Student Ethics in Online Courses

The Organizational Leadership and Supervision (OLS) program in the Department of Manufacturing Engineering Technologies and Supervision (METS) at Purdue University Calumet has offered asynchronous online instruction since 1998. Courses are offered for the MET major as well as for OLS certificates and degrees. Since 1998 instructors in the program have experienced instances of confirmed and suspected cheating by students in different courses in the program, involving assignments, quizzes and testing, and peer-reviewed papers. This paper will discuss the current University policy on student ethics, specific instances of student cheating, and how instructors have addressed the issues of cheating in online courses. A topic of recent interest is how to balance student accommodation issues under the ADA with concerns about student honesty.