Academic Integrity of Graduate Online Students in a Curriculum and Instruction Program

Abstract

With the continued growth of online courses, the academic integrity of students has received much attention. While cheating is certainly not a new phenomenon, the role of technology in the learning environment has mitigated the effectiveness of traditional preventative measures to maintain academic integrity. This research seeks to examine perceptions of cheating among online graduate students enrolled in a Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) program. We found that in general, students believe that cheating is more prevalent and more likely to occur in an online learning platform. Moreover, despite students’ awareness of university policies and consequences, this has not deterred some from cheating. However, it appears that faculty engagement in setting parameters for what constitutes cheating is important.