<p>As I'm not a lawyer, I have no idea to what extent copyright is carried with writings which may have been created by students, where the professor has doubts about who wrote the paper and the intent is to discover whether the student was the author.</p>
<p>If there are legal limits on this practice, obviously the professors should not do it.</p>
<p>At the same time, I am sort of surprised that more posters here are not bothered by the actions of the students revealed by the professors. I'm sure you don't approve of students who don't do the work but expect breaks, right? </p>
<p>In college, the expectation is that the onus of learning is on students. Professors and universities certainly have a role to play, but students need to bring (or develop) much of their own motivation and responsibility. These are the traits they will need for the workplace, graduate education, even as neighbors, family members, and citizens. College is not just about learning material, but developing the independence, autonomy and integrity needed for life.</p>