Is using quizlet to study Nclex questions cheating?

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Hey everyone, I'm new here. I have a problem at my school.

I just finished my 3rd semester of nursing and I been studying really hard. I been reading books, listening to recorded lecture, practicing NCLEX questions using NCLEX books. Anyways, I been using Quizlet.com to supplement my studies and found that some of the questions on my test are exactly word for word. Because of this, I was able to do well on some of my tests and even managed to get 100% on one of them.

My nursing program is saying that I'm using a test bank and that I am cheating. I had to meet with a person that deals with the student code of conduct. Obviously I denied having some kind of test bank. I was told that just a presumption of cheating is grounds for being removed from the program and I have to go in front of board members or some kind of ethics committee to explain myself.

The thing is, I don't have a test bank nor did I know the the questions prior to the test. I did not know that questions I found on quizlet would be exactly the questions used on the test. Some questions were also pulled from some of the NCLEX books I've been reviewing.

So my question is.... do you think using quizlet is cheating?

Quizlet has lots of great questions in flashcard format. Maybe they are pulled from a test bank, I wouldn't know. All I know is that I used it to study and there were question that matched what were on my exams.

I really don't know what to do at this point. I don't believe I cheated but the school thinks otherwise.

Thank you for the advice and responses.

I'd like to note that I only used it on one exam which I got 100% on. I didn't know the questions there matched the exam on the test. After that, I stopped using the Quizlet site. I didn't mention it to the school. Should I?

I just let them know that I studied most of my material from NCLEX books, books I bought on Kindle, and Nursing apps on my phone, notes from class, and audio from lecture.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Thank you for the advice and responses.

I'd like to note that I only used it on one exam which I got 100% on. I didn't know the questions there matched the exam on the test. After that, I stopped using the Quizlet site. I didn't mention it to the school. Should I?

I just let them know that I studied most of my material from NCLEX books, books I bought on Kindle, and Nursing apps on my phone, notes from class, and audio from lecture.

Since this seems to be revolving around a single exam. I am going to venture a guess that you did significantly better than your classmates. Perhaps others used quizlet and mentioned the similarities to others. Since the content on quizlet has been determined to be questionable, if it were me I would not mention or focus on the quizlet resource. It would be a much different issue if this was about several exams that you did exceptionally well on (as implied by your original post) and you knew for more than one exam that the questions on the exam were the same as the ones you found on quizlet. If you knew the questions were the same and continued to use the resource without saying anything it would be a different issue.

I'd bring the NCLEX books (i.e. bring in your kindle or the books) and perhaps your apps, and any other study material that you used in your diligent preparation for the exam. I'd show that it was coincidental that some of the questions from your NCLEX prep book apparently were the same as the ones on the exam.

I'd focus on the resources that you used to proactively prepare for your exam. There may be an issue if the instructor knowingly used questions that are from published NCLEX study guides (not your issue but an issue with between the school and the instructor if they used copyrighted questions without permission. I would NOT focus on that fact to bring light to the instructor having the same questions as an NCLEX guide but just perhaps mark the chapters you used in preparation. )

It is not uncommon for nursing programs to recommend that students supplement their texts & classroom resources by utilizing NCLEX prep programs and books throughout their school career to learn to "think like a nurse" (i.e. applied knowledge and critical thinking rather than simple memorization and regurgitation of facts). Good luck. Focus on the fact that you used multiple resources to prepare for your exams and apparently your study methods were very productive and successful :)

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That was not intended for the OP but for the statement made by SUNFL0WER "If anything, the blame should be placed on Quizlet for allowing test bank questions and answers to get by a feed monitor." The fact that those that uploaded the flashcards need to take responsibility for the material posted...and that it is not content that is copyrighted or posted without permission of the copyright owner.

I understand that. It is the poster's responsibility to not include copyrighted content, but Quizlet says,

"Quizlet reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in Quizlet's sole discretion, violates this provision, including without limitation, removing the offending Content from the Service and terminating the accounts of such violators."

I know they don't have to remove the stuff according to their terms but reserve the right to, but if it's against their terms of service, wouldn't leaving it up and not having a feed monitor, make them liable too for letting copyrighted material stay up on their page? I know you got Quizlet's Terms right off their page, and you're right. I just think that Quizlet should monitor their website more so this type of stuff doesn't happen when unknowingly students get blamed for cheating when they were using a service that claims that their poster's abide by copyright laws and chooses not to reinforce it.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Most websites require the holder of the copyright to advise them that their material is being used without permission as that is all that is required by the DMCA. Since it is a free resource, they likely do not have moderators or anyone to monitor the various uploads and place the onus on those that voluntarily use the site. Hence why they have this in their terms of service. which one agrees to by using the service/site and basically vindicates Quizlet of responsibility:

"Quizlet has not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material posted to the Service, and cannot therefore be responsible for that material's content, use or effects. By operating the Service, Quizlet does not represent or imply that it endorses the material there posted, or that it believes such material to be accurate, useful or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. The Service may contain content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. The Service may also contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms and conditions, stated or unstated. Quizlet disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use by visitors of the Service, or from any downloading by those visitors of content there posted."

In a perfect world people would not steal from others whether it is illegally or unethically obtaining test banks and posting the material as 'free flash cards" or posting material copyrighted by others.

I think the final message is buyer beware, sometimes just because something is free it doesn't mean that it doesn't have a price. There are many "free" study materials submitted to online websites and forums. These "free" resources that are creations of private individuals and often have many errors. Individuals that choose to rely on free resources from unknown/anonymous sources have decided to take a calculated risk that the material is factual, accurate, and legal (thinking more of downloads than just viewing items online).

There are quite a few credible free resources available. Several of the publishers offer "sample" free resources such as Kaplan offers free practice tests if you sign up for their mailing list. There are several publishers that have free "trial" study and test prep applications for android and iPhone/pod/pad. (often just one chapter or a sampling of the questions or material available in the paid full version). When you purchase your nursing school text books, quite often you are given access codes to avail yourself of online material and study guides that supplement the textbook material.

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Specializes in ED, trauma.

Were you searching for specific topics from your tests or just "nursing" or "NCLEX" or something like that? I think if we were searching for items specific to your topics or like searching for questions posed by your instructor, I think it'd be less likely that it was intentional. Some students I have spoken with have looked up questions from past tests on quizlet or on the internet one way or another, and stumbled upon test banks. Rather than use the information for personal gain, they notified the staff and they contacted the websites to have the information removed AND they changed their test questions.

If it was one test, I wouldn't necessarily mention it...however...perhaps it is important to mention, especially if someone else may stumble upon the same information. I would suggest that you let them know you used the NCLEX books and apps.

Perhaps send an anonymous note to the nursing staff about the availability of test bank questions on quizlet...but don't let anyone know it was you, lest they retort to saying it was cheating.

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I am curious how it came about that the OP is now suspicious of cheating, and also the outcome.

Ive used Quizlet before, and similar apps, and I have stumbled on questions that have appeared on tests, but there's no way to know where those questions came from. Sure, it could be from a test bank, or it could be from another NCLEX study guide, or even questions a teacher wrote-my teacher found the same thing and thought it was a good question and used it... or workbook questions that accompany the textbook...I really don't know what to think about this situation.

And besides, blatant cheating at my school is continuing.... students have been caught multiple times and yet NO disciplinary action has ever been taken. I hope that's not the same for all schools, I also hope OP doesnt get the boot for something pretty innocent.

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The OP's situation is eerily similar to one my friend encountered at her nursing program. The same site (Quizlet) was being accessed by multiple students at her program, and their test scores jumped up ~5-10% due to the "free" answers they had by virtue of having seen some of the test material beforehand. The faculty in charge of testing caught on to the fact that a group of students were doing a full letter grade better on their tests than they had in the previous year of nursing school so they were called in for a meeting.

Long story short, the students were found to have participated in academic dishonesty because they failed to report their access to test material after the first test and because they continued to take advantage of said access on subsequent tests. I don't know what official punishments (if any) were handed down, but I do know all the students were allowed to continue on in the program.

As far as my personal stance on the issue, if the OP only saw Quizlet questions on one test (the 100% one), and did not benefit from Quizlet on any subsequent or prior tests (meaning the OP realized Quizlet gave a potentially unfair advantage and voluntarily stopped using it) then I think some leniency is in order. Yes, the administrators could come down on the OP for his/her failure to report having unwittingly benefited the one time, but I would be very surprised if they handed out more than a slap on the wrist for something like that.

Then again, I have seen nursing students get caught with study materials at their testing station and not suffer any consequences worse than a failing grade on that particular test, so maybe I am just surrounded by lenient nursing programs.

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Gosh, that's crazy. I am not one for refusing responsibility, but how can the OP be held accountable for questions we could all assume was just study material? It's not that she knew these questions were going to be on the test. Everyone knows that nursing students are about as crazy as a broody chicken when it comes to academics, so I'm sure many google tips on how to do better or study help. This seems like an honest case of ignorance. I think she would be given a warning and from here on out, schools should be specific if they want their students on this site. Say, "Since you are now aware, from here on out, there will be no use of said website." It's almost like she's being punished for doing well. /smh

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Gosh, that's crazy. I am not one for refusing responsibility, but how can the OP be held accountable for questions we could all assume was just study material? It's not that she knew these questions were going to be on the test. Everyone knows that nursing students are about as crazy as a broody chicken when it comes to academics, so I'm sure many google tips on how to do better or study help. This seems like an honest case of ignorance. I think she would be given a warning and from here on out, schools should be specific if they want their students on this site. Say, "Since you are now aware, from here on out, there will be no use of said website." It's almost like she's being punished for doing well. /smh

Yeah, I don't really understand it it either. The OP didn't intentionally set out to study the test bank, I really dont think she should be held accountable as a 'cheater'. And banning the use of a website? Would that really work? Can a school even tell the students don't go to suchnsuch website or else! The whole situation seems silly to me.

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I do not think Quizlet can be any more cheating than using the end of chapter questions, NCLEX study books or other test bank service. My school fees included access to Kaplan test banks and another called Prep-U. Sometimes, teachers use questions from these two test bank questions, and I knew the answer on the test because I had done practice questions. Schools and professors need to get more technology savvy and understand that these resources are out there, and sometimes while we are researching things on the internet, we unknowingly stumble upon test questions. Good luck!

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Specializes in School Nursing.

It's against the law for people to upload copyrighted material on Quizlet. I've used the site before without ever giving it a second of consideration that illegal questions might be there.. Isn't it against the Quizlet TOS to have copyrighted questions? I believe that it is, so it's reasonable for the OP (and anyone) to assume the site is on the up.

If it were a site that gives a warning, or openly advertises instructor test banks, than I believe it would be cheating-- but not as it is now (though I'll never use the site again).

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Specializes in Emergency.

Bottom line...What the heck??? Do they have you under surveillance??? How you study and what you study is your business! If some "secret" bank of questions was compromised sounds like their problem-not yours. Just as many lazy teachers as students I guess...my teachers more or less write their own questions....jeez once you have done 100's and 100's of practice questions (NCLEX style) you see the same themes anyway over and over again..ADPIE etc...etc...It aint rocket science!

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