If My Classmates Are Going to Cheat, Why Can’t I?

April 11, 2020

Illustration by Tomi Um

The Ethicist

If My Classmates Are Going to Cheat on an Online Exam, Why Can’t I?

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how professors can ensure fairness when administering final exams online — and more.

By Kwame Anthony Appiah

Because of efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19, the large university I attend has, like many others, transitioned to online instruction for the foreseeable future. In-person classes are not prohibited, but the administration has strongly recommended against them. Because we are on the quarter system, our final exams are scheduled for next week, immediately before our spring break. This means that professors must choose from a number of less-than-ideal options for administering exams.

Some have given students the choice of an optional final, or canceled them altogether, basing their grade entirely on past work. Others have chosen to use an online service that monitors students while they take their tests in order to ensure that they do not cheat. The downside of this service is that it requires access to a computer with a webcam, a reliable internet connection and access to a quiet, empty room. Those requirements pose a challenge for many college students, particularly those with fewer resources — and more roommates.

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In consideration of this, another popular option is to require an online exam with a request for academic honesty as the only safeguard against cheating. Based on conversations I’ve had with and heard among classmates, I think it is fair to assume that the vast majority of students will take advantage of the resources now available to them (i.e., notes, friends, the internet) in order to succeed. This will result in a much higher average performance than an in-person exam would, putting anyone who does not cheat at a disadvantage as any grading on a curve would hurt him or her.

While I know that it is dishonest to cheat and I value my integrity, I also want to maintain a high G.P.A., and it seems that those goals are in conflict with each other. I plan to take my exam for an uncurved class in accordance with academic-honesty policies, but would it be entirely unacceptable to consult my friends or notes minimally during a curved class’s final?

Read the Ethicist’s response here.

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