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“Ghost students” or “AI students” are an area of concern regarding AI use for fraudulent purposes. Ghost student scammers create fake student accounts to enroll at colleges and universities. Scammers use these fake students to fraudulently obtain financial aid money or, if they're able to enroll, might use the fake students' .edu email addresses to perpetrate other scams. Community colleges, including GRCC, are popular targets for this type of enrollment fraud; in 2022, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office found that 1 in 5 applications to the California community college system were fraudulent.
Detecting Ghost Students
Several GRCC offices are collaborating to identify and block these fraudulent enrollments, but some ghost students may make it through the screening into active courses. When this happens, ghost students tend not to participate in course activities or respond to emails or messages.
Some strategies can identify potential ghost students in our courses:
- Use LMS analytics to identify and contact students who have not participated within the first few days of class.
- Send a message to students before the class begins, asking them to complete a quick poll or prompt. Follow up with students who do not respond.
- Incorporate an introductory assignment or discussion post early in the first week of class; consider asking students to provide a selfie or other photograph.
Identifying Fraudulent Coursework
To maintain the “ghost student” enrollment past the deadline for non-participation (and thus secure the financial aid funds), some scammers may use AI to complete coursework for the first few weeks of class.
To identify these cases, we recommend you:
- Run the Copyleaks tool to detect possible AI use.
- Send the report to the student and state your concern and desire to hear the student's perspective. Be clear there is a concern that needs to be discussed without stating an accusation that may or may not be accurate.
- Set up an appointment with the student for the discussion to occur either virtually or in-person.
- Fraudulent students will often avoid attending these kinds of appointments. If a student is given a couple of opportunities to meet to discuss the concern but doesn't show up or doesn't respond, this provides you with additional evidence and elevates the cause for concern.
- With the Copyleaks reports and the lack of willingness to participate in a meeting to resolve the concern, you are prepared to proceed with an academic integrity violation or to report a fraudulent student.
It may also be helpful to proactively let students know that this is the approach you will take when there is a suspected violation. Some students may feel reassured that a professor is aware and cares about preventing this from happening. At the same time, we can foster trust by letting students know that we want to hear their perspective if/when a concern arises.
If You Detect a Ghost Student
Report the case to your Department Head or Program Director and your Associate Dean to take appropriate action.