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Understanding Academic Integrity

Scenario 9: Using Homework Help Sites

TRANSCRIPT: You've started writing an online open book test; the questions are challenging. You realize you should have studied more for this test. These questions are not straightforward multiple-choice questions, and instead require analysis which you cannot find through your course notes or your professor’s slides.

You recall that you recently registered for an account on a homework help site. Although you haven't used it yet, you know that there's an area on this site where students can post test questions and experts will answer them within half an hour.

You know getting your answers in this way is wrong, but you need help. You're pretty sure that your professor can't prove you received answers from a password protected website, so you can't get caught cheating. You take screenshots of the questions and post them to the experts.

20 minutes later, you receive answers only minutes before the test ends. Although they don't seem to relate too well to the test questions, you use them anyways. You don't have much time, so you quickly copy what the experts have provided and submit the test.

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