Online cheating surges during the pandemic; US universities struggle to find a solution

As the surging pandemic keeps classes and exams mainly online, much is at stake. But the pandemic has also energised campuses to talk more openly than ever about how to inspire academic integrity – even more so than during the recent rise of a global industry of crooks that has made it easy and cheap for students to hire online phantoms to do their work for them. — Dreamstime/TNS

James Aguilar stared at his computer screen, unsure which of the four possible answers fit the question on his political economy quiz: “Comparative advantage refers to what?”

Like students everywhere during the pandemic, Aguilar, a junior at San Francisco State University, was attending school and taking a test from home under the watchful eye of no one. It would have been easy to Google the answer, and Aguilar admits he was tempted. But he didn’t.