Another issue that arises once in a while in online education system is cheating or academic dishonesty. Some believed that online students can easily finish their online degree because most of online degree programs have an open-book policy. This enables students to read their books and notes during exams and actual assessment.
But for me, this is not a form of cheating since many instructors really imposed the open-book policy even to their regular class. Open-book policy can not be considered cheating because the purpose of the book or notes is just to serve as a guide. The examinations under this policy are typically composed of cases and theories wherein students need to explain and discuss the issue being asked in the exam.
In fact the open-book policy is being implemented to numerous master degree programs both online and campus-based programs. However, in bachelor degree programs, where exams are not always theoretical or in the form of case studies, this is really an issue.
But I do not believe that this is rampant or the norm in online studying because I believe that decent and reputable online institutions have formulated ways to objectively assess their online students and prevent them to commit academic dishonesty. Most of their exams are timed on the computer and scored immediately and so, students who would like to cheat will be discouraged to it because of time constrained. Read here to know how online institutions preserve the integrity of their online examinations.