Cheating in the wake of COVID-19: how dangerous is ad-hoc online testing for academic integrity?

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Liam

Worldwide, higher education institutions shifted from on-site to online examinations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 health crisis, triggering debate about whether the change made cheating easier. The study surveyed 1608 German students across many higher education institutions about their behavior during the summer semester of 2020. Students reported cheating more frequently in online than on-site exams. Effects on other academic dishonesty indicators were negligible, indicating negative consequences for academic integrity from rapid ad-hoc online testing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Research questions and methods

Findings on cheating and other dishonest behaviors

Implications for academic integrity

Cheating in the wake of COVID-19: how dangerous is ad-hoc online testing for academic integrity? Stefan Janke, Selma C. Rudert, Änne Petersen, Tanja M. Fritz, Martin Daumiller Angaben zur Veröffentlichung / Publication details: Janke, Stefan, Selma C. Rudert, Änne Petersen, Tanja M. Fritz, and Martin Daumiller. 2021.“Cheating in the wake of COVID-19: how dangerous is ad-hoc online testing for academic integrity?” Computers and Education Open 2: 100055 . [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2021.100055](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2021.100055) . Nutzungsbedingungen / Terms of use: CC BY 4.0 Dieses Dokument wird unter folgenden Bedingungen zur Verfügung gestellt: / This document is made available under these conditions: CC-BY 4.0: Creative Commons: Namensnennung Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter: / For more information see: [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.de](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.de) Computers and Education Open 2 (2021) 100055 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers and Education Open journal [homepage:](homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/computers-and-education-open)[ www.sciencedirect.com/journal/computers-and-education-open](homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/computers-and-education-open) | Cheating in the wake of COVID-19: How dangerous is ad-hoc online testing for academic integrity?
Stefan Jankea, *, Selma C. Rudertb, ¨Anne Petersen a, Tanja M. Fritz c, Martin Daumiller c
a University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences, Germany b University of Koblenz and Landau, Germany
c University of Augsburg, Germany | | | | --- | --- | --- | | A R T I C L E I N F O | | A B S T R A C T | | Keywords:
Academic dishonesty Cheating Examination Online testing | | Worldwide, higher education institutions made quick and often unprepared shifts from on-site to online examination in 2020 due to the COVID-19 health crisis. This sparked an ongoing debate on whether this development made it easier for students to cheat. We investigated whether students did indeed cheat more often in online than in on-site exams and whether the use of online exams was also associated with higher rates of other behaviors deemed as academic dishonesty. To answer our research questions, we questioned 1608 German students from a wide variety of higher education institutions about their behavior during the summer semester of 2020. The participating students reported that they cheated more frequently in online than in on-site exams. Effects on other measures of academic dishonesty were negligible. These results speak for the notion that the swift application of ad-hoc online testing during 2020 has led to negative consequences for academic integrity. | The COVID-19 pandemic forced many higher education institutions across the globe to apply new ways of teaching and testing to mitigate health risks for instructors and students. Especially the increased reliance on online exams has ignited debates on whether this method of performance assessment comes with higher risks for academic integrity than on-site exams, as students supposedly have more opportunities tocheat [11,22,42]. While prior research on academic dishonesty is inconclusive regarding the question of whether online testing fosters dishonest behavior [26], the extensive and sudden shift from on-site to online testing in the higher education sector in the wake of the pandemic represents an unparalleled event. More than the previous small steps towards digitalization, this large-scale change in performance assessment provided a challenge for maintaining academic integrity. Higher education practitioners often had little time to prepare for the transition [4]. As a result, educators relied on a range ofad-hoc solutions to testing, many of which were characterized by low accountability and less than optimal procedures to monitor students’ behavior during the assessment situation [15]. From the stud

FAQs

What prompted the shift to online examinations studied in the document?

The COVID-19 health crisis forced many higher education institutions to move from on-site to online examinations in 2020 to mitigate health risks.

How was the study conducted and whom did it involve?

The researchers questioned 1608 German students from a wide range of higher education institutions about their behavior during the summer semester of 2020.

What were the main findings regarding academic integrity?

Students reported cheating more frequently in online exams than in on-site exams, while effects on other measures of academic dishonesty were negligible.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Liam