As online education in post-secondary education continues to grow, so does the need to ensure that students are achieving success on their own accord. In particular, as more and more students begin taking exams online, it is important to understand how students perceive what constitutes cheating in this environment. Are perceptions different depending on whether students are in a physical classroom or a virtual one? The objective of this study is to collect and analyze survey data that will provide some insight into how college students perceive cheating in both the online environment and the traditional in-person classroom. One hundred and thirty-five college students from a U.S. four year college completed a survey during the 2023-24 academic year. (Additional surveys will be collected during the 2024-25 academic years). The 45 item survey measured student attitudes and perceptions about online versus traditional classroom cheating. Students were asked to rate their beliefs for a variety of cheating scenarios and to discuss how often they engaged in any of the behaviors themselves. In addition, demographic data such as age, gender, mother and father’s education level, family income, grade point average among others were collected. Preliminary results reveal that students perceive online cheating to be more prevalent than cheating in the classroom. Reasons for these beliefs include the increased anonymity and a lack of true understanding of what constitutes cheating online. Students were found to be more likely to cheat if they perceive the class to be poorly structured and if they believe others are cheating as well. Finally, the paper concludes by examining the current availability of online cheating prevention mechanisms and discuss the feasibility of implementing them in the various scenarios discussed in the survey.

Keywords: Education, cheating, academic dishonesty.