2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

With general computing technology being easily accessible to any individual, concerns arise when academic testing is implemented. These concerns include the potential effect on academic integrity, veracity and tenability, through the act of cheating. Mobile phones are as common as textbooks in the classroom. Microcomputers the size of a fingernail, with the ability to compute, display, and output information to a user are no longer an assumptive prognostication of an outdated science fiction reader. COVID-19 brought with it a shift to remote, online learning, both in high schools and colleges, where acts of academic dishonesty abounded. There is a dire need to address the issue of cheating in academia, especially those facets of academia conducted remotely. Students who cheat may be unprepared for college-level coursework or lack true disciplinary skills needed to enter the workforce. The result is that colleges and universities may need to increase spending to better monitor testing, as well as enhance remedial services to students who enter college unprepared. Increased cost remedies may be passed on to future students through increased tuition costs. This paper provides a review of the topic of technology and its role in academic cheating, in addition to concise conclusions for the educator. Special attention is given to the current and future possibility of microelectronic technology being used in deceitful academic acts. In addition, based on the results of the literature survey conducted for this work, recommendations for future research in this area are discussed at length. Educators face a seeming dichotomy: persist in traditional anti-cheating educational structures, advancing anti-cheating technology and jurisprudence; or, embrace technological progress and encourage the cooperative use of student technology in learning. Finally, we propose incorporating Agile approaches in education as a potential solution.