[I_teach_writing]

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I grade papers for a sophomore/junior level engineering class. I sometimes find some suspect homeworks where the student may be cheating. Should I point this out to the professor? On one hand I feel like just letting it go because if they constantly cheat it will probably come back to bite them in the ass in the future. On the other hand the class isn't overly difficult and they really shouldn't have to cheat, they're probably just being lazy.

For what it's worth the cheating in question is using a solutions manual from an old edition of the book.

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If you are going to report it, be prepared to donate a significant amount of (unpaid) time if the professor decides to do anything official about the allegations. If the professor is designing assignments where all students have to do is look at an old edition to find the answers then:

1) the professor should expect such behavior

2) the cheating students will probably have trouble with the exams


However if the cheating is so blatant that you are certain it is cheating, then you are just wasting your time by reading and grading it, and telling the professor might cut your workload in the long run.

The easy solution? Talk to the student after class and tell him the work looked a little shady. 5:1 it will scare him straight.