Plagiarism, learning dishonesty or just plain cheating: The context and countermeasures in Information Systems teaching

The incidence of cheating in Information Systems courses has been increasing since the mid-1990s. University entry standards, the nature of the student population, student experiences, student concerns, financial influences, class size, practical skill attainment and employer expectations influence the tertiary education environment in Information Systems in New Zealand. This paper documents our attempts over the period 1996-2001 to counter cheating. This began with a paper based model, moved to computer based assessment, and resulted in the development of the Student Online Assessment Program (SOAP) as an integrated approach which has allowed us to extend the types of computer based assessment we can carry out. The advances we have made and the limitations we have encountered are explored.