Attendance cheating occurs when a student skips class but finds a way to claim they were present. They will ask a classmate to sign them in or log into an online lecture and then walk away from their computer. This form of cheating is common in classes where professors count attendance as part of the grade or expect students to show up to class if they want to receive additional help or extra credit.
College students are adults, and it’s their responsibility to show up for class, pay attention, and do the work. However, attendance cheating can make it seem like some students are doing more than they actually are. Fortunately, you can bust this bad habit and develop qualitative ways to confirm that students are in attendance – and paying attention. Here’s how the activities created by Poll Everywhere can help.
Start your class with multiple-choice questions
The first step is to eliminate the sign-in sheet that fosters attendance cheating. A basic sheet where students add their initials or sign their names makes it too easy for their peers to sign them in. Students can also sign in, leave for the bathroom, and never return.
Instead, go digital with the Multiple-choice question Activity by Poll Everywhere. Create a three to five-question warm-up that recaps what was discussed in the previous class or what students should have read before class started.
These questions are harder to cheat on for two reasons:
- Students can’t complete multiple submissions, which would allow them to check their friends in. They can only answer for themselves.
- The student answering the questions has to know the answers. This will prevent students from “filling in” for their peers.
This doesn’t mean that students need to get all of the multiple-choice questions right to prove their attendance, but it does require your class to think about what they learned and apply it to the mini-quiz. This can also serve as a warmup to refresh students on the material before diving back into the learning process.
Ask for student opinions with open-ended questions
Another Poll Everywhere Activity that can prevent attendance cheating is the use of Open-ended questions. Instead of giving students answers to choose from, they have to write down answers and defend their ideas. Open-ended questions are often beneficial for class discussions where there aren’t any right or wrong answers – like courses related to the fine arts, literature, and philosophy.
Open-ended discussions are also valuable for tracking virtual attendance. Students need to share their thoughts to prove they were paying attention during a lecture and didn’t get distracted during the class.
One challenge that comes with the use of open-ended questions is the use of AI to answer queries. Students can ask apps like ChatGPT to answer the questions for them. Fortunately, there are a few ways to beat AI and create questions your students have to answer:
- Ask for student opinions on the material that couldn’t be replicated by machines.
- Challenge students to find connections to the material in their personal lives.
- Have students submit questions instead of answers. You can then go over these questions throughout the rest of the class.
For example, asking students to summarize concepts sets them up for immediate AI use. However, challenging them to dig deeper will make them think about what they learned to prove they were paying attention.
Check attendance mid-class with polls, rankings, or word clouds
Some students will take advantage of the fact that most professors check attendance at the start of the period. This is often done to incentivize students to arrive on time while also getting the administrative chore of taking attendance out of the way. However, you can build the attendance part of the class into the middle part of the period. This way, students can’t show up, sign in, and leave.
Consider implementing Activities like Ranking questions, Surveys, or Word Clouds into your lesson plans. Not only will these Activities make your lessons more engaging, but they will allow you to take attendance mid-lecture. You can review who participated in the activity after class to see who attended and who paid attention.
Mid-class activities also showcase which students ignored the material once you started teaching. It makes attendance more valuable because you can see which students are actively engaged in your lessons and which are working on other coursework, sleeping, or playing on their phones during class time.
Keep students on their toes by varying attendance checks
Ensure your students don’t anticipate when you’ll check attendance by switching up your approach. If they know you always take attendance at the end of class, they might arrive late. Or, if attendance is based on a single multiple-choice activity, they could leave right after. Surprise them by taking attendance at different times and using different methods, such as open-ended questions or quick polls. This keeps students engaged and discourages attempts to game the system.
By changing how you track attendance, students will be more likely to attend every session and stay engaged throughout. When students know they can be checked at any point, they’ll be more present, both physically and mentally. This approach helps ensure they don’t just show up, but actively participate and absorb the material from start to finish.
Use geolocation technology to track physical attendance
Poll Everywhere’s Attendance Management feature helps educators prevent cheating by requiring students to be in the room in order to participate in the Activity. Attendance Management uses geolocation to verify that students are physically in the classroom when checking in. Students can no longer cheat by joining the Poll Everywhere Activity from home or texting each other the specific codes or questions. By integrating these tools, instructors can create a more reliable attendance process that discourages dishonesty while keeping students actively engaged.
Explore Poll Everywhere for higher education
Boost engagement and streamline attendance tracking with Poll Everywhere’s interactive tools. Designed specifically for higher education, Poll Everywhere makes it easy for professors to create dynamic learning experiences. With a range of activity types—from Multiple-Choice and Word Clouds to Competitions—you can capture students' attention and reduce attendance fraud in the process. Try it risk-free with a free plan, and watch your students engage like never before. Whether you’re running quizzes, tracking attendance, or sparking discussions, Poll Everywhere has the tools to enhance your teaching. Start transforming your classroom today.
