Assessment Considerations 

One of the most significant challenges that Mines instructors reported in the move to remote delivery in Spring 2020 was how best to handle assessment in this new format. In particular, many faculty members were concerned about how this new format—with less structure, increased distractions, and greater access to technology—would impact students’ propensity to cheat. Higher incidents of academic misconduct in the Spring 2020 semester suggest that faculty concerns were justified. 

Below, we have gathered a range of strategies that can help eliminate, prevent, and mitigate this issue. Many of these strategies can help faculty create learning environments and assessments that will not only decrease students’ propensity to cheat, but more importantly, will also support all of their students’ learning. We have also included strategies that are focused simply on making it more difficult for students to cheat. If you choose to use strategies that are focused solely on making cheating more difficult, we encourage you to consider using them in tandem with others that will also support student learning. 

If you would like to think more specifically about how to implement these strategies in your course, we invite you to find a time to meet with a Trefny colleague. 

Strategies That Decrease the Likelihood That Students Will Cheat 

Strategies That Make Cheating More Difficult