Do you want to use Chegg to help you with school work but have heard horror stories of Chegg handing over information to your school and professors? Is this true or just a myth?
You can discover if Chegg provides your school with any details and just what those might be here:
Does Chegg Inform Your School of Your Usage?
Chegg will not voluntarily provide your school with details about your usage, although they reserve the right to do so if you violate their Honor Code – the website will also reveal specific details about website usage if it is a part of academic information.
Does Chegg Send Information to Your School?
As you can imagine, it is in the best interest of the Chegg website to protect students. After all, this is how they make money.
However, Chegg also needs to remain a part of the educational community and, as such, needs to support universities to a certain degree.
It is due to this that Chegg has come up with their Honor Code. This stipulates that you can only use Chegg as a study tool. As a result, you aren’t allowed to plagiarize and you aren’t allowed to post questions that are a part of a graded assignment or exam.
If you violate this Honor Code, then Chegg is authorized to take action against you. However, they do not say anything about passing on this information to your school.
It is only if you are involved in an academic investigation or scandal that certain data can be sent to the school. Your college has to request this, though, as Chegg will not offer up this information without prompting.
Furthermore, Chegg will only provide a timestamp for the question or material if the school has the URL for this information. This means that Chegg will not release any identifying details about you.
Can Your School Discover Whether You Plagiarized or Posted a Question?
Well, as mentioned, Chegg will only provide certain details about the content on the website. As such, they will not name you, provide your IP address, or offer any other identifying information.
That being said, this doesn’t mean that you are completely in the clear. For instance, if the school can prove that you were using the website at a particular time and Chegg backs up this proof then it may be grounds for consequences.
This all depends on how much proof your school has acquired against you. It could be that they don’t need assistance from Chegg at all to accuse you of cheating. In this instance, it doesn’t matter what evidence Chegg does or doesn’t provide you with.
Can Your School Find Out That You Are Using Chegg?
Most professors are aware of Chegg and that students use this website.
Due to this, some professors will create unique or niche questions for homework. If they run a search for this question and it pops up on the site, then this can prove to them that at least some students are using Chegg.
If your answers or anyone else’s match the information on the site too closely, then this can be considered plagiarism. In this case, you will be found out.
There are instances where students pay the tutors on Chegg to write their assignments for them. If the assignment is written in a different tone or is more advanced than anything you can write, then you may be accused of cheating. This may be traced back to Chegg.
Another way that your professor may realize that you are using Chegg is if you do really well on your homework assignments and other external work but do poorly on exams. This is something that some professors may bring up.
Professors conducting more advanced classes may have an easier time knowing if someone has used Chegg. This is because these questions tend to be a lot more unique.
Not to mention, not everyone may have the understanding to identify incorrect answers and may simply copy the wrong ones down. This will make it easier for your professor to pinpoint who is getting outside help.
Can Your School Penalize You for Using Chegg?
To a certain extent, this all depends on how you use Chegg. If you are simply using Chegg as a study aid or to help you understand concepts covered in class, then you aren’t cheating. The same goes for using tutoring services on the website.
If you don’t do anything wrong and don’t violate the honor code at your own school then they technically can’t penalize you for using Chegg.
On the other hand, if you use Chegg to plagiarize other people’s work or to get answers simply by posting on the website, then you may violate the honor code. If so, it is possible that you may be penalized for using Chegg.
This is also true if you post questions – or answers – for exams, assignments, or other work that is meant to be private or secure. This would be considered a violation of the honor code and a form of cheating.
You should also be aware of any rules that your school may have regarding Chegg. For instance, if your college or professor has explicitly forbidden you from using Chegg, then any use of Chegg will be considered a form of cheating.
This is true even if you are simply looking for answers in textbooks or using their tutoring services.
In this case, the school has the right to give you a failing grade, kick you out of the class, or even suspend you if they see fit.
How Can You Use Chegg Without Getting Caught?
The best way to avoid any backlash from your professor or school is to pay attention to any guidelines they have provided. If they tell you not to use Chegg, then don’t. It isn’t worth getting suspended or receiving a failing grade.
The other thing that you should do is to use Chegg as it was intended – as a study guide. If you want, you can look up answers in textbooks.
If you would like to post a question on the forum, make sure that it is a general one – based on a wide subject or topic. Avoid posting any questions that are directly lifted from your homework or assignment.
When you utilize information provided in answers, don’t lift the answers verbatim. Make sure that you understand what was posted and then write the answer in your own words.
You should also be aware that not all the answers on Chegg are correct. It is a good idea to do some independent research on the answer that was provided to check that it is accurate.
Otherwise, you will simply end up copying a wrong answer – something that other people in your class may do as well. Your professor will certainly know that you have used an outside resource.
It is best to minimize your use of Chegg if you are concerned about the consequences.
Does Chegg Notify the School If You Use Their Site?
No, Chegg doesn’t offer up any identifying information to your school without prompting – breaking their Honor Code may have certain consequences – Chegg may provide certain details of your usage if you are involved in a cheating investigation or some kind of scandal.
