by Terri Combs-Orme Ph.D.

Created on: August 12, 2008

"Scam" isn't the right word. Try "fraud" or "cheating" or "plagiarism." Try "dishonest" and "self-defeating." Try evidence that the student who uses such a product should be ejected from college.

Would you go to the doctor and substitute someone else's blood for the blood test? Testing your own blood is important to the process of healing. And writing your papers is important to the process of learning. (On the other hand, if you have something to hide, you might substitute someone else's blood. Good luck on the physician's finding anemia or infection or some other condition that requires treatment.)

Students write papers not just for grades, but because the writing process and the feedback received are part of an important learning process. In conducting the research, reading various sides of the issues, critically analyzing the arguments, and reaching your own conclusions you learn that most important part of education: thinking. And in organizing your thoughts and making your best arguments you clarify your thinking and learn to convince others with logic and reason. These are possibly the most important things you will learn in college, and they will come in handy later on in life. (Witness our political process for evidence of how important reason is to a democracy and what can happen when it is missing.)

Colleges and universities are becoming wise to this fraudulent industry and the dishonest students who use it, of course. We are running student papers through special software to detect phrases that show up in other papers and on the Internet. We are carefully scrutinizing papers that are "too good," that is beyond the demonstrated capability of the student so far. This is, of course, a waste of time we could be using to read and give feedback to honest students who are there to use what we have to offer.

As a professor I am perhaps more stringent on this issue than some other professors. To me, submission of a paper bought from one of these sites is prima facie evidence that the student is not interested in learning and does not possess the values of someone I want as a colleague in my profession. I feel no remorse about automatically failing such a person for the course and filing to have him or her dismissed from the graduate program.

I have, in fact, worried because some of the topics listed in Helium's summer promotion sound ideal for plagiarism by undergraduates. I hope that is not true. If I see evidence that Helium is cooperating with this fraud, I will of course never return to the site. I have no doubt that this industry is profitable. But it is an appalling corruption of education, and all who participate demonstrate utter lack of character.

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