their white counterparts, many of these students do not have a safety net to fall back on when they lose access to quality education.

It’s one thing for people like me to say something needs to change for Chegg and its unethical counterparts. Maybe it’s something else when a former President of an HBCU says it. Maybe.

This “The Cheat Sheet” was not designed to focus on Chegg, it just worked out that way. Even so, when a former Republican House Member from Kansas and the former President of a HBCU write separate condemnations of the company, that’s something.

In the next “The Cheat Sheet” - a focus on the toll that policing cheating takes on faculty. Plus, of course, more cheating. Subscribe and share below.