A growing industry caters to college cheats
Here’s a troubling thought as college classes start up again: More than two-thirds of college students admit to having cheated on an assignment.
The Chronicle of Higher Education spent months investigating a growing industry that has cropped up to help those students cheat.
With the rise of online courses, students aren’t just buying term papers or one-off assignments, said Chronicle reporter Brad Wolverton.
“Now you can literally buy a whole course,” he said. “You can pay someone, hand over your log-in information, your password, and then they can sign in using your identity and take the whole class for you.”
Wolverton found at least a dozen companies offering such services for as little as $600 a class, with names like TakeYourClass.com and NoNeedtoStudy.com. Some even guarantee at least a B grade.
“It’s part of a trend that’s been happening over the last couple decades of the commodification of education,” said Teresa Fishman, who directs the International Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson University.“The students and the people who are selling these services have the idea that all that really matters is the end, and that the processes that get you there aren’t really significant.”
To fight cheating, she said, colleges need to do a better job of teaching the value and relevance of learning.
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