The temptation for cyber cheating is just a click away at college campuses nationwide for students with Internet access who would rather download term papers and essays for a fee than write their own.

But Southeast Missouri State University educators and students say it isn't a big problem at the Cape Girardeau school. Few students cheat online, they say.

Dr. David Starrett, who helps train the school's faculty on setting up Web pages for classes and teaching online, suspects online cheating occurs at Southeast. Nevertheless, he thinks it's infrequent.

To whatever degree it does take place, he said it's nothing new.

"When I was in college you could buy term papers, too," said Starrett, a biology professor and director of the Center for Scholarship in Teaching and Learning at Southeast. "You just didn't do it on the Web."

Professors typically can tell if a student's writing style contrasts with previous papers that the same student has submitted, he said.

Reginald Jennings, a sophomore, often does homework on his laptop computer in his Myers Hall dorm room. Jennings said he isn't aware of any cyber cheating.

Jennings said students at Southeast benefit from having a writing center whose staff works with those who want to improve their writing skills.

Some students say online cheating occurs, but won't talk about it.

Bernie Gaidosch, a writing skills professor at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada, says Internet cheating has reached epidemic proportions.

"While many are already cheating their way through college on the Internet, increasing numbers of students are using cyber cheating sites to complete their entrance exams, write research papers, essays and term papers," he said.

There are hundreds of for-profit plagiarism sites on the Web willing to provide term papers and essays for anywhere from $30 to $400, Gaidosch said. Some of the Web sites carry colorful names like EvilHouseofCheat.com.

Gaidosch said students cheat largely because they have poor writing skills. Improving their writing skills is the best way to stop the cheating, he said.

But first colleges must recognize the problem exists.

Gaidosch said many college officials and professors have turned a blind eye to the problem. "It is the white elephant in the living room," he said. "We sort of tiptoe around him."

College faculty across the country have Internet resources to beat the cheats. They can tap into anti-plagiarism Web sites that, for a subscription fee, will compare students' essays against those in a database and elsewhere across the Internet. The anti-plagiarism site, TurnItIn.com, checks for matching phrases.

Dr. Fred Janzow, dean of University Studies at Southeast, said there's little chance of online cheating if faculty require students to submit first drafts and final revisions for class papers.

Students risk failing grades on assignments if they're caught cheating, Janzow said.

While working on an assignment in the Towers computer lab Friday, Southeast junior Kelly Yenzer said the costs of cheating are just too high for most. The price for buying assignments would deter many students who would rather spend their money on beer.

"We are all broke college students," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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