John Colagioia, Software Guy, and a Little of This and That
Basically, it's easy to get someone else to do the programming for you in a course. Every once in a while, I'll see questions (with answers!) here on Quora that are just clearly a copy-and-paste of a homework assignment, with no critical thought given to it beyond "I need an answer." When I was in school, groups like fraternities would also keep everything on file and would "help" students through classes when they were having trouble.
Speaking of "when I was in school," in my junior year, I took the course on compilers. On the last lecture, the professor explained that our projects had to be handed in before the final exam; source code was to be printed out and stapled and executables submitted over the Internet by the school's system.
One guy, on the way out the door--a graduating senior, no less--without any trace of irony, asked us, "what's an executable?"
http://www.quora.com/Are-there-really-p ... zBuzz-test
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I have met a lot of engineers over my career who "passed the course". Very few that just passed the course in aerospace. Quite a few in commercial/industrial.
The Trouble With Schools
The Trouble With Schools
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.