Lesson from Dartmouth

During the coronavirus pandemic, most teaching went online and various software techniques became available to spot online exam cheating. With the reopening now occurring, the number of online courses will sharply diminish at UCLA and around the world. However, the fact that many courses were provided online will undoubtedly mean that online courses will continue in greater numbers than had the pandemic not occurred. 

A recent series of events at Dartmouth should give pause, however, to use of anti-cheating software. In the Dartmouth case, 17 medical students were accused of cheating in a case that brought coverage in the NY Times* and elsewhere. The techniques used to detect cheating were flawed and there was a clear lack of appropriate due process in adjudicating the cases.

The upshot now is that all charges have been dropped and an apology was given to the accused students.**

There should be lessons learned throughout higher ed from the Dartmouth case about the use of seemingly-clever ways of detecting online cheating and about the provision of due process when individuals are accused of any activity which could result in significant penalties.

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*https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/09/technology/dartmouth-geisel-medical-cheating.html

**https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/technology/dartmouth-cheating-charges.html