Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Colleges and universities around the world have been offering their students online courses since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those in China are no exception. Online classes are also a product of technological advances to meet people's growing need for a better education. Many of these online courses are valuable supplements to "traditional" classes that take place in classrooms. However, some Chinese college students are paying others to attend online classes and take online exams for them. Gradually, a nefarious business model around this has formed: You can find many online shops providing services to "help" these students, and some even at the mere cost of 10 yuan ($1.54) for one course. Many colleges and universities have already promised to use technical means to prevent and identify students' fake attendance. But it is worth mentioning that these educational institutions should also remember to improve the quality of online classes to attract students' interest.