Paying Someone to Take a Class for You in College Courses

Such​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ a topic is often brought up by college students who feel overwhelmed by deadlines, jobs, or their personal lives. It might sound like a cool fix to the problem, even as far as paying someone to take the class in your place, but it raises a lot of academic and ethical concerns and even concerns for the future implications that should be addressed openly.

Most colleges have well-defined academic integrity policies, and handing over a whole course to someone else can lead to heavy consequences, like getting a failing grade in the course or, if it is found out, being subjected to disciplinary action. The main idea behind college courses is to broaden students' skills step by step through various assignments, essays, and class participation. When students skip the educational process, they may find themselves underprepared and incapable of following advanced courses which are based on the same concepts.

However, the pressure to perform is undeniably there. It is understandable that the juggling between several classes, jobs, and taking care of the family might become too much, and this is the reason why such discussions have their place here. Instead of making risky moves, there are students who decide to take different paths, like tutoring, time management, study groups, or getting academic support, which does not substitute the learning process but rather facilitates it.

I would be interested in hearing more opinions: what kind of stresses make students think about such a solution, and what support services do you think colleges should provide to help students be less ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌anxious?