Back in the early 70s there were students who hired stand-ins in my organic chemistry classes. The class was large enough that the professor never knew everyone. The ‘goats’ also did the labs and took the exams. They were usually grad students from another school who had already taken the courses and/or had an expertise in the area. Not done much in seminar courses but a lot in the lower to mid-level courses. The “employer” wanted the A grades for other purposes such as to get into med school where they didn’t have to take organic or physical chem or even a grad course in microbiology. They just had to have the general background, not the detailed knowledge to make it through the actual medical courses. I knew a couple who made it in that way. Gave you the urge to go to faith healers rather than some who ended up with their MD degree.
Back in the ‘50s there was a company a block away from the UC Berkley campus that sold “professional notes” for big lecture classes that everyone had to take — Geology 1, Anthropology 1, English 101, etc. The student still had to read the notes, however, to prepare for the exam. They just could miss the lecture which had 500 people in it anyway.
I bought the notes once and found the lectures to be mmore interesting and informative.