Fraudulent behaviors among undergraduate students in the time of COVID-19

Abstract

The pandemic has led to the establishment of an emergency remote teaching and an emergency remote evaluation. The new context has favored fraudulent behavior in university students. Studying this phenomenon and determining the most frequent behaviors is the objective of the paper. In August 2020, a questionnaire on unethical behavior in evaluation (assignments and exams) was sent to undergraduate students at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Zaragoza. Descriptive analyzes and tests to determine the existence of significant differences are applied to the 330 valid cases. Our main result stands out that there are few unethical behaviors observed on a regular basis, but they are observed with great frequency. Not collaborating equitably in teamwork, copying the work of another student and doing poor work are the most common behaviors in terms of preparing work that is being evaluated. And with respect to those observed during the exams, they are still the classic fraudulent behaviors: using illegal material (in its two variants, paper and more technological), asking the answer and being copied on the exam. It stands out that the characteristic with which the most differences are observed is sex. Discussion: These unethical behaviors are still established in our educational environment and ICTs, far from limiting them, favor them. Given that university institutions are not only responsible for training professionals with high knowledge and skills, but also responsible professionals with moral and ethical integrity, it is essential to consider possible training and corrective measures to limit these behaviors.