Chegg Launches HONOR SHIELD: A New Tool to Support the Integrity of Online Exams

Rhea-AI Summary

Chegg Inc. (NYSE: CHGG) has launched Honor Shield, a new tool for faculty aimed at maintaining the integrity of online assessments amid the pandemic. This free service allows professors to pre-submit exam questions, preventing answers from appearing on Chegg during a specified exam period. Following a successful trial, the service is now available to faculty in the U.S. and will expand globally. Chegg's initiative addresses concerns about academic integrity, especially as a significant percentage of colleges remain partially online.

Positive

• Launch of Honor Shield tool for faculty to enhance academic integrity.
• Service offered free of charge, demonstrating a commitment to education.
• Following a successful trial, the availability of the service will enhance Chegg's reputation among educators.

Negative

• Concerns about misuse of platform by a minority of students could affect brand perception.
• Continued reliance on online assessments raises questions about educational effectiveness.

Chegg Inc. (NYSE: CHGG), the online education platform which provides study tools, textbook rentals, math and writing support, and skills training to millions of students in over 190 countries, today announced a new tool available to faculty in response to the dramatic shift to online home assessments and examinations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Honor Shield allows professors to confidentially, and without charge, pre-submit exam or test questions, preventing them from being answered on the Chegg platform during a time-specified exam period. After a successful trial, Chegg is now offering the service to faculty across the United States, and eventually globally.

“The overwhelming majority of students use our platform to get the support they need to learn and master their subjects. The sudden impact of the Covid-19 pandemic forced many schools to go online, almost overnight, creating understandable confusion, stress, and the loss of many on-campus support services. As a result, a small number of students have misused our platform in ways it wasn’t designed for, which we believe is not in the spirit of the majority of hard-working students,” said Nathan Schultz, President of Learning Services at Chegg.

“We are working with faculty, administrators, and students, to do our part in protecting the integrity of the online evaluation process. The extra layer of protection provided by Honor Shield will further support the learning process and serve the continued move to online learning. By working in partnership with educators, institutions, and students, we believe we are building systems to support student learning in the most effective ways,” Schultz added.

At the height of the pandemic in spring 2020, 1388 out of 1442 colleges surveyed (96%) had moved online according to the Davidson College Crisis Initiative dashboard. Of 2958 US colleges surveyed in the fall of 2020, around two thirds (65%) were still delivering at least part of their programs virtually.

“This is a complex problem, and we are determined to play our part in identifying and implementing practical solutions. As education becomes more accessible and available online, we believe that technology companies and education providers must work together and evolve to protect academic integrity,” said Schultz.

Honor Shield adds to a range of measures already in place to prevent abuse of Chegg’s platform. These include constant technology and human monitoring, training of all Chegg experts, prompts for users, banning of abusers from the Chegg platform, strict adherence to DMCA removal protocols, and rigorous enforcement of Chegg’s honor code, including cooperating with official university honor code investigations.

ABOUT CHEGG

Chegg: A Smarter Way to Student®. We strive to improve educational outcomes by putting the student first. We support students on their journey from high school to college and into their careers with tools designed to help them learn their course materials, succeed in their classes, and save money on required materials. Our services are available online, anytime and anywhere. Chegg is a publicly held company based in Santa Clara, California and trades on the NYSE under the symbol CHGG. For more information, visit www.chegg.com.

Learn more about Honor Shield at www.chegg.com/honor-shield

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210113005882/en/

FAQ

What is Honor Shield by Chegg?

Honor Shield is a tool that allows professors to pre-submit exam questions to prevent their availability on Chegg during exam periods.

When was Honor Shield launched?

Chegg launched Honor Shield following a successful trial, making it available to faculty across the U.S. and eventually globally.

Why is Chegg offering Honor Shield?

Chegg is providing Honor Shield to protect the integrity of online assessments in response to increased use of its platform during the pandemic.

What percentage of colleges have shifted to online learning?

At the height of the pandemic, 96% of surveyed colleges had moved online, with around 65% still offering programs virtually in fall 2020.

How does Honor Shield support educators?

Honor Shield provides an extra layer of protection for the online evaluation process, supporting the transition to online learning.