When students are dissatisfied with the learning and teaching environment they ’ re more likely to cheat .
Contract cheating on the rise
TEQSA issues alert over illegal contract cheating .
By Eleanor Campbell
Australia ’ s tertiary regulator has flagged an increase in online contractors amping up advertising for illegal cheating services .
In a statement , the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency ( TEQSA ) said the return to face-to-face learning had seen material promoting “ assignment help ” appear around campuses .
“ TEQSA received photographic evidence of posters and stickers at campuses in Victoria ,” a spokesperson told Campus Review .
“ As this matter is being investigated , we are unable to disclose further information at this time .”
Between 1 January and 31 December 2021 , 36 online cheating operators targeting students at Australian higher education institutions were issued with cease and desist notices .
Academic cheating services are subject to penalties of up to two years ’ imprisonment and fines of up to $ 110,000 .
The University of Sydney said since 2019 it had observed “ increased and aggressive activity ” by contract cheating companies .
“ In response , we developed a multi-pronged strategy based on additional student education , staffing support and training , assessment redesign , targeted technological and other detection strategies , policy change and improved investigation methods ,” a spokesperson said .
“ We continually adjust this strategy as the threat evolves .”
UNSW said it was also aware of a recent spread of posters and stickers promoting “ assignment help ” on campus and had alerted students .
Research suggests around 10 per cent of Australian university students use illegal cheating services , said Dr Guy Curtis , an academic misconduct expert at the University of Western Australia .
“ We ’ ve got some evidence that suggests most students who do it will do it more than once , but exactly how many times more than once they do it ’ s really an unknown quantity ,” he said .
“ Given the number of assignments in a typical three-year uni course , it ’ s about one in 750 assignments . But we think they do it more than once . So it ’ s probably something like one in 500 assignments .”
Curtis , who teaches applied psychology , said students are far more susceptible to use cheating services during periods of high stress and uncertainty .
“ When students are dissatisfied with the learning and teaching environment there ’ s evidence that they ’ re more likely to cheat in these kinds of ways ,” he said .
“ I would think that a rapid transition to online teaching or more online teaching , which has happened with the coronavirus pandemic , has probably led to more dissatisfaction .”
In 2014 , the MyMaster scandal revealed that thousands of Australian university students were paying a Sydney-based tutoring company up to $ 1000 to have essays written for them .
Flyers advertising for the service had been placed around university toilet doors and pinboards , with some using QR codes and non-English signage .
Curtis said companies will often pay students who had previously used their services to post illegal material .
“ I think one of the things that universities should worry about is , if they ’ re seeing them on campus , they probably already have a cheating problem before those have even appeared ,” he said .
“ And then beyond that , there ’ s some really big risks to students that students aren ’ t necessarily aware of .
“ If you ’ re dealing with an unethical business , the problem that you potentially face is they ’ re not just going to be unethical per se in the service they provide , but they might be unethical to people to try and take out that service .”
Expulsion , threat of exposure , theft and leakage of personal details are some of the most serious consequences linked to purchasing assignments .
Studies have shown that nearly 90 per cent of university students are unaware that using cheating services can make them susceptible to blackmail .
Universities should try to mitigate potential risks by offering lower penalties for students who choose to come forward , Curtis said .
“ The best way for students to not just keep having to pay out money and have it held over them is to come forward to the university and let them know that this has happened .
“ Cheating is a mistake that students make , and it ’ s not necessarily the end of the world if they do , but we need to help them through that and help them do the right thing .” ■
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