Ethics of online classes

[burbuja0512]

Hi All,

I'm in my final class and I think more than one of the students are cheating. Some are posting material that looks like it was from a previous version of the course including citing annual reports from 2008, when the question clearly asks for the newest annual reports to be used (2010).

In fact a person today cited a source in a discussion posting from echeat dot com.

I value my degree and though its only this one class I feel like its cheapening the validity of my degree if the people get away with it.

Should I mention it to the professor or just leave it alone?

Wow.... that is a difficult question and serious dilemma. If you want to say something, perhaps a subtle comment to the professor rather than direct finger pointing. The prof may already be aware and may have chosen not to do anything about it. If this is the situation (and I hope not!) then you could actually jeopardize your grade by pushing for the teacher to do something about it.

I wouldn't say that it cheapens your degree because it does happen at every school, but it is not a good situation. Kids who really wanted to cheat did so well before the internet was available, it just makes it a little easier now whether you're in an online or B&M setting. Ha - I think the only situation that I can think of where it's almost impossible to cheat is when you're taking a CLEP test!!

Good luck and let us know what you decide..