Authenticating, Identifying, and Monitoring Learners in the Virtual Classroom: Academic Integrity in Distance Learning

Cheating is not a problem unique to Internet-based training. It is a phenomenon that can and does compromise academic integrity in all settings, in both the traditional classroom and in distance-learning environments. But what are the remedies to compromises and abuses of the learning process, and challenges to the testing process in distance education? That is, how can distance education be administered so as to identify, authenticate, and monitor learners, minimize cheating, and thus maintain academic integrity? This paper proposes to provide an answer to this question. The paper discusses the virtual classroom, pointing out that the possibilities for abuse of academic integrity in the virtual classroom require special mechanisms to provide adequate monitoring in distance education. It notes the inevitability of distance education and contends that it is vital for institutions of higher learning that wish to remain in business to take the lead in developing systems that preserve academic integrity in the distance learning setting. The paper then describes some of the approaches to preserving academic integrity in the distance learning setting. In some cases, the approach is one that has been used for many years, while in other cases the approach is a relatively new but promising development. Includes 5 notes. (NKA)