Academic Dishonesty in the Digital Era: A Case Study

Dealing with academic dishonesty has become more rampant in the online learning environment era since it gives students easy access to their academic assessments. This study explored academic dishonesty in the digital era among criminology students in a private institution in Ozamiz City. It was conducted in a private institution delivering online learning in Ozamiz City during the school year 2021-2022. 12 participants in this research were selected through purposive sampling. The qualitative type of research using a case study with Yin’s method of data analysis was used. There were five themes that emerged in this study, namely: 1) motives of cheating, 2) factors that influence cheating, 3) ways to successfully cheat, 4) the prevalence of cheating, and 5) moral transgression of cheating. The participants verbally confessed their cheating experiences in the online class, why they committed such acts, the factors that influenced them to cheat, and their realizations afterward. Although cheating has become more common with the advent of the digital world that hampers the quality of education, proactive measures to prevail in academic integrity should be observed. It is recommended that the instructors will always validate the students’ answers through oral assessments. Hence, the key to prevent or minimize cheating in an online class is the instructor itself. Their ability to create an authentic assessment which involve a more critical and problem solving questions to their examination and quizzes.