Cheating reports for course-run exams
PrairieTest can let students report suspected cheating while they are taking a PrairieLearn exam. Reports from course-run exams are visible to all staff for the course. Other students cannot see them.
This feature is off by default. Course staff can enable it for sessions run directly by the course.
Sessions run by a testing center are controlled by that testing center's setting. Reports from those sessions are available to testing center staff, so course staff should coordinate with the center when follow-up is needed.
Consider the student experience
Asking students to report suspected misconduct can create stress, uncertainty, and social conflict. This feature should supplement trained proctoring rather than make students responsible for monitoring one another.
Before enabling it, establish how reports will be reviewed, how reporter identities will be protected, and how retaliation and mistaken reports will be handled. Tell students that they are not expected to watch their peers, that submitting a report is optional, and that a report is an observation for staff to investigate—not proof that misconduct occurred.
Turn on cheating reports
- Open the course in PrairieTest.
- Select Course Settings.
- Find Cheating Reports and select the edit button.
- Turn on Allow students to report cheating.
Once the setting is on, a Cheating Reports tab appears in the course navigation. Students taking an eligible exam will see a Report cheating button in PrairieLearn while their exam is available.
Review reports during an exam
Open the session's Cheating Reports tab to review the reports. The count badge in the tab updates automatically and appears only when at least one report has been submitted.
The report list also updates automatically when a new report is submitted.
Each report includes:
- The name of the student who submitted it
- The student's seat, when one is assigned
- The time the report was submitted
- The student's description of what they saw
Reports are most actionable when exam reservations include a specific assigned seat. Without seat information, staff have less context about where the report originated, which can make follow-up more difficult.
Reports are not anonymous. Staff should handle the reporter's identity and the report itself according to the course's policies.
A shield badge appears next to sessions that have reports. Select the badge to open that session's Cheating Reports tab.
Review reports after an exam
Open the Cheating Reports tab in the course navigation to see reports from course-run sessions. The list shows the exam, session, reporter, and report text. Select a session in the list to open that session's Cheating Reports tab. Report submissions also appear in the relevant activity logs.
Submitted reports remain available for staff review. Turning the feature off prevents new reports and hides the Cheating Reports tab in the course navigation, but it does not remove reports that were already submitted. A session's Cheating Reports tab remains available when that session has historical reports, and previous reports remain visible in activity logs.
Respond to a report
A cheating report records what a student observed. It does not determine whether cheating occurred. Follow your course's usual process for reviewing the information, speaking with the people involved, preserving any other evidence, and applying your institution's academic integrity policies.
For instructions written for students, see Reporting suspected cheating during an exam.