Florida colleges fear boost in high-tech cheating

Florida's colleges are on high alert in the battle against what they fear is a growing number of tech-savvy cheaters.

Smartphones and social networking have made cheating easier and more widespread than ever, some say. And experts add that if schools don't crack down on the dishonesty now, there could be long-term consequences for society.

"Do you want to drive over a bridge designed by an engineer who cheated his way through school?" asked Jen Day Shaw, dean of students at the University of Florida. "Do you want to be operated on by a surgeon who cheats? If the students don't learn honesty and good values here, what are they going to do in the real world?"

Students will start final exams during the coming weeks, and the stakes can be huge. A poor grade in even one class may be enough to squash a student's chances to get into graduate school. For those already struggling, it can mean the difference between graduating and dropping out.

For some professors and students, cheating has turned into an arms race, where one is trying to outsmart the other. A professor makes the class put their cellphones in the front of the room; a student keeps a spare one in his pocket. A professor bans bathroom breaks during a test; a student claims it's a medical emergency. A professor uses a database of previously submitted term papers to catch plagiarism; a student pays someone to write an original paper.

"Students will challenge you on anything," said Angelia Millender, a vice president at Broward College, which tightened its academic honesty policy in 2010. "If a professor says put the phone away, they will say 'Where is that in writing?' Then they quote the policy in a way that serves them."

Educators say the biggest problem they encounter is plagiarism, with students copying and pasting someone else's work from the Internet. Often times, the students aren't intentionally trying to be dishonest but haven't been properly trained on how to cite their research, said Patricia Price, an associate professor of global and sociocultural studies at Florida International University.

Instructors also struggle to keep up with all the gadgets, apps, websites and social media sites that aid students in cheating. Most professors never thought to ban a student from wearing glasses during a test ? until Google recently announced plans to sell Internet powered "smart glasses."

"I know cheating has been going on forever," said Boris Bastidas, a senior at Florida Atlantic University. "But when you have the Internet in your pocket, it makes it a lot easier for students."

There are even YouTube videos showing students new creative ways to cheat, such as creating a fake label of a 20-ounce Coke bottle that replaces nutritional information with test answers and formulas.

"The things that get the hits on YouTube, you can believe at some point will be shared with faculty, too," said Ricardo Hall, dean of students at the University of Miami.

While colleges say technology has likely increased the number of cheating incidents, they don't have a clear picture of how big the problem is. UF had 385 honor code violations last school year, an 18 percent increase from the previous year. But officials say that could mean that educators are getting better at catching cheaters. FIU says the number of cases has been flat, while an FAU official says the university doesn't have a central tracking system.

And of course, many cheaters never get caught.

"So much of the information is anecdotal," said Ed Pratt, dean of undergraduate students at FAU. "You talk to students and faculty, you know cheating takes place, but it's really difficult to get a handle on how many students are doing it."

There have been several high-profile cases in the state, including a business class at the University of Central Florida where many students received advance test copies in 2010, and a scandal at Florida State University in 2007 involving student athletes cheating on an Internet test.

The ease of cheating, as well as the consequences, vary by instructor, students say.

"Some professors are really strict, and others kind of have the attitude that if you cheat, you're not learning, and that's not my problem," Bastidas said.

Price takes many precautions to prevent the problem, "but if a student is determined to cheat, they'll probably find a way," she said.

stravis@tribune.com or 561-243-6637 or 954-425-1421

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