Course Sharing

Homework Help websites offer students a variety of resources such as textbook rentals, course notes, test preparation guides, and examples of papers written for a class for a fee; however, these websites are not legitimate sources of help.

With the transition to online learning, homework help sites and other contract cheating services have found new opportunities to target students across different online platforms that include:

• Advertisements on YouTube,Tiktok, or in your social media feeds.
• Paid placements with influencers who appeal to college-aged students.
• E-mails sent to your Sheridan account.
• Sales reps posing as students in an online study group or tutorial, who share links to sign up for "more tutoring" help, and more.

While these commercial companies use language on their sites, in their ads, and in their e-mails to make you feel like you're getting customized tutoring or course support, if the service is giving you answers to your tests or assignments in exchange for money or for your course notes, it is still contract cheating.

More and more students are getting caught up in situations that lead to academic integrity breaches without even realizing it. At its worst, using homework help sites can lead to extortion, where companies threaten to report a student to their school unless they pay more money for services.

There are a few quick ways to get help on assignments and other course work at Sheridan:

• Talk to your professor—they want you to succeed! Check your course syllabus to learn how to contact your professor outside of class time. You could
  • Book a one-on-one session to talk about your progress,
  • Book a group session to talk about a shared project, or
  • E-mail them for quick questions about assignments or course content.
• Get extra help with your course work from the Tutoring Centre. Tutors are trained to help you develop academic skills like time management, studying and test taking techniques, and taking notes so that you improve on your work and avoid situations where you might feel pressured to cheat. Book a free appointment on TutorOcean!

Check the Get Help tab in this module to learn about more supports offered at Sheridan!

After reading this section, reflect on the following questions:

• Have I seen an advertisement or gotten an e-mail for a homework help service that seemed too good to be true? What kinds of language did they use that made me suspicious?
• What situations would a student need to be in to feel like it was a good idea to use a homework help site? What resources are available at Sheridan instead of these homework help sites?
• What would I do if a friend told me they were using a site like Chegg or Course Hero?