Information for Instructors Regarding 3^rd Party Study Platforms – Chegg, Course Hero, Etc.

Instructors at UC and at universities and colleges around the country have become increasingly aware of academic misconduct in the form of inappropriate use of 3^rd party “supplemental course support” web sites. Some of the most common sites are Chegg.com and CourseHero.com. To be clear these sites can serve productive and legitimate roles in supporting learning. Moreover, the sites do post caveats on appropriate use (for students) and as well provide resources on how to have material removed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) or other applicable policies.

I have attached two documents. One – to be used or not at your discretion is for students. The purpose - to let them know that instances of academic misconduct allegations for inappropriate use of these platforms is rising precipitously, and to encourage them to refrain from such behavior. You may choose – at your discretion to post this (or a modified version) on your announcements in canvas or otherwise provide a heads up to your classes.

The other document is for faculty – it includes information how to request materials be removed, how to request additional information about posted material (such as who posted or accessed), and how to – when needed – make an allegation of academic misconduct. If you have further questions about these processes let me know.

How Might Students Inappropriately Use 3^rd Party Sites?

Posting of exams, quizzes, papers, homework solutions and other assignments.
Accessing materials posted on these sites, using them to cheat (for example on exams and quizzes), and/or otherwise representing them without attribution as their own work.
Posting an instructor’s (or another party’s) copyrighted materials.

Request for Removal of Material(s) ONLY

Chegg: Instructors can – on their own - request that information be removed from Chegg’s website if the content was uploaded with a potential violation of the DMCA. To submit this request visit Chegg’s website and complete their online form. That form can be found at this link:

https://www.chegg.com/copyright/takedown-request

CourseHero: instructors can – on their own - request information be removed from CourseHero’s website if the content was uploaded with a potential violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). To submit this request visit CourseHero’s website and complete their online form. That form can be found at this link:

https://www.coursehero.com/takedown-notice/#/

Request for Information for Academic Misconduct Investigation AND Removal of Material

Chegg: If you are requesting additional information about who posted the material to Chegg’s website, who accessed it, or any other additional information to use pertinent to the Academic Misconduct Process, you will need to submit a request for data on Chegg’s website. This must come from a Dean’s office and have an accompanying letter on official letterhead.

Here is the process

Let Greg Metz – in his capacity as CCA (College Conduct Administrator) know that you want to request both take down of material and information on who may have posted and/or accessed the material.
He will send you a template to facilitate this request on UCBA letterhead. On the template include
- Links to ALL material you are seeking to have removed
- What information you are wanting to gather from Chegg
Send the template back to me with the requested information

Greg will convey the request to Chegg’s investigations link

https://www.chegg.com/honorcode/investigation-request

Chegg sends the information back to the CCA. The CCA provides it to the instructor for consideration in the Academic Misconduct process.

CourseHero: CourseHero does not currently have a process to gain additional information regarding who posted or accessed materials to their website. They will only remove information if it violates the DMCA (or if personal information was shared) using the “removal only” process outlined above.

Making an Allegation of Academic Misconduct

The procedure for making an allegation of academic misconduct is succinctly explained the following link –

https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/conduct/academic-integrity/faculty.html

The first step is conveying the allegation to the student through sending a

Notification Form

Instructors – at their discretion – can ask me to check if the student has previously been found responsible for an academic misconduct violation. Instructors can consult with me at any time on questions, clarifications or needs pertinent to the academic misconduct process.