Study Aid or Cheating?

For some, it is difficult to understand the line between an online study aid, such as Chegg or Course Hero, and cheating. These sites brand themselves as a helpful solution to already answered questions, but issues arise from this because the student truly isn’t learning nor comprehending the material that has been used among many other students. This is when we see myriad students receiving Academic Integrity Violation Reports filed against them, and every student had been found responsible for recycling the same information.

So, what are these sites? Course Hero was created by students attending Cornell. It provides old tests, homework assignments, textbook answers, and class notes. Chegg has a similar format. These sites allow for study groups, collaboration, and tutoring.

Another level to this is these sites are not really free to use. Users have to sign up for an account and pay a subscription fee to access the services. Students often find themselves looking into these sites when they’ve procrastinated on their assignment or when they’re looking for a quick solution, rather than communicating with their professor or accessing tutors on campus.

These sites claim that using their services is not considered cheating. However, they are not privy to university and course standards and expectations. At Utah State University, the Student Code prohibits this kind of behavior. Additionally, many course syllabi prohibit the use of unauthorized online sources. Therefore, it is imperative for students to fully understand the Student Code and their course syllabi to understand what is allowed and what is not.

When used properly, these websites offer some pretty incredible learning opportunities and networking. But, if a student wants to cheat, these websites offer the tools to do so. Instructors need to be transparent with their students on what constitutes an academic violation and should ask their students to let them know if they find their course materials online.

The line between getting assistance to study and cheating can be a challenge to see. The best advice is to stay away from these sites because the temptation of them can impact academics greatly. Students may not get any credit or may be given failing grades in the course. Additionally, university sanctioning is imposed when a violation occurs.