Course Hero was designed as a supplementary study program for students who want to expand their knowledge of education materials and be better prepared for their exams. However, the most pressing question remains unchanged: is using Course Hero cheating? Some say that choosing Course Hero as your study helper may challenge your academic integrity.
Course Hero explicitly prohibits using the site to complete one’s homework and copy the answers provided by other students. You can still use Course Hero to find relevant information and get a better understanding of the subject. However, the ethics of advancing your university grades through Course Hero have always been under debate. Some teachers believe that the misuse of the program leads to poor academic achievements and compromises the entire objective of university studies. Still, recognizing the ethical implications of using external resources is a subject for debate that places Course Hero in a controversial position.
Is using Course Hero cheating
Since Course Hero is a legal platform for student help, using Course Hero is not illegal under any circumstances. However, it would be regarded as cheating if students go on the platform to seek out papers that belong to other students and copy them word-for-word. In that case, the use of Course Hero can be classified as unethical and dishonest. To avoid the consequences of violating academic integrity policies, students can only use Course Hero as an inspiration.
The archives of student papers that you can find at Course Hero are meant to enhance the student’s knowledge about the subject and serve as an encouragement for future studies. The exploitation of these resources is what makes using Course Hero so debatable. If you don’t want to be accused of plagiarism and violation of the university rules of conduct, you should never try to bypass the learning process and gain an unfair advantage with your peers by hijacking all the answers. Some students use Course Hero as an educational guide to find an academic solution.
When is Course Hero considered cheating
You might have been wondering: is using Course Hero cheating? In some cases, following the guidelines of your task is not enough to bring you the desired grade. In these instances, students resort to different strategies to complete their homework. These might be unethical but highly effective. Maximizing learning through proper use of resources is commendable and deserves the teacher’s praise. Still, some people would gladly corrupt their education process in favor of getting a better grade and passing an exam. Below, you will witness some of the more prominent examples of using Course Hero for cheating:
Direct copying
Using Course Hero content as a helper for your writing assignments can take different forms, some more unscrupulous than others. For instance, copying an answer provided by other Course Hero users and benefiting from something you haven’t been a part of is 100% unfair.
Moreover, it makes your teachers question your academic honesty and gives them leverage to accuse you of plagiarism. One might ask how copying can constitute cheating if you can’t be identified or tracked. Yes, using Course Hero is mostly safe because it has no affiliation with schools or universities, but this doesn’t mean your professor can’t upload your paper on Turnitin and see if there is any copied content.
Paying tutors
Some of us are reluctant to search for study materials and complete the task, relying on our knowledge of the subject. This is where Course Hero tutors come in. Did you know you can actually pay people on Course Hero to give you an answer on a specific subject and craft an assignment for you? However, such practices are easily detected. If a group of students has to complete the same assignment but makes the same mistakes throughout the task, this can only mean one thing: they’ve all used the same source as an “inspiration” and copied directly from it.
Students will be relieved to know there is a way to avoid plagiarized content and university penalties. By choosing a reliable essay writing service and reading essay services reviews, you automatically protect yourself from copied assignments and possible persecution from your college authorities. With writing professionals knowing how to generate original content, you can forget about sleepless nights and hours spent trying to make your text look authentic. Get the highest score with your college assignments entrusted to real experts. The writing wizards will work day and night to make sure your paper is plagiarism-free, has no grammatical mistakes, and is customized to meet your requirements.
When using Course Hero is not considered cheating
There are times when using Course Hero will not get you in trouble with your college professor. Here is when Course Hero can be a tool for educational help:
College permission
Although most institutions are not fond of students who use Course Hero as a tool, there are colleges that permit the use of some of the platform’s instruments. If this is true for your university honor code, then you are not committing any legal violations by consulting Course Hero on a daily basis.
Using the platform as a guide
Other examples of the ethical use of Course Hero include utilizing the platform as an academic guide. Course Hero contains different types of notes and articles that can help you understand the format of the assignment that you have been tasked with. If you only intend to use Course Hero as a tool for active learning, your teacher will have no reason to be outraged by your actions. After all, you are not plagiarizing your homework - you are attempting to gain a better understanding of a theory or concept.
Comparing answers
This one may be arguable, but we believe that students who are using Course Hero to confirm their solutions for the assignment are avoiding dishonest practices in academic work and improving their overall knowledge of the theme. Unless you are mindlessly copying the assignment just to get it over with, you have a good chance of refreshing your grasp on the topic and receiving a better grade. You can also use the platform to compare the answers that you currently have to the ones previously submitted by students.
Sharing information
There are study groups on Course Hero that you can join to share notes you’ve made during the class and ask your peers for their assistance with certain topics. If this is the case and you are not aiming to plagiarize someone else’s work, then your mission is noble, and you are not participating in the Sourse Rero cheating schemes.
Getting ready for a test
Course Hero provides students with free access to mock tests and essay samples. If you need to practice answering questions before an exam, you can use the online tool to help you with that. Keep in mind that you are only allowed to use the mock tests on Course Hero as a guideline for the actual test. Copying from Course Hero to deliver your homework or taking shortcuts with the quiz answers both fall into the unethical category and can still potentially get you in trouble with the college representatives.
Does Course Hero give correct answers
What is Course Hero website for someone looking for fast academic solutions? Some might say that it is not an entirely dependable platform in terms of information, but we believe that Course Hero can give you the correct answers. Since the website hires an experienced team of tutors to help students with their work, you can expect high-quality answers whenever you visit the platform.
Besides, the teachers you will find assisting you on Course Hero will not be paid if they provide you with false names or dates. Those who have a paid subscription to the site will have an even better chance of making steady progress on their assignments. However, anyone using the site to advance their grades needs to watch out for student answers. Sometimes, the students upload information to the site just for the sake of using the platform for free. Such answers cannot be relied on in terms of accuracy.
Can you get caught cheating on Course Hero?
Most students are at risk of getting caught at Course Hero if they are not careful enough. You might ask: what is Course Hero used for if not looking for content? However, copying and pasting different types of tasks from Course Hero means potential trouble. As a rule, the top plagiarism checkers like Scribbr, Quetext, and Turnitin are given access to the platform’s database, meaning that any teacher willing to check your work can theoretically scan your paper using the plagiarism checker. If the checker shows Course Hero as your source, your paper will be flagged as plagiarized.
How do teachers know you copied from Course Hero?
Here are some of the smartest methods the teachers use to know if you copied from Course Hero and whether they can trust you are following guidelines for ethical academic behavior:
Asking questions
If you’ve been using Course Hero for the entire semester and managed to avoid getting caught, don’t rush to celebrate your success. The teachers can easily identify whether the papers you provided are original as they start asking questions. If you have real knowledge of the subject, you will have no trouble passing the exam or answering the teacher’s quiz. If you haven’t bothered to read the text you submitted and copied it directly from Course Hero, the teacher will immediately get suspicious when you can’t answer the simplest questions on the structure of the paper, the formatting style, or the citations you used.
Comparing the papers
Another red flag for any teacher is seeing essays or term papers with similar mistakes. Let’s say a group of students submits a paper on the same topic within one week. The teacher will start to suspect unfair play if they see that all students have the same mistakes in each of their papers. This doesn’t mean that the students are not allowed minor errors as they complete the task. However, having an entire group of students make the same mistake as they submit the paper is suspicious. This will prompt the teacher to compare your essays and see if they all come from Course Hero.
Using plagiarism checker
This is one of the easiest ways for the teacher to know whether you have been using Course Hero. The platform allows different types of checkers to scan the work uploaded by the tutors. If the teacher decides to copy your assignment and run it through a trusted plagiarism checker like Turnitin, it will immediately compare the paper you’ve written to the one that can be found on Course Hero. If there are any similarities detected, your paper will be considered plagiarized.
Is Course Hero legit?
What is Coursehero in terms of homework solutions, and is it legitimate? We can confirm that the platform is legitimate and can be referred to as such by students who use it on a daily basis. Since Course Hero is a legal service, you can easily rely on it in your learning process. However, the issue of whether or not you have been violating the university code if you visit Course Hero will remain under debate unless you can prove you have been using the platform as a guide. In this case, you will maintain your good reputation and avoid any trouble.
Final thoughts
Using Course Hero can be tricky. Despite having a certain level of notoriety among teachers, the service itself was not designed as a tool for cheating. You can easily boost your academic progress and advance your grades with the help of Course Hero. Your college professor will have nothing to worry about as long as you don’t copy the answers word-for-word to gain an unfair advantage over other students. The use of Course Hero as a supplementary tool to expand your knowledge on the subject can help you understand the material better.
FAQs
Course Hero is an online platform where students can access a wide range of study materials, including course notes, study guides, and past exams, uploaded by other users. The platform also offers tutoring services and the option to ask specific homework questions.
The ethical implications of using Course Hero can vary depending on how the platform is utilized. While accessing study materials for reference and learning purposes may not be considered cheating, using the platform to submit someone else's work as your own or to gain an unfair advantage in assessments could be deemed unethical and academically dishonest.
Students should utilize Course Hero as a supplementary learning aid, focusing on understanding concepts rather than seeking shortcuts for assignments. Upholding academic integrity involves citing sources properly and using the platform to enhance comprehension through independent learning. Consulting instructors or academic advisors can provide guidance on the appropriate use of external resources
