Why Proactive Exam Fraud Detection is key to the Future of Higher Education

Pandemic or no pandemic, online education is storming the academic world. Whether you're a first time college student or returning after a decade hiatus, it’s likely that online testing components are a requisite for program completion. Higher Ed institutions require exams so that students are able to demonstrate competency on selected subject matters. However, we’ve evolved from the once familiar practice of proctored exams in a testing center filled with scantrons, blue books and anxiety. What did exam proctoring look like before that? Anciently, exams were administered orally. Students stood before their academic superiors and recited information to demonstrate proof of mastered knowledge. Fast forward to 2023. Picture this. You’re a second semester freshman in a Math 1010 course with 350 other students. To pass the class, you are required to give an oral demonstration of the material learned over the course of the term. Perhaps, that’s doable for a few students, but multiplying that requirement by 350 simply makes for an unrealistic assessment method.

As history progressed, so did the assessment delivery systems. We transitioned from singular recitations to written tests to online examinations. Each method requires a proctoring system of sorts to preserve the integrity of the assessment and furthermore the educational institution.

Unfortunately, with the rise of online exams in higher education, comes increased levels of academic fraud. Why is that? Likely the increase in academic fraud is that with technology progression, cheating is just easier to do. In a society that is saturated with “techies”, so many are equipped with skills that extend beyond the capabilities of the traditional classroom teacher. It just isn’t in the job description for a collegiate French literature professor to know how an online exam distribution program is engineered. That French Lit. professor will, however, expect results that are accurate and reflective of the test taker’s knowledge. 

So, what exactly is proactive fraud detection? Proactive fraud detection is a method of identifying and preventing fraud before it occurs, rather than reacting to it after it has taken place. In theory, with a proactive fraud detection system in place, the losses or damage caused to organizations will decrease. Due to the upswing in fraudulent activity on a global level, higher education is among many industries that are utilizing proactive fraud detection. A few examples include: 

• Financial Services use proactive fraud detection to monitor transactions and analyze behaviors to detect and prevent credit card fraud, account takeover, and money laundering. 

2. Insurance Companies use data analytics and predictive modeling to identify and prevent fraudulent insurance claims. 

3. E-commerce businesses require regular use of fraud detection to screen orders in attempts to prevent identity theft, account stealing, and chargeback fraud. 

4. Healthcare organizations also use predictive analytics as well as machine learning algorithms to identify illegal activity in billing, claims, and upcoding. 

5. Telecommunication companies need proactive fraud detection to protect call centers, subscriptions, and roaming from fraudulent activity. 

Similarly, higher education also maintains an established approach to proactive fraud detection. Presumably, many industry leaders attended a college, university, or trade school of some sort to acquire skills, qualifications, and/or degrees needed to demonstrate proficiency in the workforce. Such experiences certainly required examinations, thus assimilating the workforce. Proactive Fraud detection is key to the future of higher education due to the demand for institutional integrity, quality assurance of programs offered, as well as the promised protection of the financial and academic interests of both student and stakeholder.

Naturally, the idea of proactive proctoring assumes the responsibility of confronting “cheaters”. Can you imagine a world in which this was not the case? What might that look like? Ethan Simmons, a hypothetical 23 year old political science major at Boise State University, regularly used screen sharing software during examinations to receive help in real-time and simultaneously exchange answers with other students. Ethan completed the political science program and graduated with “honors”. Ethan pursued a life in politics where he was eventually elected as the governor for the State of Idaho. Ethan, now Governor Simmons, is responsible for legislative relations, the state’s budget and finances, and ironically, the criminal justice system. As Ethan was never confronted about his unethical academic decisions during his undergraduate studies, is he more likely to act unethically on legislative matters? This is a theoretical scenario and that judgment is yours to make. 

Nonetheless, while proactive proctoring does expose suspicious behavior, it is actually designed to serve the “non-cheater”, which is believed to be the majority of test takers. Proactive proctoring promotes fairness, reduces stress, enhances student engagement, and improves the accuracy of the assessment. If students are aware of a credible proctoring system in place, it evens the playing field given the knowledge that all test takers have an equal opportunity to succeed when taking an assessment.

What can we do to control the educational industry’s loss due to fraud? The answer is simple, prevention, prevention, PREVENTION! Protecting higher educational institutions through proactive proctoring is really more about protecting the students that will graduate and move into the workforce. These individuals take with them a presumed quality education and experiences that will empower them to become societal contributors, industry leaders, and (hopefully) all around good people, which is the real mission of higher education.

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