Students can use online sources like allMSU.com to share notes and answers or even work together in groups in order to receive more help on tests.

“I had online tests in one of my classes, and we all just got together and did them together,” Bussing said. “I think the teacher kind of knew, but you kind of just have to guess that’s happening anyway.”

Criminal justice associate professor David Foran said he thinks cheating is always a problem with online classes.

“We can’t sit there and watch everybody like in a class(room),” Foran said.

Communication professor Bill Donohue said he structures his online classes in a way that aims to limit the amount of cheating that can occur.

“You could bring in your computers and sit next to each other to take an exam and there’s nothing I can do,” Donohue said. “But at the end of the day if you don’t want to learn, you’re not going to learn.”

To help combat the problem, Donohue said he limits the amount of time students are able to access a test or quiz.

“If you give someone half an hour to do a quiz, that doesn’t give the opportunity to have a long discussion,” Donohue said.

Limiting tests can help, Foran said, and online technology for ANGEL lets professors shut down parts of the Web site they don’t want students using while they are taking their exams.

“What we do to make sure students study is we close everything on the Web site except for the exam during exam periods,” Foran said. “Otherwise they could be going through the material for the exam.”

They can also tell if students try to sneak a peek at other post materials on the site, he said.

“The online technology allows us to see who is accessing the Web site at what time,” Foran said. “That way if they are on question three and they are looking at the material for that question we can see that.”

But there will always be students who try to take the easy way out and try not to get caught, he said.

“It’s unfair to students who follow the rules, they have to work for the same grade,” Foran said.