Cyber University to tackle possible cheats

The education ministry will issue a warning to Japan's first all-Internet university to more diligently confirm the identities of students to prevent the use of ringers.

Cyber University chief Sakuji Yoshimura, a visiting professor of Waseda University specializing in Egyptology, told reporters Monday that efforts would be made to identify all students by the end of January.

Cyber University was established in April 2007 and is operated by Japan Cyber Educational Institute Ltd., a subsidiary of leading Japanese Internet company Softbank Corp.

Students of the university can listen to lectures and take tests over the Internet without actually going to campus. But that means ringers could do all the work for students to gain the credits needed for a degree.

When the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology approved the establishment of Cyber University in November 2006, it asked the school to confirm the identities of students through an orientation process that involved direct interviews.

However, Yoshimura admitted Monday that 180 of the 620 students currently registered have not had their identities confirmed through some form of visual contact.

That deficiency led to the education ministry's decision to issue a rare warning because the university had left open the possibility of ringers posing as students.

A ministry warning is stronger than the usual guidance issued to improve operations. If the university fails to heed the warning, the ministry can issue an even stronger recommendation to change operations.

Cyber University had been asking students to attend explanatory meetings held in various locations of Japan and has also used Internet cameras to confirm the identities of students.

The university plans to complete the confirmation process by the end of January, but those who are not identified by then will be visited individually.

Yoshimura explained in Monday's news conference that the university would not certify course credits for students whose identities are not confirmed. Such students would eventually be advised to leave the university.

He said the university would make stronger efforts to confirm the identities of students before they enter the university as well as use mobile phones to confirm that the student is actually attending a "lecture."

As part of deregulation measures, the education ministry eased inspection procedures before a new university is established. In exchange, the ministry has intensified oversight of the actual educational process for a few years after opening to ensure the institution is offering what it promised to do in its application.

If problems are found, the university is advised to improve the situation. If that fails, a warning is issued.

Cyber University's headquarters is in Fukuoka. It has two faculties: the Faculty of Information Technology and Business; and the Faculty of World Heritage.

The university has 1,900 students, including those who only take certain courses rather than work for a degree. About 70 percent of the students are in their 20s and 30s, and about 60 percent are working.

Many of the students in the Faculty of World Heritage are homemakers and retired men.(IHT/Asahi: January 23,2008)
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