Given the fact that “A” seems to be the most common grade given in many college courses, the reports of hackers electronically altering records seems almost quaint.

However, there have been several incidents that have campus IT professionals concerned.

Former Purdue University student Roy Sun was sentenced to 90 days in jail for hacking a college computer to change his grades.

On paper, Roy Sun seemed an exemplary student. During his senior year at Purdue University, he made As in every class, despite rarely attending any of them.

But in reality, he was failing. Instead of studying, he spent his time stealing professors’ passwords so he could hack into the computer system and change his grades from Fs to As.

“It became so much easier to change my grades than going to class and working real hard,” Sun said in an Indiana courtroom last week, when he was sentenced to three months in jail.

Sun joins a growing list of college students who have chosen hacking over studying to boost grades. The students have exposed lax computer security on campuses increasingly under attack from outside hackers trying to steal intellectual property developed by professors.

In December, two students and a graduate of Florida International University were allegedly caught hacking into a professor’s computer, obtaining upcoming tests, and selling the answers for $150.

Last March, two Miami University students allegedly hacked into their professors’ computers and changed grades for themselves and 50 other students.

In almost every case, the students stole professors’ passwords using a keystroke logger. The device, widely available online and installed inside keyboards, allowed them to capture login information as it was typed.

Sun and his accused accomplice, fellow Purdue student Mitsutoshi Shirasaki, gained access to professors’ computers by picking locks on their office doors, then installing keystroke loggers on their keyboards, prosecutors said. Hoping to avoid detection, they waited to hack into the university computer system until 10 minutes before professors’ deadline to submit their grades for the semester, according to the Lafayette Journal and Courier.

But they aroused suspicion by changing professors’ passwords. Shirasaki failed to mask his computer’s IP address, allowing authorities to link the hacking to his apartment, where they found a keystroke logger and a lock-picking set, according to court documents.

The hackers made “substantial changes” to their grades, changing Fs to As — a jump that “would be noticed,” said Tally, the university spokesman.

“They were not subtle about it,” Tally said.