Cramster: "Problem solved" or academic dishonesty?

 The existence of an online solutions website, Cramster.com, has raised concerns about student cheating.

     Students can use the website to generate solutions to math problems. The website, unlike student solutions manuals typically purchased alongside math, physics and engineering textbooks, includes many even-numbered problems, whereas typical solutions manuals generally come with answers to only select odd-numbered questions.

     Established in 2003, Cramster currently boasts 100 thousand active users. The website caters to science, engineering, and mathematics students by featuring full solutions for over 300 college textbooks, ranging from remedial algebra to quantum physics. Cramster is a free service, but for those willing to dole out $9.95 a month, users can pay to get the even- as well as odd-numbered problems.

     All universities, UCCS included, have strict policies regarding academic dishonesty. Cramster has anticipated this, and it has its own policy in place that allows professors to contact the site if a student is caught cheating. 

     Cramster will ban users who are reported by their universities. There is the question, though, as to whether students are guilty of cheating merely by their association with Cramster.

     Some students at UCCS don't agree that Cramster is simply a cheating utility. One student believes that Cramster's value lies in its full solutions.

     "It helps you by showing how the problem's done, not just the answer. If the teacher explains it or a tutor explains it, I still might not understand it. [With Cramster] I can see the full problem and it makes sense."

     Another student, who was briefly a subscription user but cancelled the membership after only one month, maintained that using Cramster was not always cheating.

     "It depends on the way you use it," the student explained. "The answers aren't always right [on Cramster]. It can't be used as a reliable source."

     Instructors at UCCS expressed similar opinions. Lisa Eagan, a chemistry instructor, says that the use of Cramster lies in a "gray area." She added, "It really depends on if the students are using it for graded homework. If they are, then yes, it's cheating."

     Most departments have designed their curriculums to protect against cheating outside of class, as homework only accounts for 10 to 20 percent of the total grade; in-class exams and quizzes make up 80 to 90 percent.

     As physics instructor Robert Gist explained, "Solutions can help students solve an equation [they] have a bump with. But there has to be some self-discipline. Don't jump on the easy answer. It will not help you on the test."