SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Only a small number of Utah students used a computer glitch on a state database to change grades, state education officials said.
Of 278 students who unintentionally tapped into “teacher-level permissions” on the state’s Canvas learning management system during Tuesday’s glitch, they said, all but some 30 students quickly logged off.
All schools know who the cheaters were, and quickly fixed the grade changes, said Rich Finlinson, spokesman for the Utah Education Network (UEN).
Among other cases, one student raised everyone else’s score in the class, while another lowered a classmate’s score.
“Fortunately, most people realized something was wrong and logged out,” Finlinson said. “All the institutions have logs of what happened during that time, so they know exactly who changed what and when.”
Individual institutions and districts remain responsible for enforcing student codes of conduct and for consequences of making unauthorized changes to grades in the system, he added.
In 2010, the UEN contracted with the Utah startup Instructure to manage the online interface between students, the state’s public colleges and universities, and 10 school districts.
More than 174,000 students use Canvas to keep track of course grades.
The glitch was caused by a software malfunction while Canvas was undergoing routine maintenance. It lasted a total of 105 minutes, and the problem has been repaired.
At the University of Utah, 129 students gained teacher access, and officials were aware of every score, assignment or quiz that was viewed and altered, Chuck Wight, its dean of graduate studies, wrote in an email Friday.
“All of the altered scores have been restored to their original values,” he added. “Only 3 percent of fall semester classes in Canvas were affected. We’ve identified 11 classes where a student attempted to alter data.”
All colleges and universities in Utah’s higher education system; Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College; Utah’s Electronic High School; and the Granite, Park City and Canyons school districts were affected by the glitch.
“I think the kids who didn’t do anything are to be commended,” said Brenda Hales, associate superintendent for instructional service with the Utah State Office of Education. “Any of those kids who had access, who did nothing and immediately logged off — that shows character and that’s what we would hope young people would do.”
