What employers really think of online degrees

I question all institutions.... remember the big cheating hoopla that took place a Duke's Fuqua School of Business a couple of years ago... the MBA program? No institution is immune to cheating. So I guarantee you.... the institutions you've worked for... it's happened. You were just not informed. :-)

During my freshman year, there were approximately 330 people in my psychology class. We had to show ID to take exams, and you were only known by your social security number. The professor lectured from the stage and his 6 TAs worked the room. All of his exams were standardized..... long story short... cheating spread like rabies.

I'm a frat boy... and yes.... I've seen it happen. I've seen instances where professors who were also of the same greek affiliation give answers to exams.... fraternities and sororities. These were all in traditional settings. That's why I say... it's not distance learning... it's society. And the sad part is that our youth are quickly finding more efficient ways to do it. I teach online and because students' work is posted publically in the threads.... other students are more likely to call another student out on the board. This helps keep them honest.

Competition in academia and unethical people are consuming our institutions. For instance, several institutions I teach for use Turnitin.com. I quickly found that one of my student's 13 year old brother showd her how to get past that. I'm glad I have honest students..... not. :-)

I've seen tons of cheating during undergrad (no implication that I participated). Even though I saw much less, it took place on the master's and doctoral levels as well. What's interesting is that students on the graduate level were more likely to be caught so it happend much less: smaller classes, better working relationships with faculty, the faculty tends to know your capabilities, and the educational investment is much greater at this point.

Chronicle Forums