This chapter reviews the proliferation of community college students who cheat in online classes, with particular focus on hiring ghost-students or students who take an entire course for a fee. The discussion includes faculty and institutional solutions to prevent ghost-students in online classes.

The author graduated with an associate degree in liberal arts from Northern Essex Community College (NECC) in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Although he was one of over a thousand students to graduate that day, his situation was a little different than those of his peers. The author is a full-time faculty member at NECC with a Ph.D. in organic…

This chapter describes the challenges contingent community-college faculty might face in implementing best-integrity practices in the classroom, and calls for community college leadership to make changes to better support faculty in their efforts to protect the academic integrity of their institutions.

This chapter provides practical suggestions from community college students and faculty--in their own words--about how to prevent academic dishonesty and what to do if it happens. Both new and veteran professors can benefit from the wide variety of ideas that are enlightening and innovative.

Academic dishonesty is a well-documented problem in higher education. While numerous actions and/or behaviors are attributed to threatening academic integrity, the vernacular term used by both students and faculty is "cheating". Although there has been a substantial amount of research on academic integrity and dishonesty in general,…

This applied dissertation was an inquiry into the phenomenon of cheating among students who take their classes online. There is a common perception that cheating is rampant in online classes and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accreditation association in the South, implemented policies, which mandate stricter monitoring of…

Online learning has grown exponentially within higher education in the past decade, especially at community colleges. As online course offerings expand community colleges need to assess student learning in order to ensure quality learning experiences for students and for accreditation purposes. The purpose of this study was to compare the…

Online learning is rapidly becoming one of the most prevalent delivery methods of learning in institutions of higher education. It provides college students, especially adult students, an alternative, convenient, and cost-efficient method to earn their credentials, upgrade their skills and knowledge, and keep or upgrade their employment. But at…

Academic dishonesty is a significant problem among college students. Numerous factors affect levels of cheating. This study utilized an original survey on cheating and rationalization along with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between rationalization, narcissism, and academic…

Punitive measures have failed to stem the rising tide of academic dishonesty. Institutions often have little understanding of the underlying reasons for student cheating. The issue goes beyond the academic world as cheating behavior is often carried into post-academic pursuits. Researchers have devoted little time to assessing the problem from the…

The Rostrum is a quarterly publication of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) The Master Plan for Higher Education and the Missions of the California Community Colleges (Jane Patton); (2) Academic Dishonesty and the Faculty's Right to Assign a Grade: A Test of the Academic…

Academic dishonesty is not new, but recent research reviews and the media indicate that its prevalence is on the rise and that it erodes public confidence in academia. Such loss can be ill afforded at at time when the costs of education are increasing, and both federal and public funding are decreasing. The author discusses: (1) What is academic…

Student cheating has been the subject of much despair and considerable research in higher education. Although cheating is recognized as a concern for community colleges, little research examines cheating specifically in these institutions. Because community colleges typically serve students representing a wide diversity of ages, community college…

In 1987, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) adopted a faculty ethics statement developed by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) detailing faculty responsibilities to their disciplines, as teachers, as colleagues, and as members of academic institutions. To make the AAUP statement more relevant to…

This study sought to determine factors impacting faculty response to academic dishonesty at a multi-campus, two-year college. This study investigated faculty: (1) perceptions of the extent of academic honesty; (2) perceptions of, and attitudes toward Academic Dishonesty Policy and policy implementation; (3) responses to academic dishonesty; (4)…