Fraud and cheating in online course environments

Ko and Rossen, when discussing assessment strategies to choose from when designing an online course, touch upon the topic of avoiding “fraud and cheating” (pp. 60-61). This is a topic I have often pondered, both as a student and also as a future online teacher. As a student I wonder if there are other students out there who are able to cheat the system, do significantly less work, and yet still get the same degrees I will. As a future online teacher, I wonder what the best ways to deter online cheating and fraud are.

Adkins, Kenkel, & Lo Lim, in an article examining academic dishonesty (PDF link at http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=fraud+and+cheating+in+online+courses&hl=en&lr=), discuss ten methods that instructors at Northwest Missouri State University use to discourage cheating in online courses. From developing a relationship with the students, to making the consequences for cheating clear, to working hard to catch cheaters, to keeping an electronic database of previously submitted student papers, to time limits or one-on-one chats for tests, attempts are being made at this university to minimize online cheating.

In general, cheating and fraud, when it comes to education, has always baffled me. In my humble adult learner opinion, the value of my degree will be directly proportional to what I have learned as I earn the degree. Honestly, I can think of no greater nightmare than to cheat my way through a degree program, fake my way through an interview, and get hired for the job the degree qualified me for, only to find myself without the knowledge or skills necessary to perform the job.

I still wonder, though, how do you make sure the person purporting to take the online class is really the one doing the work? And, in most circumstances does it matter? Food for thought.