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Education

Ghost Students Are Creating an 'Agonizing' Problem For California Colleges (sfgate.com) 128

An anonymous reader quotes a report from SFGATE: When the pandemic upended the world of higher education, Robin Pugh, a professor at City College of San Francisco, began to see one puzzling problem in her online courses: Not everyone was a real student. Of the 40 students enrolled in her popular introduction to real estate course, Pugh said she'd normally drop three to five from her roster who don't start the course or make contact with her at the start of the semester. But during the current spring semester, Pugh said that number more than doubled when she had to cut 11 students. It's a strange new reality that has left her baffled. "It's really unclear to me, and beyond the scope of my knowledge, how this is really happening," she said. "Is it organized crime? Is it something else? Everybody has lots of theories."

Some of the disengaged students in Pugh's courses are what administrators and cybersecurity experts say are "ghost students," and they've been a growing problem for community colleges, particularly since the shift to online instruction during the pandemic. These "ghost students" are artificially intelligent agents or bots that pose as real students in order to steal millions of dollars of financial aid that could otherwise go to actual humans. And as colleges grapple with the problem, Pugh and her colleagues have been tasked with a new and "frustrating" task of weeding out these bots and trying to decide who's a real person.

The process, she said, takes her focus off teaching the real students. "I am very intentional about having individualized interaction with all of my students as early as possible," Pugh said. "That included making phone calls to people, sending email messages, just a lot of reaching out individually to find out 'Are you just overwhelmed at work and haven't gotten around to starting the class yet? Or are you not a real person?'" Financial aid fraud is not new, but it's been on the rise in California's community colleges, Cal Matters reported, with scammers stealing more than $10 million in 2024, more than double the amount in 2023.
Wendy Brill-Wynkoop, the president of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges and a professor at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, said the bots have been enrolling in courses since around early 2021.

"It's been going on for quite some time," she said. "I think the reason that you're hearing more about it is that it's getting harder and harder to combat or to deal with." A spokesperson for the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office estimates that 0.21% of the system's financial aid was fraudulently disbursed. However, the office was unable to estimate the percentage of fraudulent attempts attributed to bots.

Ghost Students Are Creating an 'Agonizing' Problem For California Colleges

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  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @09:17AM (#65361179)
    If we had tuition free college this scam wouldn't work because we wouldn't be handing out hundreds of billions of dollars to the students. In the old days College was just as expensive as it was now but we gave the money correctly to the university and they passed it on to the students directly through cheap tuition.

    If you're an old fart who worked their way through college you were able to do that because the government was heavily subsidizing your college. They just didn't tell you that because that's socialism and they didn't want you getting all scared of the socialisms or worse comfortable with the idea of a proper civilization. Otherwise when they were able to replace you with cheap overseas labor you might get all uppity about it...
    • by wernercd ( 837757 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @09:43AM (#65361239)
      "In the old days college was just as expensive as now" Considering that since 1979, inflation has risen 300%... but college costs have risen as high as 1300%... How do you think college was "just as expensive then" when the facts say otherwise? Its amazing you're pushing socialism by pushing... lies? (Is there any other way to push socialism?)
      • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

        by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

        Considering that since 1979, inflation has risen 300%... but college costs have risen as high as 1300%... How do you think college was "just as expensive then" when the facts say otherwise?

        Have college costs risen to 1300%, or college prices? Some people seem to use these words interchangeably, when they are not interchangeable.

        • Have college costs risen to 1300%, or college prices? Some people seem to use these words interchangeably, when they are not interchangeable

          Sure, they are not interchangable, but they've both gone up. On the cost side, employee costs (which is a huge part of providing an education) have skyrocketed, particularly in providing health insurance benefits. On the pricing side, many states cover a much smaller portion of the cost, so prices have had to increase to cover that growing gap. Many public institutions that were once state created and state supported are now essentially state located, given how little many states contribute to public colleg

      • "In the old days college was just as expensive as now" Considering that since 1979, inflation has risen 300%... but college costs have risen as high as 1300%... How do you think college was "just as expensive then" when the facts say otherwise? Its amazing you're pushing socialism by pushing... lies? (Is there any other way to push socialism?)

        I don't know how to compare how expensive college was long ago, but it was definitely more affordable. Four decades ago, it was possible to work a part-time job and go to college at the same time. That's no longer possible.

        • by magzteel ( 5013587 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @10:28AM (#65361381)

          "In the old days college was just as expensive as now" Considering that since 1979, inflation has risen 300%... but college costs have risen as high as 1300%... How do you think college was "just as expensive then" when the facts say otherwise? Its amazing you're pushing socialism by pushing... lies? (Is there any other way to push socialism?)

          I don't know how to compare how expensive college was long ago, but it was definitely more affordable. Four decades ago, it was possible to work a part-time job and go to college at the same time. That's no longer possible.

          You can get an education at a low cost if you try. Community colleges are very low cost. Some states offer free college tuition to in-state students. Then as now joining a branch of the armed forces can get you a free education. There is lots of need and merit based aid available. Online education is available. You may not be able to afford to be a resident student at the college of your choice but you can definitely get an education at a price you can afford.

          • Yeah it's cheaper than a real University but well, try to find a job with a community college degree and let me know how that turns out for you.

            I mean it's better than a diploma Mill but trust me employers know the difference between a full-on public university and a community college.

            Now you could try to do your undergrad work, I.e the first two years, at a community college but this is been shown to be a huge problem because the workload is much less at a community college and it doesn't prepare y
            • Yeah it's cheaper than a real University but well, try to find a job with a community college degree and let me know how that turns out for you.

              I don't have a degree. I went to a City University of New York college for Computer Science as a commuter student. I dropped out when I got my first job at a computer company. Right now a CUNY college costs $7k/year tuition for New York State residents https://www.cuny.edu/financial... [cuny.edu] , and that's before any financial or merit based aid. Pell grants alone can cover the entire ride https://www.cuny.edu/financial... [cuny.edu]

              But do you need college? Here's a company that says they don't care if you even went to sc

              • I'll put this impolitely: nearly all jobs require or heavily favor candidates with a college degree so it's unfortunately a non starter to bring that up and you're linking to an AI driving website.

                shut the fuck up
                • I'll put this impolitely: nearly all jobs require or heavily favor candidates with a college degree so it's unfortunately a non starter to bring that up and you're linking to an AI driving website.

                  shut the fuck up

                  Fuck you too, asshole.

        • by fredrated ( 639554 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @12:28PM (#65361757) Journal

          Exactly this. When I went to Berkeley starting in 1969 administrative costs were $120 per quarter. Yes that's $120 per quarter plus books and supplies, food and housing. I worked part time in jobs that are mostly not available today and graduated with exactly no debt. I weep for todays students.

      • That you fell for the propaganda but it's still bothers me that you fell for the propaganda.

        Prior to the year 2000 the government paid for 80% of college tuition. By about 2006 it was down to 30%.

        The raw cost of college did not change appreciably. Yes there was inflation and yes there was more inflation than there should have been but that's also because we keep grabbing all the money and giving it to the 1% which causes inflation because of course it does. If you're going to give 90% of your monetar
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gosso920 ( 6330142 )
      Tuition free??? I think you mean "taxpayer funded" college.
      • What the hell else did you think I meant? Look we didn't use to send kids to school at all. Then the world got to be a more complicated place and they needed at least a sixth grade education to be of any use to anyone. Then the world kept getting more complicated and they need it a 12th grade education. Now the world's even more complicated so they need to go all the way through at least a bachelor's.

        Without all those College grads nobody's going to make enough money or be productive enough to hire all
    • by laughingskeptic ( 1004414 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @01:49PM (#65362015)
      In 1981 in Texas tuition room and board for one year of college at UT came to $2500 which is roughly $9100 today -- today UT says a year is going to cost at least $31,000. Your statement:

      In the old days College was just as expensive as it was now

      Is simply not true.

      In 1981, a person could work over the summer and make enough money to pay for the next year's worth of college. The disparity between what a teen can make today and the cost of college is even greater than the increase in the cost of college itself.

    • by mysidia ( 191772 )

      scam wouldn't work because we wouldn't be handing out hundreds of billions of dollars to the students

      Scam shouldn't work anyways, because financial aid is usually disbursed directly to the school.

      I would say should be made a legal requirement that zero financial aid is disbursed to the student anyways.
      There may be some programs with intended payments to cover books.. Imo the rules should change, so the schools have to supply required books.

      Other living expenses? Boarding? Maybe. If it's something like re

  • by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @09:19AM (#65361183) Homepage

    This problem has been around a long time. To get people in the door, colleges don't require payment until a couple of weeks after the class has started. Their hope is that the students will want to keep coming, and pay. Require payment before starting class, and the AI problem will quickly go away.

    • by wernercd ( 837757 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @09:45AM (#65361251)
      The real solution is to require in person registration of some sort. Verify you're a human. Requiring payments helps as well as it ties you to credit cards and the like but AI hasn't created human passing robots yet. (Yet, being the key word)
      • That's great, unless the course is online-only.

      • The real solution is to require in person registration of some sort. Verify you're a human.

        Exactly. The problem is online courses, where you can't tell a human being from a bot.

        If courses were in person this would not be a problem.

      • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        The real solution is to require in person registration of some sort

        That's a great way to limit your student base to those who can easily come to your school on a random day to register.

        These colleges benefit from out of city and out of state and even out of country students wanting in (higher tuition fees). Students who may have to fly in only do so once they're actually in the program, and many students have to register for multiple schools and multiple programs if they want in.

        I know I applied to 6 colleg

  • is hardly "baffling." It could be a single person running it all.

  • by edis ( 266347 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @09:30AM (#65361203) Journal

    Have students arrive at the start of the course and periodically further on. Those, who are not attending never were there for that, and shouldn't get into the actual registers.

    • by Rinnon ( 1474161 )
      That simply does not work when you advertise a class as "online" and you allow people from 400km away (still in the same state/province at times) to enroll with the understanding that there will not be a requirement to attend a class in person.
      • by edis ( 266347 )

        Then, you can assign several Zoom meetings or so, and put check against the name once you had conversation with an actual student, collected his details and given personalized answers, explanations and instructions.

        Still, for a start, I am assuming California colleges do deal with the California students, that is, locally located.
        Otherwise - ghost studies, ghost students, unless you condition to have actual contact to qualify at all.

  • At my company, if you get a good grade you are reimbursed.
  • by Sloppy ( 14984 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @09:47AM (#65361257) Homepage Journal

    steal millions of dollars of financial aid

    Why are you giving them any money at all, before you even know who they are?

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      by gosso920 ( 6330142 )
      Because it's a government program, working as intended.
    • by eepok ( 545733 )

      Answering Your Question First:
      Because there is trust in a system until an exploit is found. The more serious and pervasive the discovered exploits, the more bureaucracy expands so as to mitigate the risk of further exploits. This in turn makes normal operations (i.e. enrolling in school) slower, more arduous, less agile, and more expensive.

      The Background Info:
      American financial aid for higher education is a complex web of fund sources and qualifications. Here's how it breaks down--

      1. Scholarships - A "gift

      • by Monoman ( 8745 )

        Your last sentence is key. In addition, teachers need to take roll and submit accurate attendance records.

        Community colleges are low cost options for higher ed. Lower cost means lower overhead, like payroll. You get what you pay for.

    • by Ksevio ( 865461 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @12:44PM (#65361809) Homepage

      My wife's identity was used for this. Basically someone took out Pell grants using her identity (which is a government program you can apply to if you have enough identifying info), then they take the money and skip out on the class. She only found out because the school noted that the "student" didn't show up and the government tried to claw back the money.

      Thing is, my wife isn't at all eligible for these grants, but they just rely on the info sent being accurate, they don't verify with the IRS or anything. Thanks to understaffing at the DOE, it's pretty much impossible to get a hold of someone that can do anything about it.

  • by Z80a ( 971949 )

    This is why you don't turn off the containment unit.

  • "I am very intentional about having individualized interaction with all of my students as early as possible,"

    great. during that individualized interaction that you want to have anyway, your first assessment will be if they are a real person who really wants to study, and if they're not then you drop them. which is the "agonizing problem" here?

  • ...so many posts considering the value of college as the issue.

    TFA states -plainly- that this is mostly (?) financial aid fraud. Not about deciding not to attend, but the tools used to commit the fraud are very, very good now.

    The solutions are not so difficult, many industries have faced this before.

  • Financial aid would generally be less than the cost of the course, which someone still has to pay. How does getting a bot to take a class for you just to apply for and get financial aid netting you money?

    I'm not following the scheme here. If anything, the school / teacher stands to gain by doing something like this - assuming they forge the identities of the bots and leave the bill with those suckers.

    • They eventually get dropped from the class. I don't think they intend to publish a howto.

    • Oh no, not at all. The aid is very often more than the cost of courses and material, on the assumption that the student will need food, gas, a computer, etc. And, often provided as a lump sum at the beginning of the semester. Or at least that was the case 20 years ago.

      Not handing over a lump sum at the offset, but crediting the registration and book fees first, then handing over the rest in person may help. As would identity verification plus requiring "Real ID", as they have to be using stolen or fa

    • by Ksevio ( 865461 )

      Fraudster requests financial aid from the government using a stolen identity, signs up for a class, sends the government proof they enrolled. Fraudster takes the money and disappears without paying school or sometimes the enrollment is a small amount compared to the grant.

  • Bots outnumber actual people now tending towards 100% bot traffic.
    It's dead, Jim.
  • California (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DarkOx ( 621550 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @10:37AM (#65361409) Journal

    Interesting that it is 'California' colleges, might that be because at the core here what we have is an identity management problem, and CA seems to be categorically opposed to any form of strong identity capability?

    How much of this fraud is directly related to someone in the state, not wanting to "disenfranchise" some illegal aliens by requiring proper documentation?

    Note that does not have to imply or require its the illegals doing the fraud, just the weak identity controls to accommodate them enabling it.

    • I suspect that you're on to something there. This could really only be happening if they aren't verifying the IDs of the incoming students, and the only reasons I can think of to not do so are laziness/incompetence or a policy decision from on-high. If it's the former, then there is an easy fix that they would be implementing now. Which I'd assume would be prominently mentioned in the article, so...
    • by spitzak ( 4019 )

      It appears the IDs are stolen from legitimate residents, so that is not it.

  • Hold real classes out here in the real world, bots can't show up for that. And you get real face to face teaching time just like the teacher wanted.
  • ... a professor worried about this stuff? Shouldn't the college administration be handling it? Teach the class, even if some people are just lurking to audit it (I've done this). And then skip over the work submitted by non-enrolled students, as determined by administration.

    Certainly, no financial aid should be handed out to people that don't show up in person at some point.

    This could open up a whole new business area for notaries. Live in a remote location and need to establish your validity? Show up in

  • Universal, single payer university access would have wholly prevented this fraud.
  • I suspect this is only the very tip of an iceberg. Right now, it is not too hard to create AIs which can even do a video call. This will only get to the point where my own family and friends would not know it is me.

    It definitely is past the point where a harried official "human checking" could be fooled.

    Even here on forums like slashdot, reddit, etc, I suspect the majority of the comments will soon be bots arguing with each other; shilling, influencing, etc.

    Using the tools available to me in 2025,
  • Very soon now, student bots are going to start protesting for increased spending on campus IT. Watch for harassing human students by displaying "Meatsacks!" And "Primate resource eaters!" on campus screens...

  • by Monoman ( 8745 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @01:40PM (#65361977) Homepage

    I have worked in higher-ed for a long time and this problem is all over. Two year schools have it the worst since they keep the bar pretty low for getting enrolled.

  • When I received aid for college it was paid directly to the college. It didn't go to me.
    Can someone explain how the fraud is occurring? Is the college getting money from the state/fed even though the student isn't real?

  • by PPH ( 736903 ) on Thursday May 08, 2025 @07:18PM (#65362655)

    ... ghost students. While I have to stand in line and wait until the doors are unlocked, they just walk right through the walls,

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