Dear Commons Community,

The University of Iowa is launching an investigation into cheating in its online classes.  The issue has long been a concern in academia as more and more colleges have begun offering online education. As reported by the Associated Press:

“The University of Iowa says it is investigating whether more than 30 students cheated in online classes by having others take exams for them.

The school said Friday that it is reviewing each case of possible academic misconduct and will take disciplinary action against any students who are guilty.

The issue came to light after potential irregularities were identified by ProctorU, a company the university uses to provide identity verification for online courses.

ProctorU said that discrepancies in identification were provided by test-takers in one or more exams and in some cases, in multiple courses.

The school says sanctions could include expulsion or suspension.”

The cheating issue will continue to raise its head in online education but let’s not forget that cheating has always been an issue in traditional, on-ground courses also.

Tony