The present study narrated the forms, factors and consequences of cheating in university examinations by Unisa Open and Distance learning students from anecdotal data. The results showed that the perpetrators mostly used crib materials on paper, ruler and calculator cover. The factors that influenced examination cheating were gender, age range and regional locations of candidates. The consequences were monetary fines and suspension periods. The limitation of the study is that inferences are based on documented evidence only without verifications through interviews. The study provides some recommendations that may provide Registrars of universities with insight to tighten up examination regulations so that the credibility of degrees universities offer is upheld through awarding degrees to deserving students only. Keywords 260The examination cheating offences are not only restricted to secondary school learners but are also rampant among university students. The University of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, reported 20 cases of students that were brought before the university's disciplinary committee after being caught cheating in summative examinations (Botero,2010). A study that analyzes the factors that influence university students' cheating and the possible methods they use when cheating may provide insight to school principals and university registrars on strategies that schools and universities can adopt to reduce student examination cheating. Members 261 LITERATURE REVIEWExamination cheating is an unethical practice that some university students often make when they face a dilemma of failing an examination. Failing a summative examination is an awful experience that frightens university students because of the effects of the failure. For university students, failing a summative examination entails the repeat of a semester, discontinuation of student support grant or even getting expelled from a programme. Armed with these fears of failure some university students are sometimes filled with anxiety of how they would answer the difficult questions they assume will be asked (Peters, 2010).Some university students anticipate the questions set in examinations to be too difficult for them to answer because they feel that their lecturers are cruel, heartless and want them to fail, but they do not realise that the questions become difficult because they are not prepare to answer them. In order to counter the perceived hatred that they feel their lecturers hold against their passing, they commonly look for a strategy that can help them to pass the examination (Peters, 2010).Those university students who do not hold their lecturers as scapegoats for their failure also have reasons to apportion for their fear of failing. They sometimes make flimsy excuses for their lack of examination preparation (Botero, 2010).Common excuses include social problems at home, illness, and theft of essential reading materials or death in the family. When the students who lie are not allowed to write the examination at a late...

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