Uni cheats don't prosper

Cheating is up more than 20 per cent at the country's biggest university. Auckland University identified 201 cases last year, compared to 166 in 2007, although the student roll remained steady at 38,550.

Of those, 140 offenders were caught with a cellphone, thanks to a device that detected their signals within 30m of the exam room.

Old-fashioned ways of cheating were still in use, with 11 students caught writing answers before exams started and five after they finished.

Another 11 sneaked unauthorised notes and material into the exam, and a further eight were suspected of copying and colluding their answers.

The remaining students were caught with unpermitted calculators, dictionaries and electronic devices - including iPods.

University deputy vice-chancellor Professor Raewyn Dalziel said exam supervisors were trained to watch for cheating "by whatever means", but students would also find new ways to cheat.

The Herald on Sunday requested information about the number of cheating cases at New Zealand's eight major universities.

Figures were available from all but Waikato, who said their information would not be compiled until next month.

Overall offences were also up at Canterbury, but down elsewhere.

Canterbury caught 14 cheats last year compared with eight in 2007, despite the introduction of fines as a deterrent.

Lincoln University recorded 41 cases of plagiarism last year, up from 27 in 2007, but cheating in exams fell from 26 cases to 16.

Only two students were caught with cellphones and two with a dictionary last year, compared to 10 the previous year.

The number of cases at Otago University fell from 41 in 2007 to 36 last year.

In the capital, Victoria University also recorded a drop, from 96 to 82.

Some cases involved students taking notes into the exam room or hiding them in the toilet.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Penny Boumelha said toilets were checked for notes before exams.

Massey University excluded two students for plagiarism last year, a dramatic reduction on 2005 when 25 students were disciplined.

Like other universities, Massey uses a computer software program to detect plagiarism.