campusreview . com . au policy & reform
Easy way out ?
Why some students are still turning to contract cheating and what can be done about it .
By Wade Zaglas
Recent research from The University of Western Australia indicates that the real figure of Australian university students who engage in contract cheating in written assignments is between 8 and 11 per cent .
Contract cheating involves students engaging the services of an academic writing businesses , or ‘ essay mills ’ as they are colloquially called , to complete essays , tests and even exams .
The revised figure , which appeared in an article on The Conversation by Professor Guy Curtis , senior lecturer of applied psychology at the university , debunked previous research that put the figure at around 2 to 4 per cent .
Curtis says more than 95 per cent of students are not caught , while pointing out that even when individuals believe they are completing an anonymous survey , they are inclined to “ under-report bad-behaviour ”. Consequently , Curtis and his research team utilised methods that don ’ t hinge on anonymous surveys in their Australiawide study .
The UWA professor also highlights that , while cheating appears to have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic began , rates of self-reported cheating have not shifted much since pre-pandemic surveys . Curtis refers to the fact that when it was thought that only 2 per cent of students engaged in contract cheating , the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency ( TEQSA ) released information to address the problem , and the federal government also introduced legislation to stamp it out .
“ Our finding that four times more students than previously thought engage in contract cheating means these efforts should be redoubled ,” Curtis writes .
“ Importantly , academics need help to get better at detecting outsourced assignments .”
WHERE DO THE PROBLEMS LIE ? While Curtis points out that previous studies “ have ... found students whose first language is not English admit to more contract cheating ” than others , there are other reasons why students turn to academic cheating services .
Pearson has recently released a report titled Academic writing at university – taking on the essay mills : what is the real reason students are turning to cheating which not only shows that contract cheating is just as prevalent in the UK , it also drills down into why students are cheating and what can be done to restore academic integrity .
The results of Pearson ’ s survey conducted in July 2020 revealed 36 per cent of students said they “ lacked confidence ” in asking for support . Furthermore , 30 per cent of the survey participants said they “ lacked faith in their ability ” to identify “ potential problems ” with their writing assignments , such as essays .
When asked about how they felt after completing their first written assignments , more than three-quarters ( 77 per cent ) of respondents said they “ had struggled ”; this comprised 59 per cent who “ struggled somewhat ” and nearly one in five who found the tasks “ really bad – very difficult ”.
According to the Academic Integrity Collective , a group of student union education officers , the problem of academic cheating is complex .
“ Students often get caught up in cheating not because they want an easy ride – but
because despite an initial confidence based on prior academic success , they are not equipped with the necessary skills to complete their assignments . The essay mills are simply monetising their lack of confidence .”
However , the group also states that universities have a part to play in addressing this issue too , saying it “ lays much of the blame with universities ’ preconceptions about students ’ academic abilities , overassessment , and a lack of investment in academic skills support services ” in a recent edition of Wonke9 .
STUDENT LIFESTYLES AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT SERVICES
An interesting point made in the Pearson report is that , while all universities offer academic support , “ much of it is constrained to the standard 9-5 working day , or by limited availability which needs to be scheduled ”. However , this is often at odds with students ’ busy lifestyles beyond university , which may involve day work , looking after dependents and other commitments .
“ If support services are fully booked up to assignment deadlines , or the task has ( for any number of reasons ) been left to the last minute and feedback is required within time frames too tight for in-house support systems , where do they go ?” the Pearson report says .
PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES The Pearson report recommends the following principles to help tackle the problem .
Instructional : Careful explanation of writing concepts and principles is required , instead of work being simply corrected or highlighted .
Dialogic : It ’ s important to ask students how they think they can add to or improve the quality of their work , as well as broaden their understanding , based on the assessment criteria .
Formative : Providing helpful feedback on unassessed or formative work allows students to become more familiar with what is expected of them , building a bridge to the final assessed task .
Personalised : “ Support should be tailored to their individual writing level , and cover everything from syntax and vocabulary assistance to guidance on presenting stronger academic arguments ,” the Pearson report states . ■
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