tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/exam-cheating-35456/articlesExam cheating – The Conversation2022-12-15T02:24:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1963832022-12-15T02:24:23Z2022-12-15T02:24:23ZThe dawn of AI has come, and its implications for education couldn’t be more significant<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501197/original/file-20221215-14140-h90pat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C15%2C3333%2C2306&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The release of OpenAI’s <a href="https://chat.openai.com/chat">ChatGPT</a> chatbot has given us a glimpse into the future of teaching and learning alongside artificial intelligence. </p>
<p>Educators <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/04/ai-bot-chatgpt-stuns-academics-with-essay-writing-skills-and-usability">immediately pointed out</a> the chatbot’s ability to generate meaningful responses to questions from assessments and exams. And it’s often not possible to attribute these responses to a particular source – making it difficult to detect plagiarism.</p>
<p>Concerns didn’t go unnoticed. Shortly after ChatGPT’s release, OpenAI announced it was <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/10/openais-attempts-to-watermark-ai-text-hit-limits/">developing</a> a “digital watermark” to embed into the chatbot’s responses. This kind of watermark is embedded as a digital signal that can identify the content as being AI-generated, and which (in theory) should be difficult to remove. </p>
<p>But as experts have pointed it, people will likely <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2350655-openai-is-developing-a-watermark-to-identify-work-from-its-gpt-text-ai/">find workarounds</a>. And it won’t be long before other AI models just as capable as ChatGPT pop up. What will this mean for our educational spaces? </p>
<p>It’s safe to say we can expect some challenging years ahead.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-chatgpt-chatbot-is-blowing-people-away-with-its-writing-skills-an-expert-explains-why-its-so-impressive-195908">The ChatGPT chatbot is blowing people away with its writing skills. An expert explains why it's so impressive</a>
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<h2>But first, what is ChatGPT?</h2>
<p>ChatGPT is powered by GPT3, a large language model (LLM) trained on an enormous amount of text data — about 500 billion words <a href="https://www.sigmoid.com/blogs/gpt-3-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-ai-language-model/">to be precise</a>. Large language models work by predicting the next most-likely word when given a list of input words (usually phrased as a question).</p>
<p>The model is trained using many billions of parameters that can represent the complexity of the world. By inputting real-world data, the algorithm readjusts its parameters until it can produce human-like responses to a range of questions. For example:</p>
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<p><strong>How many eggs can fit into a grain of rice?</strong></p>
<p>It is not possible for eggs to fit into a grain of rice, as a grain of rice is much smaller in size than an egg. A grain of rice is a small, round seed that is typically less than a millimetre in diameter, whereas an egg is a much larger object that typically measures several centimetres in length and width […]</p>
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<p>Although it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-chatgpt-chatbot-is-blowing-people-away-with-its-writing-skills-an-expert-explains-why-its-so-impressive-195908">not foolproof</a>, ChatGPT’s capabilities both shock and inspire. It can write songs, programming code, and simulate entire job interview sessions. It even passed the Amazon Web Services Certified Cloud Practitioner exam, which typically takes 2-6 months to prepare for. </p>
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<p>Perhaps what’s most alarming is the technology is still in its early stages. The millions of users exploring ChatGPT’s uses are simultaneously providing more data for OpenAI to improve the chatbot. </p>
<p>The next version of the model, GPT4, will have about <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/gpt-4-will-have-100-trillion-parameters-500x-the-size-of-gpt-3-582b98d82253">100 trillion parameters</a> – about 500 times more than GPT3. This is approaching the number of neural connections in the human brain.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/everyones-having-a-field-day-with-chatgpt-but-nobody-knows-how-it-actually-works-196378">Everyone's having a field day with ChatGPT – but nobody knows how it actually works</a>
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<h2>How will AI affect education?</h2>
<p>The power of AI systems is placing a huge question mark over our education and assessment practices.</p>
<p>Assessment in schools and universities is mostly based on students providing some product of their learning to be marked, often an essay or written assignment. With AI models, these “products” can be produced to a higher standard, in less time and with very little effort from a student. </p>
<p>In other words, the product a student provides may no longer provide genuine evidence of their achievement of the course outcomes.</p>
<p>And it’s not just a problem for written assessments. A <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3511861.3511863">study published</a> in February showed OpenAI’s GPT3 language model significantly outperformed most students in introductory programming courses. According to the authors, this raises “an emergent existential threat to the teaching and learning of introductory programming”. </p>
<p>The model can also generate <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2209.14958.pdf">screenplays and theatre scripts</a>, while AI image generators such as <a href="https://openai.com/dall-e-2/">DALL-E</a> can produce high-quality art.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-art-is-everywhere-right-now-even-experts-dont-know-what-it-will-mean-189800">AI art is everywhere right now. Even experts don't know what it will mean</a>
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<h2>How should we respond?</h2>
<p>Moving forward, we’ll need to think of ways AI can be used to support teaching and learning, rather than disrupt it. Here are three ways to do this.</p>
<p><strong>1. Integrate AI into classrooms and lecture halls</strong></p>
<p>History has shown time and again that educational institutions can adapt to new technologies. In the 1970s the rise of portable calculators had maths educators <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41191429">concerned about</a> the future of their subject – but it’s safe to say maths survived. </p>
<p>Just as Wikipedia and Google didn’t spell the end of assessments, neither will AI.
In fact, new technologes lead to novel and <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/tth/wpaper/20.html">innovative ways of doing work</a>. The same will apply to learning and teaching with AI.</p>
<p>Rather than being a tool to prohibit, AI models should be meaningfully integrated into teaching and learning. </p>
<p><strong>2. Judge students on critical thought</strong></p>
<p>One thing an AI model can’t emulate is the <em>process</em> of learning, and the mental aerobics this involves.</p>
<p>The design of assessments could shift from assessing just the final product, to assessing the entire process that led a student to it. The focus is then placed squarely on a student’s critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills.</p>
<p>Students could freely use AI to complete the task and still be marked on their own merit.</p>
<p><strong>3. Assess things that matter</strong> </p>
<p>Instead of switching to in-class examination to prohibit the use of AI (which some may be tempted to do), educators can design assessments that focus on what students <em>need</em> to know to be successful in the future. AI, it seems, will be one of these things. </p>
<p>AI models will increasingly have uses across sectors as the technology is scaled up. If students will use AI in their future workplaces, why not test them on it now? </p>
<h2>The dawn of AI</h2>
<p>Vladimir Lenin, leader of Russia’s 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, <a href="https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/07/13/decades-weeks/">supposedly said</a>:</p>
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<p>There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.</p>
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<p>This statement has come to roost in the field of artificial intelligence. AI is forcing us to rethink education. But if we embrace it, it could empower students and teachers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196383/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vitomir Kovanovic does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>AI models can now produce meaningful responses to exam and assignment questions. We’ll have to embrace them if we want the next few years to go smoothly.Vitomir Kovanovic, Senior Lecturer in Learning Analytics, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1857622022-07-03T19:53:22Z2022-07-03T19:53:22ZIf unis stick with online assessment after COVID, they’ll have do more to stop cheating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471765/original/file-20220630-24-f3duf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5184%2C3445&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While face-to-face classes are back after the COVID disruptions of the past two years, <a href="https://research.monash.edu/en/projects/academic-integrity-policies-procedures-and-good-practices-for-onl">our research</a> suggests at least some Australian universities intend to continue with fully online assessment. Students say they <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/students-say-online-exams-make-it-easy-to-cheat-new-survey/news-story/9a432154e1e84f1b9276e8434d6c5381">think cheating is easier</a> online. There is some <a href="https://edintegrity.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s40979-021-00070-0">evidence it increased</a> with the shift online. </p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://2021conference.ascilite.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ASCILITE-2021-Proceedings-Jha-Simon-Bilgin-Sheard-Jayarathna-Berretta-Leemans-Myers.pdf">our research</a>, covering 41 Australian universities, has found little evidence of changes in their academic integrity policies (which apply to all courses) and practices (which may differ from subject to subject) to counter these problems. Our particular interest was in computing courses.</p>
<p>The use of software to automatically monitor students during online exams, known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/unis-are-using-artificial-intelligence-to-keep-students-sitting-exams-honest-but-this-creates-its-own-problems-170708">remote proctoring</a>, is <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-exam-monitoring-is-now-common-in-australian-universities-but-is-it-here-to-stay-159074">increasingly common</a>. Intuitively, this technology appears to have advantages for detecting cheating. However, many have <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/western-students-alerted-about-security-breach-at-exam-monitor-proctortrack-1.5764354">raised</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/unis-are-using-artificial-intelligence-to-keep-students-sitting-exams-honest-but-this-creates-its-own-problems-170708">concerns</a> about both <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-exam-monitoring-can-invade-privacy-and-erode-trust-at-universities-149335">the ethics</a> and <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/another-problem-with-shifting-education-online-cheating/">efficacy</a> of these systems. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/unis-are-using-artificial-intelligence-to-keep-students-sitting-exams-honest-but-this-creates-its-own-problems-170708">Unis are using artificial intelligence to keep students sitting exams honest. But this creates its own problems</a>
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<p>Life would be so much easier for educators if all they had to do was offer their students an education. But they are obliged to assess their students. It’s an <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-and-in-person-exams-both-have-problems-thats-now-clear-unis-have-a-window-of-opportunity-to-do-better-184320">integral aspect of the education process</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, some see the assessment outcomes, rather than the education, as the end goal. </p>
<p>Students rely on these outcomes when applying for jobs. Employers rely on those same results to help them decide which graduates to employ. With so much at stake, there will always be students who choose to cheat.</p>
<h2>COVID forced hasty assessment changes</h2>
<p>The pandemic forced universities to hurriedly rethink many practices, including assessment. One major challenge was how to supervise assessment tasks such as exams when these moved online.</p>
<p>Educators and researchers have reported academic misconduct subsequently <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958820300336">increased</a>. Academic misconduct includes cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and fabrication or falsification of data. </p>
<p>Our universities are <a href="https://www.teqsa.gov.au/online-learning-good-practice">required</a> to establish policies and practices to protect academic integrity. These policies should provide for education and training on good practice and for actions to reduce the risks of cheating and other misconduct. Universities Australia has outlined <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/UA-Academic-Integrity-Best-Practice-Principles.pdf">principles</a> of best practice. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-and-in-person-exams-both-have-problems-thats-now-clear-unis-have-a-window-of-opportunity-to-do-better-184320">Online and in-person exams both have problems – that's now clear. Unis have a window of opportunity to do better</a>
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<p>Our <a href="https://research.monash.edu/en/projects/academic-integrity-policies-procedures-and-good-practices-for-onl">research project</a> explored changes to assessment practices as a result of COVID. We wanted to see how effective these might be in preventing academic misconduct. We examined academic integrity policies and procedures at 41 Australian universities that offer computing courses, interviewed leading computing educators at these universities and surveyed computing academics.</p>
<h2>What did the study find?</h2>
<p>We found little evidence that academic integrity policies and procedures explicitly address the circumstances brought on by COVID. </p>
<p>Of the <a href="http://leemans.ch/publications/papers/asci2021jha.pdf">41 universities, 38 offer online or distance education</a> for computing courses. Four offer most of their computing courses in online/distance mode. Only one offers no computing courses in online/distance mode. </p>
<p>But only five universities around the nation acknowledge the possibility of online exams in their policies. Even at these five there are no policy differences between online and face-to-face assessment tasks. </p>
<p>The inference appears to be that the rules and regulations that govern general academic integrity apply equally to all assessment tasks, including online tasks.</p>
<p>Some of our respondents expressed concern that current policies aren’t effective. A particular concern is the time and effort it takes to prepare a case of misconduct against a student. One academic said:</p>
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<p>“Any excuse that a student gives is automatically believed, despite overwhelming evidence of plagiarism. Also, students claim to have not done the academic integrity module to get reduced punishments. It’s inconceivable that a year three student does not know what plagiarism is […] yet they are given warnings and no real consequences.”</p>
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<p>COVID has changed <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-has-changed-students-needs-and-expectations-how-do-universities-respond-172863">students’ needs and expectations</a>. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0092055X12446624">Research suggests</a> many students now prefer studying online. Universities must consider students’ need for more flexibility, which includes offering online exams.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-has-changed-students-needs-and-expectations-how-do-universities-respond-172863">COVID has changed students' needs and expectations. How do universities respond?</a>
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<p>Nonetheless, a number of our respondents noted an increase in cheating and other integrity violations when assessment moved online. Some noted this might be due in part to the difficulties students faced. One academic said:</p>
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<p>Online exams and tests were a big challenge. Students sometimes complained that their laptops froze, or their internet connection dropped out midway through the test. Such cases demanded the need to develop a new set of questions.</p>
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<p>The abrupt pivot to online education left little time, anyway, to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1933379">make substantial changes</a> to assessment regimes. Courses that relied on personally supervised in-class tests and final exams continued with them, simply dropping in-person invigilation. In some cases, 24-hour exams replaced two or three-hour exams, or shorter exams were conducted in a longer window.</p>
<h2>What can be done to restore integrity?</h2>
<p>One or two suggested approaches might hold some promise. </p>
<p>Many respondents noted the need to develop new types of questions. These would be designed to be less susceptible to looking up answers in web searches, collusion among students and contract cheating, where students pay others to do their work. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency’s newly updated database lists <a href="https://www.teqsa.gov.au/latest-news/articles/intelligence-sharing-updated-cheating-website-database">2,333 suspected commercial academic cheating websites</a>, including 579 specifically targeting students in our higher education sector. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-10-uni-students-submit-assignments-written-by-someone-else-and-most-are-getting-away-with-it-166410">1 in 10 uni students submit assignments written by someone else — and most are getting away with it</a>
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<p>Sadly, these approaches seem invariably to involve <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-has-the-joy-of-working-in-australian-universities-gone-184251">more work for the academics</a>. Further, they appeared unlikely to achieve the integrity typically offered by face-to-face supervised exams.</p>
<p>With face-to-face classes resuming, will universities restore the former assessment mix, including invigilated in-person tests and exams? Some of our respondents indicated their universities intend to continue with fully online assessment. Nobody told us their universities are amending their policies or procedures to better protect academic integrity in these circumstances. </p>
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<p><em>The author would like to acknowledge all the team members who worked on this project: Sander J.J. Leemans, Queensland University of Technology; Regina Berretta, University of Newcastle; Ayse Bilgin, Macquarie University; Trina Myers, Queensland University of Technology; Judy Sheard, Monash University; Simon, formerly of the University of Newcastle; Lakmali Herath Jayarathna, Central Queensland University; and Christoph Niesel, Queensland University of Technology.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185762/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Meena Jha received funding for this project from the Australian Council of Deans of Information and Communication Technology.
Dr Simon, Executive Officer of the Australian Council of Deans of ITC and formerly of the University of Newcastle, is a co-author of this article.
</span></em></p>A new study of academic integrity policies and practices at 41 Australian universities found little evidence of changes to deal with cheating and academic misconduct arising from online assessment.Meena Jha, Course Coordinator, Information Communications Technology (ICT), CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1843202022-06-13T20:03:32Z2022-06-13T20:03:32ZOnline and in-person exams both have problems – that’s now clear. Unis have a window of opportunity to do better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467939/original/file-20220609-18-q6i7va.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3531%2C2194&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The pandemic pushed universities to launch or accelerate plans for delivering examinations online. These forced transitions have often been painful, <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-has-the-joy-of-working-in-australian-universities-gone-184251">involving stress and burnout</a>. Exams have been a big pain point. </p>
<p>There are many accounts from the pandemic of widespread cheating in online exams. These range from <a href="https://crumplab.com/articles/blog/post_994_5_26_22_cheating/index.html">the amusing</a> to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/27/1031255390/reports-of-cheating-at-colleges-soar-during-the-pandemic">the depressing</a>. Regardless, cheating creates problems for everyone involved. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unis-are-using-artificial-intelligence-to-keep-students-sitting-exams-honest-but-this-creates-its-own-problems-170708">Unis are using artificial intelligence to keep students sitting exams honest. But this creates its own problems</a>
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<p>We do need to understand students’ achievements to effectively determine, plan and support student learning. Assessment is meant to inform this understanding. </p>
<p>Exams are high-stakes opportunities for generating big “chunks” of evidence of student achievement. Cheating invalidates this evidence, which has a knock-on at individual, course and program levels. </p>
<p>Academic program reviews, for example, are often guided by analyses of that year’s exam results. Exam data help staff make changes to the program. If a significant percentage of exam scores result from cheating, this can lead to misjudgments about the curriculum and missteps in designing future exams. </p>
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<h2>What happened during the pandemic?</h2>
<p>It’s understandable, then, why many universities have embraced <a href="https://www.autoproctor.co/">remote proctoring</a>. This involves the use of artificial intelligence software to identify and monitor students during exams. The value proposition of remote proctoring is that it easily allows us to replicate virtually the security of an in-person, seated, invigilated exam, wherever our students may be. It seemed like a solution custom-made for the pandemic. </p>
<p>There is some evidence of remote proctoring <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958820300336">working as intended</a>. However, we must also consider emerging concerns. </p>
<p>Many students have been hostile to what they see as <a href="https://theconversation.com/unis-are-using-artificial-intelligence-to-keep-students-sitting-exams-honest-but-this-creates-its-own-problems-170708">inappropriate surveillance practices</a>. There are concerns about universities’ uncritical <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/technology/college-students-cheating-software-honorlock.html">accusations of cheating</a> in “flagged” cases generated by monitoring software. </p>
<p>On the faculty side, it’s becoming clear that remote proctoring does <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-exam-monitoring-is-now-common-in-australian-universities-but-is-it-here-to-stay-159074">not necessarily lead to less work</a> for staff. It may even increase exam-related workload. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anu-will-invigilate-exams-using-remote-software-and-many-students-are-unhappy-137067">ANU will invigilate exams using remote software, and many students are unhappy</a>
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<p>Working in educational assessment for two decades has taught me that cheating on exams is a serious, complex issue. It <a href="https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/53333/978-3-030-83255-1.pdf?sequence=1#page=80">defies easy solutions</a>. </p>
<p>Remote proctoring will <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_esUX8qSmI">likely continue to have a role to play</a>. It’s essential, however, that we <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/PhillipDawson3/the-remote-proctored-exams-dilemma">define that role critically and carefully</a>. </p>
<h2>So why not go back to the old ways?</h2>
<p>With enrolments growing and in-person teaching resuming, it’s tempting to return to familiar exam practices. Bringing back traditional examinations, however, invites back other <a href="https://ie-today.co.uk/features/are-exams-fit-for-purpose/">well-documented, chronic problems</a>.</p>
<p>Orchestrating mass, in-person exams presents a huge challenge. Assuring relevance of traditional exams to modern competencies is also problematic. </p>
<p>It’s worth asking ourselves: how satisfied were we really with pre-pandemic exam practices?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467938/original/file-20220609-17-6oerhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Invigilator walks among students sitting an exam" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467938/original/file-20220609-17-6oerhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467938/original/file-20220609-17-6oerhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467938/original/file-20220609-17-6oerhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467938/original/file-20220609-17-6oerhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467938/original/file-20220609-17-6oerhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467938/original/file-20220609-17-6oerhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467938/original/file-20220609-17-6oerhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Traditional in-person inviligated exams are anything but perfect.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Out of the many ways we engage learners in higher education, assessment is typically the slowest area to change. As exams are high-stakes, it is unsurprising that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260790313_Patterns_of_resistance_in_managing_assessment_change">exams are quite change-resistant</a>. </p>
<p>We are therefore presented with an unusual and timely opportunity. Right now, there is a strong push for systemic improvement of learning, <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/hub/jisc/p/how-has-coronavirus-accelerated-future-assessment">including better assessment</a>. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-has-changed-students-needs-and-expectations-how-do-universities-respond-172863">COVID has changed students' needs and expectations. How do universities respond?</a>
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<p>Let me suggest two connected ways forward on better exam practices. These are not axiomatic instructions. Instead, these are some resource-supported ways to open dialogues within institutions and teaching teams for exploring sensible solutions for them and their students.</p>
<h2>Make scholarly decisions</h2>
<p>Scholarship informs our disciplines. It must also inform assessment within our disciplines. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/learning-teaching/professional-learning-services/scholarship-of-learning-teaching">Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)</a> in higher education is not new. In my experience, SoTL or SoLT has often de-emphasised or failed to include assessment, as the popular forms of the acronym suggest. </p>
<p>Increasingly, we need to embrace <a href="https://u.osu.edu/copoeis/scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning/">SoLTA</a>, that is, scholarship that includes and promotes evidence- and research-supported assessment practices. Embracing SoLTA involves becoming deeply familiar with the best research in assessment and examination practices in higher education and disciplinary contexts. This includes informing practice through consulting highly reputable journals like <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/caeh20/current">Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education</a>. </p>
<p>As with our disciplines, we should see ourselves not just as consumers of knowledge but creators, too. This presents an opportunity for universities to <a href="https://lo.unisa.edu.au/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=2476513">support teachers in applying scholarship to teaching</a>, including teaching-focused academics.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-point-of-assessment-in-higher-education-anyway-32095">What is the point of assessment in higher education anyway?</a>
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<h2>Don’t reject exams, make them better</h2>
<p>Exploring alternatives to exams is sound general advice, but doing so isn’t always feasible. Programs often have rational imperatives for keeping exams in place, including expectations of external accrediting bodies. In these cases, it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-do-away-with-exams-altogether-no-but-we-need-to-rethink-their-design-and-purpose-67647">better to seek improvement</a>, rather than alternatives, to exams. </p>
<p>One route to improvement is adopting <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/3341944/closed-book-to-open-book-exam_final.pdf">good open-book exam practices</a>. For exams with multiple-choice questions, there are <a href="https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/3430648/multiple-choice-questions_final.pdf">solid guidelines for enhancing these</a>. There are even approaches allowing multiple-choice questions to <a href="https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/writing-good-multiple-choice-test-questions/">elicit cognitively complex responses</a>.</p>
<p>Two key problems I have found in online exam practices are students using search engines to look up answers, and collusion. One way to resolve the first issue is <a href="https://le.unimelb.edu.au/news/articles/case-based-questions-in-assessment-tasks">adopting case-based approaches</a> that use novel material generated specifically for the exam. </p>
<p>Collusion is a tougher nut to crack, but some people are adopting new approaches to doing so. These include <a href="https://aall.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CIS-S2-Session-2-Charles-Sevigny-Apr-2021.pdf">running exams divided into sections</a>, with collaboration an anticipated and welcome part of the process. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-learning-has-changed-the-way-students-work-we-need-to-change-definitions-of-cheating-too-163001">Online learning has changed the way students work — we need to change definitions of ‘cheating’ too</a>
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<h2>Business as usual isn’t good enough</h2>
<p>Changing assessment is challenging. Higher stakes mean bigger challenges and greater resistance. As universities find their post-pandemic footing, we have a window of opportunity in which we know we must change. </p>
<p>This allows us to answer the question: what’s next for exams? Clinging to new and hastily adopted practices provides an unsatisfying answer. A return to business as usual is no better. </p>
<p>Instead, let’s adopt a scholarship-informed approach to developing our exams and ourselves to better meet an uncertain and challenging post-pandemic future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184320/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Several linked resources in this article are hosted by The University of Melbourne and University of South Australia. I was employed by The University of Melbourne from 2019-2021 and I am currently employed by University of South Australia. I am an author of or contributor to several linked resources. Authorship and contributions are clearly identified in each resource. </span></em></p>When COVID forced exams online, reports of cheating were rife and proctoring software was problematic. But in-person exams are also flawed, so now’s the time to rethink how assessment works.Christopher Charles Deneen, Associate Professor & Enterprise Research Fellow in Education Futures, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1630012021-06-22T19:01:31Z2021-06-22T19:01:31ZOnline learning has changed the way students work — we need to change definitions of ‘cheating’ too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407558/original/file-20210621-35190-15ga6bs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C10%2C6679%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As university students wait on their mid-year exam results, some will no doubt be thinking about more than just passing. Since COVID-19 pushed teaching and testing online last year, the issue of cheating has come into sharper focus.</p>
<p>Recent reports of University of Auckland students allegedly <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/university-of-auckland-cheating-claims-prolific-abuse-of-online-exams-by-students-on-group-calls/PFV5YZ7DNWM5B6LFUWTEKJEEJ4/">cheating in online exams</a> highlighted the potential for dishonesty in a trust-based system. </p>
<p>But the problem also highlights a tension between cultures: the increasingly online world of higher education, and the everyday world of students.</p>
<p>This has made “cheating” in exams a more complex and evolving question than it once was. It also has implications for the credibility and value of university education and how we perceive student learning. </p>
<p>Traditionally, entry to university exams was controlled using student identity card photo checks. Set in large rooms, exams were invigilated to ensure students couldn’t communicate with each other in order to cheat. </p>
<p>Everyone had their place, and what students could take into the room was described and restricted. Teachers set the exams, the students sat them, exams were marked and final grades given — simple enough.</p>
<p>COVID-19 changed all that. For institutions where “blended” (face-to-face and online) <a href="https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/blended-flipped-learning/blended-learning-integrating-online-and-face-to-face-courses/">learning</a> had already been integrated, the digital switch was not so dramatic. But teachers and students who relied on paper-based or face-to-face teaching and learning faced something of a crisis: how to integrate existing practices with new technology.</p>
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<h2>A rushed revolution</h2>
<p>Of course, the adjustment wasn’t equal. While some teachers and many students could quickly grab the latest device, connect to wi-fi and carry on, others struggled to access workable devices and internet connections.</p>
<p>Universities, teachers and students had to engage with software that couldn’t cope. Meanwhile, new software was evolving as fast as COVID. We shouldn’t be surprised if the university behemoth struggled to adapt or change fast enough. </p>
<p>Often, paper-based exams were simply transferred into online learning systems with little restructuring to suit the changed circumstances. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-worry-about-cancelled-exams-research-shows-we-should-switch-to-teacher-assessment-permanently-134709">Don't worry about cancelled exams – research shows we should switch to teacher assessment permanently</a>
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<p>Incidences of cheating didn’t appear as prevalent at the end of 2020’s first trimester/semester — possibly because everyone was caught on the hop by what was happening.</p>
<p>However, students have shown they can cope with rapid change. Resourceful and adaptable, they have created their own ways of working and systems for information exchange. They form remote and close study groups, work collaboratively and draw on each other’s strengths. </p>
<p>Essentially, they are demonstrating the innovative, adaptable <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/NELP-TES-documents/FULL-TES-2020.pdf">learning skills</a> our education system and future employers expect of them. So why should we be surprised if students apply the same approach to online examinations?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="overhead view of students on digital devices around a table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407560/original/file-20210621-27-1iu4imu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407560/original/file-20210621-27-1iu4imu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407560/original/file-20210621-27-1iu4imu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407560/original/file-20210621-27-1iu4imu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407560/original/file-20210621-27-1iu4imu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407560/original/file-20210621-27-1iu4imu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407560/original/file-20210621-27-1iu4imu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Collaboration or cheating? Students have demonstrated the innovative, adaptable learning skills employers value.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Encouraging collaboration</h2>
<p>Universities often struggle to explain to students why academic integrity is important (the University of Otago <a href="https://www.otago.ac.nz/study/academicintegrity/">being an exception</a>). Unfortunately, most university policies conflate academic integrity and academic misconduct. </p>
<p>We would argue that <a href="https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/about/ako/academic-quality/academic-integrity/guidance-for-student/faq/">definitions of collusion</a> as “working with others when it is not a group assignment” and “providing information to other students” are out of step with the new teaching and learning environment and its expectations. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-exam-monitoring-can-invade-privacy-and-erode-trust-at-universities-149335">Online exam monitoring can invade privacy and erode trust at universities</a>
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<p>Furthermore, we know learning collaboratively encourages higher-order understanding — yet the current environment continues to require individual assessment of students.</p>
<p>If education systems and teachers can’t provide specific guidance about preparing for and sitting online exams, what are the grounds for accusations of cheating? These grey areas reflect the generally opaque nature of the post-COVID world. </p>
<p>Specifically, what exactly is wrong with students discussing problems, proposing solutions and presenting their own interpretation as their answer? </p>
<h2>Exams must evolve</h2>
<p>In the networked world, the line between what is original and what is adapted is more blurred every day. It isn’t always possible to decide what is original and unique in order to give it individual credit. </p>
<p>If exams are designed to assess higher-order cognitive development – demonstrating individual ability to synthesise and apply knowledge – surely collaboration can be the vehicle for what educationalist John Biggs calls deeper learning. Can’t examination practices change to capture this?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-unis-eye-more-instagram-worthy-campus-experiences-they-shouldnt-treat-online-teaching-as-a-cheap-and-easy-option-156585">As unis eye more ‘Instagram-worthy’ campus experiences, they shouldn't treat online teaching as a cheap and easy option</a>
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<p>Rather than universities continuing to define student activities via traditional regulation, perhaps instead educators need to think strategically to tap into this new student energy. </p>
<p>University exams need to check for individual (or collective) application, evaluation and synthesis of knowledge, not just rote learning and recall of study notes. </p>
<p>It is evident the tertiary environment is evolving and students have demonstrated their creativity in banding together to solve problems in a modern way. Now is the time for examiners and exams to get smarter, too. </p>
<p>Traditional ways of operating are behind us. We need to keep moving forward — away from the comfortable and into the confusing jungle of synthesised, regenerated and expanding knowledge.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163001/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Recent allegations of cheating by university students in online exams suggest the students are adapting faster than the education system itself – and that should change.Linda Rowan, University Teaching Consultant, Massey UniversityFiona Murray, Teaching Consultant, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1552742021-03-04T13:13:53Z2021-03-04T13:13:53ZMotivation is a key factor in whether students cheat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387579/original/file-20210303-12-11f9ary.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C0%2C5120%2C3426&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Putting less emphasis on grades is essential. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/student-working-on-laptop-in-library-royalty-free-image/143071328?adppopup=true">Sam Edwards/OJO Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic caused many U.S. colleges to shift to remote learning in the spring of 2020, student cheating has been a concern for <a href="https://www.wiley.com/network/instructors-students/covid-19-online-teaching-resources-1/is-student-cheating-on-the-rise-how-you-can-discourage-it-in-your-classroom">instructors</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-021-09612-3">students</a> alike.</p>
<p>To detect student cheating, considerable resources have been devoted to using technology to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/12/test-monitoring-student-revolt/">monitor students online</a>. This online surveillance has <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/09/students-are-pushing-back-against-proctoring-surveillance-apps">increased students’ anxiety and distress</a>. For instance, some students have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/12/test-monitoring-student-revolt/">indicated</a> the monitoring technology required them to stay at their desks or risk being labeled as cheaters.</p>
<p>Although relying on electronic eyes may partially curb cheating, there’s another factor in the reasons students cheat that often gets overlooked – student motivation.</p>
<p>As a team of researchers in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=g5Av10MAAAAJ&hl=en">educational psychology</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LzYJGa8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">higher education</a>, we became interested in how students’ motivation to learn, or what drives them to want to succeed in class, affects how much they cheated in their schoolwork.</p>
<p>To shine light on why students cheat, we conducted an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09557-7">analysis of 79 research studies</a> and published our findings in the journal Educational Psychology Review. We determined that a variety of motivational factors, ranging from a desire for good grades to a student’s academic confidence, come into play when explaining why students cheat. With these factors in mind, we see a number of things that both students and instructors can do to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2017.1308172">harness the power of motivation</a> as a way to combat cheating, whether in virtual or in-person classrooms. Here are five takeaways:</p>
<h2>1. Avoid emphasizing grades</h2>
<p>Although obtaining straight A’s is quite appealing, the more students are focused solely on earning high grades, the more likely they are to cheat. When the grade itself becomes the goal, cheating can serve as a way to achieve this goal.</p>
<p>Students’ desire to learn can diminish when instructors overly emphasize high test scores, beating the curve, and student rankings. Graded assessments have a role to play, but so does acquisition of skills and actually learning the content, not only doing what it takes to get good grades.</p>
<h2>2. Focus on expertise and mastery</h2>
<p>Striving to increase one’s knowledge and improve skills in a course was associated with less cheating. This suggests that the more students are motivated to gain expertise, the less likely they are to cheat. Instructors can teach with a focus on mastery, such as providing additional opportunities for students to redo assignments or exams. This reinforces the goal of personal growth and improvement.</p>
<h2>3. Combat boredom with relevance</h2>
<p>Compared with students motivated by either gaining rewards or expertise, there might be a group of students who are simply not motivated at all, or experiencing what researchers call amotivation. Nothing in their environment or within themselves motivates them to learn. For these students, cheating is quite common and seen as a viable pathway to complete coursework successfully rather than putting forth their own effort. However, when students find relevance in what they’re learning, they are less likely to cheat. </p>
<p>When students see connections between their coursework and other courses, fields of study or their future careers, it can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019506">stimulate them</a> to see how valuable the subject might be. Instructors can be intentional in providing rationales for why learning a particular topic might be useful and connecting students’ interest to the course content.</p>
<h2>4. Encourage ownership of learning</h2>
<p>When students struggle, they sometimes blame circumstances beyond their control, such as believing their instructor to have unrealistic standards. Our findings show that when students believe they are responsible for their own learning, they are less likely to cheat.</p>
<p>Encouraging students to take ownership over their learning and put in the required effort can decrease academic dishonesty. Also, providing meaningful choices can help students feel they are in charge of their own learning journey, rather than being told what to do.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387575/original/file-20210303-19-1hm3b78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Schoolgirl sitting at desk feels happy after receiving great news" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387575/original/file-20210303-19-1hm3b78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387575/original/file-20210303-19-1hm3b78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387575/original/file-20210303-19-1hm3b78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387575/original/file-20210303-19-1hm3b78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387575/original/file-20210303-19-1hm3b78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387575/original/file-20210303-19-1hm3b78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387575/original/file-20210303-19-1hm3b78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Building confidence in students is a good approach toward reducing academic dishonesty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-schoolgirl-sitting-at-desk-feels-happy-royalty-free-image/1133045054?adppopup=true">fizkes/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>5. Build confidence</h2>
<p>Our study found that when students believed they could succeed in their coursework, cheating decreased. When students do not believe they will be successful, a teaching approach called scaffolding is key. Essentially, the scaffolding approach involves assigning tasks that match the students’ ability level and gradually increase in difficulty. This progression slowly builds students’ confidence to take on new challenges. And when students feel confident to learn, they are willing to put in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.01.005">more effort</a> in school.</p>
<h2>An inexpensive solution</h2>
<p>With these tips in mind, we expect cheating might pose less of a threat during the pandemic and beyond. Focusing on student motivation is a much less controversial and inexpensive solution to curtail any tendencies students may have to cheat their way through school.</p>
<p>Are these motivational strategies the cure-all to cheating? Not necessarily. But they are worth considering – along with other strategies – to fight against academic dishonesty.</p>
<p>[<em>Research into coronavirus and other news from science</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-corona-research">Subscribe to The Conversation’s new science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In order to keep students honest, research suggests that educators should focus on what’s driving them to learn in the first place.Carlton J. Fong, Assistant Professor of Education, Texas State UniversityMegan Krou, Research Analyst, Teachers College, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1226462019-11-03T18:54:26Z2019-11-03T18:54:26Z‘I cheated on a school exam and I feel terrible. How can I get past this?’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299759/original/file-20191031-187907-3653i2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We often spend a lot of time beating ourselves up over something that seems worse in our heads than in reality.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>With so many external pressures, I yielded to cheating on an exam. I feel absolutely terrible as it is not what I stand for at all, a lot of people seem to hate me and I totally respect their opinion as what I did was wrong … but I’m so scared that now it will define me; before I had a perfect record and outstanding achievements and I don’t know how I can get past it. – Anonymous</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Key points</h2>
<ul>
<li>everyone makes mistakes, but they don’t define us</li>
<li>our brains are wired to make us feel shame after making a mistake</li>
<li>forgive yourself!</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/i-need-to-know-66587"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290837/original/file-20190904-175686-polw3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=2" width="100%"></a></p>
<p>You’re not the only person who has done something you wish you hadn’t. By the time we reach adulthood most, if not all, of us have. People <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49106">cheat, lie, hurt others</a>, or fail. It’s part of the human condition.</p>
<p>Many people have cheated in exams. For example, nearly <a href="http://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/download/783/595">30% of university students</a> who responded to a 2012 UK survey agreed they had “submitted work taken wholly from an internet source” as their own.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-does-getting-help-on-an-assignment-turn-into-cheating-120215">When does getting help on an assignment turn into cheating?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These mistakes don’t have to define us. If we work through them in a healthy way, mistakes can help shape who we are, what we care about, and how we treat others.</p>
<p>At the time, mistakes can be painful. It can seem to be this huge thing, occupying lots of our thoughts, impacting how we see ourselves and making it feel like everyone else will be focused on this failure forever. </p>
<p>But think of someone you know who has made a mistake. Do you spend all your time thinking about that person’s failure – is that failure all the person is to you? Probably not. Humans spend most of their time thinking about <em>themselves</em>, and humans have lots of ways of reconciling, forgiving and forgetting. </p>
<p>So why does our brain make us feel like it’s the end of the world when <em>we</em> fail?</p>
<h2>Blame our brains</h2>
<p>Humans are a group species. Our <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1995-29052-001">brains have evolved</a> to pay attention to when people might exclude or judge us for being a bad or inappropriate group member. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299785/original/file-20191101-187903-1xgt268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299785/original/file-20191101-187903-1xgt268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299785/original/file-20191101-187903-1xgt268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299785/original/file-20191101-187903-1xgt268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299785/original/file-20191101-187903-1xgt268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299785/original/file-20191101-187903-1xgt268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299785/original/file-20191101-187903-1xgt268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299785/original/file-20191101-187903-1xgt268.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our brains are wired to make us feel awful when we believe we’ve been an inappropriate member of our social group.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When we do something wrong, our feelings act like an alert signal; a red flashing yucky feeling telling us there is a problem. These guilty feelings can be especially bad if we think about our mistake in certain ways. Thoughts like: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“This is going to affect how <strong>everyone</strong> sees me!”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“People are <strong>never</strong> going to trust me again!” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Blowing up the negative consequences in your mind, predicting the future in a negative way, or rehearsing how bad a person you are, are types of thinking that can send that red alert into overdrive. </p>
<p>Another way we keep the red alert on is if we avoid the issue and don’t take time to work through what happened. Research <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307857170_Moving_beyond_shame_is_bad_How_a_functional_emotion_can_become_problematic_How_Shame_Becomes_Problematic">shows avoiding things</a> that make us feel shame can actually just make us feel worse.</p>
<p>Instead, you can learn to <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319605722">forgive yourself</a>. Start by taking responsibility – rather than trying to explain it away or avoid it, own up to it and say to yourself “yep, I did that”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-someone-hurt-you-this-year-forgiving-them-may-improve-your-health-as-long-as-youre-safe-too-106253">If someone hurt you this year, forgiving them may improve your health (as long as you're safe, too)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Then, you need to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-42717-016">work through what happened</a>. Research shows <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28317127">reaffirming our values</a> is one of the most effective ways of working through our wrongdoing and forgiving ourselves.</p>
<h2>Forgive yourself. Here’s how</h2>
<p><strong>Reaffirm your values</strong></p>
<p>Write a letter to yourself answering the following questions: </p>
<ol>
<li>What value have I broken in this situation? (Values are what character traits you find important. These could be generosity, fairness or authenticity. If you have trouble identifying your values, <a href="http://thehappinesstrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/complete_worksheets_for_The_Confidence_Gap.pdf">this can help</a>.)</li>
<li>Why is that value important to me?</li>
<li>What is a time in the past I have acted in a way that is consistent with that value? </li>
<li>What would it mean to act consistent with that value over the next day, week and month? (This may include confessing to someone, an apology or a commitment to do it right next time.) </li>
</ol>
<p>Write three ideas of what you could do, and plan to do one of them this week. Remind yourself of these values and your commitment to them whenever you feel guilty.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299781/original/file-20191101-187938-scbzri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299781/original/file-20191101-187938-scbzri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299781/original/file-20191101-187938-scbzri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299781/original/file-20191101-187938-scbzri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299781/original/file-20191101-187938-scbzri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299781/original/file-20191101-187938-scbzri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299781/original/file-20191101-187938-scbzri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299781/original/file-20191101-187938-scbzri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Write a letter to yourself outlining your values. Remember them every time you feel guilty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/8eSrC43qdro">Hannah Olinger/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Accept your emotions as feelings, not facts</strong></p>
<p>Emotions are part of the way our body responds to a situation. But they are not perfect. They are like a torch in a dark room, focusing our attention on a small part of the room, but missing other things.</p>
<p>Write a thought diary of your feelings and thoughts. Then go back over what you have written and <a href="https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/For-Clinicians/Unhelpful-Thinking-Styles">think</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Is this really the full picture of what is happening, or am I keeping my alert button on by practising unhelpful thinking?</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Remember you’re a human</strong></p>
<p>When we fail, we sometimes hold ourselves up against perfect standards. But we are human, which means we don’t always have perfect knowledge of the future, control of our own feelings, or wisdom about how to act in the moment. </p>
<p>Instead of beating yourself up about what you could or should have done, acknowledge you are not perfect – then choose to pursue your values moving forward. </p>
<p><strong>Talk it out with others</strong></p>
<p>Often we keep our failures private. But since our brain is monitoring for risk of rejection, it stays active in case others find out or are already judging us because they know.</p>
<p>Talking it out with others can help because we have also <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spc3.12176">evolved a sense of compassion</a> and can often be kinder to others than to ourselves.</p>
<p><strong>Seek help</strong></p>
<p>Underlying depression or other health or mental-health issues may be making our feelings of guilt, regret, shame, fear or embarrassment worse. If your feelings don’t change (especially if they continue for two weeks or more) then it is probably a good idea to chat to a psychologist, counsellor or your doctor.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-wrong-with-me-im-never-happy-and-i-hate-school-120889">'What is wrong with me? I'm never happy and I hate school'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>You can also call <a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/">Beyond Blue</a> at any time on 1300 22 4636; or <a href="https://kidshelpline.com.au/">Kids Helpline</a>, a service specifically for children and young people aged 5-25 on 1800 55 1800.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lydia Woodyatt receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>If you’re feeling guilt or shame about something, there are several proven ways to move past it. First, take responsibility and, then, forgive yourself. Here’s how to do that.Lydia Woodyatt, Associate professor, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1202152019-07-11T20:16:46Z2019-07-11T20:16:46ZWhen does getting help on an assignment turn into cheating?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283623/original/file-20190711-173325-qkpe6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sometimes, students and teachers have different ideas about what constitutes as cheating.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Students – whether at university or school – can get help from many places. They can go to a tutor, parent, teacher, a friend or consult a textbook.</p>
<p>But at which point does getting help cross the line into cheating?</p>
<p>Sometimes it’s clear. If you use a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-10/thai-medical-students-caught-in-high-tech-plot-to-cheat-on-exam/7399728">spy camera or smartwatch</a> in an exam, you’re clearly cheating. And you’re cheating if you <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/students-at-sydney-university-use-impersonators-to-sit-their-exams-20150810-givhs0.html">get a friend</a> to sit an exam for you or write your assignment.</p>
<p>At other times the line is blurry. When it’s crossed, it constitutes academic misconduct. Academic misconduct is any action or attempted action that may result in creating an unfair academic advantage for yourself or others.</p>
<p>What about getting someone else to read a draft of your essay? What if they do more than proofread and they alter sections of an assignment? Does that constitute academic misconduct?</p>
<h2>Learning, teaching or cheating?</h2>
<p>There are a wide range of activities that constitute academic misconduct. These can include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>fabrication, which is just making things up. I could say “90 % of people admit to fabricating their assignments”, when this is not a fact but a statement I just invented</p></li>
<li><p>falsification, which is manipulating data to inaccurately portray results. This can occur by taking research results out of context and drawing conclusions not supported by data</p></li>
<li><p>misrepresentation, which is falsely representing yourself. Did you know I have a master’s degree from the University of Oxford on this topic? (Actually, I don’t)</p></li>
<li><p>plagiarism, which is when you use other people’s ideas or words without appropriate attribution. For instance, this list came from <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ791635">other people’s research</a> and it is important to reference the source.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Sometimes students and teachers have different ideas of academic misconduct. One <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2202/1949-6605.1187?needAccess=true">study found</a> around 45% of academics thought getting someone else to correct a draft could constitute academic misconduct. But only 32% of students thought the same thing. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/assessment-design-wont-stop-cheating-but-our-relationships-with-students-might-76394">Assessment design won’t stop cheating, but our relationships with students might</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the same survey, most academics and students agreed having someone else like a parent or friend identify errors in a draft assignment, as opposed to correcting them, was fine.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283625/original/file-20190711-173370-1qrtdys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283625/original/file-20190711-173370-1qrtdys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283625/original/file-20190711-173370-1qrtdys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283625/original/file-20190711-173370-1qrtdys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283625/original/file-20190711-173370-1qrtdys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283625/original/file-20190711-173370-1qrtdys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283625/original/file-20190711-173370-1qrtdys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283625/original/file-20190711-173370-1qrtdys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students and academics agree having someone else identify errors in your assignment is OK. Correcting them is another story.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Generally when a lecturer, teacher or another marker is assessing an assignment they need to establish the authenticity of the work. Authenticity means having confidence the work actually relates to the performance of the person being assessed, and not of another person. </p>
<p>The Australian government’s vocational education and training sector’s quality watchdog, for instance, considers authenticity as one of four so-called <a href="https://www.asqa.gov.au/standards/chapter-4/clauses-1.8-1.12">rules of evidence</a> for an “effective assessment”. </p>
<p>The rules are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>validity, which is when the assessor is confident the student has the skills and knowledge required by the module or unit</p></li>
<li><p>sufficiency, which is when the quality, quantity and relevance of the assessment evidence is enough for the assessor to make a judgement</p></li>
<li><p>authenticity, where the assessor is confident the evidence presented for assessment is the learner’s own work</p></li>
<li><p>currency, where the assessor is confident the evidence relates to what the student can do now instead of some time in the past.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Generally speaking, if the assessor is confident the work is the product of a student’s thoughts and where help has been provided there is proper acknowledgement, it should be fine.</p>
<h2>Why is cheating a problem?</h2>
<p>It’s difficult to get a handle on how big the cheating problem is. Nearly 30% of students who responded to a <a href="http://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/download/783/595">2012 UK survey</a> agreed they had “submitted work taken wholly from an internet source” as their own.</p>
<p>In Australia, 6% of students in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2018.1462788">a survey of 14,000</a> reported they had engaged in “outsourcing behaviours” such as submitting someone else’s assignment as their own, and 15% of students had bought, sold or traded notes.</p>
<p>Getting someone to help with your assignment might seem harmless but it can hinder the learning process. The teacher needs to understand where the student is at with their learning, and too much help from others can get in the way.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/children-learn-from-stress-and-failure-all-the-more-reason-you-shouldnt-do-their-homework-47754">Children learn from stress and failure: all the more reason you shouldn't do their homework</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some research describes formal education as a type of “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1882010#metadata_info_tab_contents">signal</a>”. This means educational attainment communicates important information about an individual to a third party such as an employer, a customer, or to an authority like a licensing body or government department. Academic misconduct interferes with that process.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283629/original/file-20190711-173325-1ib6tzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283629/original/file-20190711-173325-1ib6tzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283629/original/file-20190711-173325-1ib6tzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283629/original/file-20190711-173325-1ib6tzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283629/original/file-20190711-173325-1ib6tzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283629/original/file-20190711-173325-1ib6tzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283629/original/file-20190711-173325-1ib6tzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283629/original/file-20190711-173325-1ib6tzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fewer cheaters are getting away with it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/npxXWgQ33ZQ">Glenn Carstens-Peters/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to deal with cheating</h2>
<p>It appears fewer cheaters are getting away with it than before. Some of the world’s leading academic institutions have reported a 40% <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/apr/29/cheating-at-top-uk-universities-soars-by-30-per-cent">increase in academic misconduct</a> cases over a three year period.</p>
<p>Technological advances mean online essay mills and “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2018.1462788">contract cheating</a>” have become a bigger problem. This type of cheating involves outsourcing work to third parties and is concerning because it is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10805-012-9150-y">difficult to detect</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/15-of-students-admit-to-buying-essays-what-can-universities-do-about-it-103101">15% of students admit to buying essays. What can universities do about it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But while technology has made cheating easier, it has also offered sophisticated systems for educators to verify the work is a person’s own. Software programs such as <a href="https://www.turnitin.com/">Turnitin</a> can check if a student has plagiarised their assignment. </p>
<p>Institutions can also verify the evidence they are assessing relates to a student’s actual performance by using a range of assessment methods such as exams, oral presentations, and group assignments.</p>
<p>Academic misconduct can be a <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/why-students-cheat/170087">learning and cultural issue</a>. Many students, particularly when they are new to higher education, are simply not aware what constitutes academic misconduct. Students can often be under enormous pressure that leads them to make poor decisions.</p>
<p>It is possible to deal with these issues in a constructive manner that help students learn and get the support they need. This can include providing training to students when they first enrol, offering support to assist students who may struggle, and when academic misconduct does occur, taking appropriate steps to ensure it does not happen again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Hurley is affiliated with the Mitchell Institute for Education and Health Policy at Victoria University. </span></em></p>What is cheating? Sometimes, teachers and academics disagree on exactly what constitutes academic misconduct, but getting someone to proofread your work is generally considered fine.Peter Hurley, Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1089952018-12-19T19:06:45Z2018-12-19T19:06:45ZDoing away with essays won’t necessarily stop students cheating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251169/original/file-20181218-27761-s4uag1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New research shows the relationship between contract cheating and assessment design is not simply cause and effect.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s never been easier for university students to cheat. We just need look to the scandal in 2015 that revealed up to 1,000 students from 16 Australian universities had hired the Sydney-based <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/yingying-dou-the-mastermind-behind-the-university-essay-writing-machine-20141111-11kk50.html">MyMaster company</a> to ghost-write their assignments and sit online tests. </p>
<p>It’s known as contract cheating – when a student pays a third party to undertake their assignments which they then pass off as their own. Contract cheating isn’t new – the term was <a href="https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/comp-114-p.pdf">coined in 2006</a>. But it’s becoming more commonplace because new technologies, such as the smart phone, are enablers.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/15-of-students-admit-to-buying-essays-what-can-universities-do-about-it-103101">15% of students admit to buying essays. What can universities do about it?</a>
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<p>Cheating is taken seriously by universities and the national regulator, the <a href="https://www.teqsa.gov.au/">Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency</a>. Much of the focus has been on changing assessment tasks to ones deemed to be harder for a third party to undertake. This is called “<a href="https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/authentic-assessment">authentic assessment</a>”.</p>
<p>This type of assessment has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/15-of-students-admit-to-buying-essays-what-can-universities-do-about-it-103101">widely adopted at universities</a>. They are comprised of tasks that evaluate knowledge and skills by presenting students with real-world scenarios or problems relevant to the kinds of challenges they would face following graduation. But <a href="https://www.caullt.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Bretag-et-al.pdf">new research</a> found authentic assessment may be as vulnerable to cheating as other more obvious examples, such as essays.</p>
<h2>What the research shows</h2>
<p>This new study was conducted by academics from six universities, led by Tracey Bretag and Rowena Harper from the University of South Australia. The research – part of the federal government’s <a href="https://cheatingandassessment.edu.au/">Contract Cheating and Assessment Design project</a> – surveyed 14,086 students and 1,147 staff.</p>
<p>The goal of this research was to collect and understand student’s perceptions of the likelihood of cheating on 13 different assessment tasks. The research then asked teaching staff which of the 13 tasks they used.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251181/original/file-20181218-27758-19zro24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251181/original/file-20181218-27758-19zro24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251181/original/file-20181218-27758-19zro24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251181/original/file-20181218-27758-19zro24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251181/original/file-20181218-27758-19zro24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251181/original/file-20181218-27758-19zro24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251181/original/file-20181218-27758-19zro24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Unique, in-class tasks were perceived to be the hardest to cheat on.</span>
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<p>The researchers <a href="https://www.caullt.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Bretag-et-al.pdf">have previously reported</a> from this data set that 6% of students admitted to cheating. The purpose of the current round of analysis was not to understand the extent of cheating, but perceptions of how easily it might be done, and if that correlated with the tasks educators set.</p>
<p>They found, for both students and teachers, assessments with a short turnaround time and heavily weighted in the final mark were perceived as the tasks which were the most likely to attract contract cheating.</p>
<p>Assessments perceived as the least likely to attract contract cheating were in-class tasks, personalised and unique tasks, vivas (oral explanations of a written task) and reflections on practical placements. But these tasks were the least likely to be set by educators, presumably because they’re resource and time intensive.</p>
<h2>Contract cheating and assessment design</h2>
<p>The research confirms the relationship between contract cheating and assessment design is a complex one. There was no assessment tasks for which students reported a 0% likelihood of contract cheating. Students who engage in contract cheating both see and <a href="https://www.caullt.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Bretag-et-al.pdf">look for opportunities</a> to cheat regardless of the assessment task.</p>
<p>For universities, that means they must assume cheating is always possible and simply changing what assessments they use will not combat the problem.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251191/original/file-20181218-27761-1wa3u6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251191/original/file-20181218-27761-1wa3u6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251191/original/file-20181218-27761-1wa3u6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251191/original/file-20181218-27761-1wa3u6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251191/original/file-20181218-27761-1wa3u6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251191/original/file-20181218-27761-1wa3u6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251191/original/file-20181218-27761-1wa3u6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Authentic assessment might be as vulnerable to outsourcing as essays.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Many <a href="http://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/3608/1/Exams.pdf">experts have advocated</a> the use of supervised exams to combat cheating. But this new research adds to a growing <a href="http://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/3608/1/Exams.pdf">body of evidence</a> that exams provide universities and accrediting bodies with a false sense of security. In fact, previous data has shown students reported engaging in undetected cheating on supervised exams at higher rates than other types of cheating.</p>
<p>Another common approach is to use a series of small, graded tasks, such as spontaneous in-class tests, sometimes <a href="https://cheatingandassessment.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/EDUCATOR-RESOURCE-Assessment-to-foster-academic-integrity.pdf">called continuous assessment</a>. Even here, students indicated these were the third most likely form of assessment to be outsourced.</p>
<h2>Who’s most likely to cheat?</h2>
<p>There has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-unis-should-take-responsibility-for-corrupt-practices-in-international-education-40380">much attention</a>, particularly <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-14/major-universities-investigate-cheating-scandal/6390164">during the MyMaster scandal</a>, on international students’ use of contract cheating. The new research suggests both international students and domestic students from non-English speaking backgrounds are more likely to engage in contract cheating than other students.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-assume-online-students-are-more-likely-to-cheat-the-evidence-is-murky-98936">Don't assume online students are more likely to cheat. The evidence is murky</a>
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<p>The research also found business and commerce degrees were more likely be perceived as attracting contract cheating. Engineering was also particularly vulnerable to cheating. </p>
<p>Students from non-English speaking backgrounds hypothesised cheating would be most likely to occur in assessments that required research, analysis and thinking skills (essays), heavily weighted assignments and assessments with short turnaround times.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251192/original/file-20181218-27758-imb8hd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251192/original/file-20181218-27758-imb8hd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251192/original/file-20181218-27758-imb8hd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251192/original/file-20181218-27758-imb8hd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251192/original/file-20181218-27758-imb8hd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251192/original/file-20181218-27758-imb8hd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251192/original/file-20181218-27758-imb8hd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Students were still likely to cheat on supervised exams.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, students who indicated they were satisfied with the quality of teaching were less likely to think breaches of academic integrity were likely. In other words, this confirms <a href="https://www.hes.edu.au/sites/default/files/uploaded-content/website-content/Images/Documents/2018-HEQN-Conference/bretag_harper.pdf">previous research</a> which showed students dissatisfied with their educational experience are more likely to cheat. </p>
<h2>So what do we do about it?</h2>
<p>This research provides yet more compelling evidence that curriculum and changes to teaching strategies and early intervention must be employed to support students’ academic endeavours.</p>
<p>The researchers also point out high levels of cheating risks undermining the reputation and quality of Australia’s <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australian-international-education-earnings-reach-a34-billion">A$34 billion export sector</a> in international education.</p>
<p>The data demonstrates assessment tasks designed to develop relevant professional skills, which teachers are highly likely to set, were perceived by students as tasks that can easily be cheated on. These might include asking accounting students to memorandums, reports or other communication groups to stakeholders, such as shareholders. In fact, among students from a non-English speaking background, the risks of cheating might actually increase for these tasks. This means authentic assessment might run the increasing risk of being outsourced.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/assessment-design-wont-stop-cheating-but-our-relationships-with-students-might-76394">Assessment design won’t stop cheating, but our relationships with students might</a>
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<p>This research shows the relationship between contract cheating and assessment design is not a simple product of cause and effect. In fact, the nature of the task itself may be less relevant to the prevalence of cheating than other factors such as a student’s from non-English speaking background’s status, perceived opportunities to cheat or satisfaction with the teaching and learning environment. </p>
<p>All educators must remain vigilant about cheating. Teachers must be properly resourced by their universities to ensure they can create rich learning environments which uphold the integrity of the higher education system.</p>
<p>Burdened with large debts and facing a precarious job market after graduation, it’s perhaps unsurprising some students, particularly those who are struggling academically, take a transactional approach to their education. This new research provides more clear evidence contract cheating is a systemic problem that requires a sector-wide response.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108995/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Hare does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Authentic assessment is perceived as being harder to outsource, and has been adopted by many Australian university teachers. But that doesn’t mean students won’t still cheat on them.Julie Hare, Honorary Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/989362018-07-26T04:06:58Z2018-07-26T04:06:58ZDon’t assume online students are more likely to cheat. The evidence is murky<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229359/original/file-20180726-106527-zvrwtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5590%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You'd think that studying online would make it easier to cheat. But don't jump to conclusions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Hcfwew744z4">Christin Hume/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More university students are choosing to study online rather than face-to-face, prompting concerns about academic integrity.</p>
<p>If you’re tempted to cheat in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/degrees-of-deception-promo/6398568">face-to-face courses</a>, even during exams, how much easier would it be to pass off work that isn’t your own when you’re online?</p>
<p>But research by us and others shows how university courses are delivered is less important in predicting which students are more likely to cheat.</p>
<p>A better predictor is students’ demographic characteristics, particularly their age.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-few-bad-apples-dont-turn-a-blind-eye-to-academic-doping-8513">A few bad apples? Don't turn a blind eye to academic doping</a>
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<h2>Students choosing online courses</h2>
<p>In Australia, the number of external (or online) students grew from 213,588 <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/2015_all_students.xls">in 2015</a> to 224,662 <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/2016_section_2_-_all_students.xls">in 2016</a>, the latest available figures.</p>
<p>There has been particular growth in online postgraduate education, as people juggle study with professional and personal commitments. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/1034801/Deakin-At-A-Glance-September-2017.pdf">Deakin University’s</a> Cloud Campus, for example, now enrols more students than its two Geelong campuses and its Warrnambool campus combined — 13,054 versus 12,868 enrolments.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/balancing-work-and-tertiary-study-is-harder-now-than-in-2012-study-89969">Balancing work and tertiary study is harder now than in 2012: study</a>
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<h2>What’s the evidence on cheating?</h2>
<p>Evidence for whether online or face-to-face students are more likely to cheat is inconclusive.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10511250600866166">A 2006 paper</a>, for example, found more cheating in online classes than courses using traditional lectures.</p>
<p>Other studies, some looking at <a href="https://www.healio.com/nursing/journals/jcen/2010-11-41-11/%7B4b84effd-7567-4a90-b891-954dd6e0ee41%7D/academic-integrity-in-an-online-registered-nurse-to-baccalaureate-in-nursing-program">specific disciplines</a> and others at <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09639280802044568">general student populations</a>, found <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ864302">less cheating online</a>.</p>
<p>In yet <a href="http://people.missouristate.edu/ardenmiller/swpa12.pdf">another study</a>, students who took only online classes were less likely to cheat than students who took only face-to-face classes.</p>
<p>This is consistent with Swinburne’s experience. Based on internal (unpublished) figures from 2016 and 2017, online students were ten times less likely to be involved in academic misconduct, including exam violations, compared to their on-campus counterparts. </p>
<p>These figures may simply mean the design of online courses makes it more difficult for students to plagiarise. Alternatively, it may just mean we’re better at detecting plagiarism when it happens face-to-face, rather than online.</p>
<h2>If not online students, who then?</h2>
<p>So other factors seem to be more important in academic integrity than how courses are delivered – in particular, a student’s age.</p>
<p>We know students aged 25 or over <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03075079.2018.1462788?needAccess=true">are less likely</a> to engage in academic misconduct, like sharing work. And, as <a href="http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1501&context=jutlp">online students are generally older than their on-campus peers</a>, this could explain how some researchers have found they’re less likely to cheat.</p>
<p>At Swinburne, there are about five times as many students who are over the age of 25 as under. The average age of online students is 32.</p>
<p>Of course, it may be that older students are more accomplished at concealing cheating, but this seems unlikely. </p>
<p>Swinburne’s experience backs <a href="https://www.teqsa.gov.au/sites/g/files/net2046/f/good-practice-note-addressing-contract-cheating.pdf?v=1507082628">other research</a> that shows younger students are more likely to cheat and engage in more “collaborative cheating” — like copying another student’s work and submitting it as their own — compared with their older peers.</p>
<p>But we need to be careful not to reinforce stereotypes. As anyone who has sat on disciplinary panels will know, academic cheats come in many shapes, sizes, disciplinary cohorts and ages.</p>
<h2>How do we support a culture of academic integrity?</h2>
<p>Universities certainly need to update and adapt their approach to academic integrity to suit online teaching, technological changes and globalisation.</p>
<p>For instance, this may mean <a href="https://cheatingandassessment.edu.au/">changing assessments</a> to reduce the likelihood of cheating. Students may need to demonstrate solutions to problems in-person or via video. And it means using text-matching software to minimise <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2018.1462788">contract cheating</a>, where students outsource their assessment to third parties.</p>
<p>However, the overall approach needs to be the same, regardless of how courses are delivered. We need to support and communicate to students about <a href="https://www.teqsa.gov.au/latest-news/publications/guidance-note-academic-integrity">an overarching culture of academic integrity</a>. This involves actively engaging with our students, explicitly teaching the norms of academic writing and research. </p>
<p>This might be achieved through compulsory modules covering academic integrity, providing academic support services, and regularly reinforcing messages about ethics as a key part of academic and professional life. </p>
<p>All this needs to be backed by appropriate policies and processes, including training and support for academic and professional staff. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/assessment-design-wont-stop-cheating-but-our-relationships-with-students-might-76394">Assessment design won’t stop cheating, but our relationships with students might</a>
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<p>We need to move beyond the idea that online courses are beset by academic integrity problems, or we need special measures to “fix” online learning. Online learning is, itself, not necessarily a contributing factor to an increase in academic misconduct.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98936/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Pilgrim works for Swinburne University which offers online courses</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Scanlon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Online students tend to be older, which might explain why new data suggest they’re less likely to cheat. But even with these data, the evidence is mixed.Chris Pilgrim, Pro vice-chancellor (Education and Quality), Swinburne University of TechnologyChristopher Scanlon, Associate Director, Learning Transformations and Enhancement, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/854072017-10-11T08:55:52Z2017-10-11T08:55:52ZHow to stop cheating in universities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189734/original/file-20171011-16636-1luj7xr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent <a href="http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Plagiarism-in-Higher-Education-2016.pdf">investigation into plagiarism in higher education</a> by the Quality Assurance Agency found hundreds of companies are regularly producing papers for students to pass off as their own. </p>
<p>And only last year, an advertising campaign saw posters for an essay mill <a href="https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind1604&L=PLAGIARISM&P=R82&1=PLAGIARISM&9=A&I=-3&J=on&d=No+Match%3BMatch%3BMatches&z=4">prominently placed around the London Underground</a> – particularly at tube stops near university campuses.</p>
<p>Often involving students paying hundreds of pounds for written-to-order papers, this behaviour became known as “contract cheating” <a href="http://www.plagiarism.org/assets/Clarke2_fullpaper2006.pdf">after research I published in 2006</a>. It remains one of the major challenges in preserving academic integrity across higher education.</p>
<p>This is why the university standards watchdog has issued new government backed guidance to help address the issue. The new guidelines urge universities to ban essay mills from advertising on campus and block their websites, which the universities minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/oct/09/universities-urged-to-block-essay-mill-sites-in-plagiarism-crackdown">Jo Johnson has said will help</a> prevent “unacceptable and pernicious” cheating at universities.</p>
<p>While some of these services blatantly advertise that they will complete work for students, the majority do not position themselves as contract cheating sites. Instead, they promote themselves using terms such as “academic writing services”, or say they will provide “original model answers” to students. </p>
<p>These services are commonly referred to as “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essay_mill">essay mills</a>” but do not restrict themselves to just writing essays. An enterprising student could pay to have a set of presentation slides completed for them, along with speaker notes. A student in my academic discipline, computer science, could even hire a third party to optimise a database.</p>
<h2>A global issue</h2>
<p>But this isn’t just something that happens in the UK. As my own research shows, <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/ThomasLancaster/international-perspectives-on-contract-cheating-staffordshire-university-staff-research-conference-23-may-2017">contract cheating is an international problem</a>. </p>
<p>Recently in Australia, the records of one essay mill, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3100481/Students-used-MyMaster-essay-pass-courses-degrees-revoked.html">MyMaster</a>, were <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/students-enlist-mymaster-website-to-write-essays-assignments-20141110-11k0xg.html">accessed by the media</a>. The records showed that <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/mymaster-essay-cheating-scandal-more-than-70-university-students-face-suspension-20150312-1425oe.html">around 1,000 students from 16 universities</a> paid to have work done for them. This included having assessments written for them and examinations taken on their behalf.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189735/original/file-20171011-16657-1rlef17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189735/original/file-20171011-16657-1rlef17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189735/original/file-20171011-16657-1rlef17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189735/original/file-20171011-16657-1rlef17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189735/original/file-20171011-16657-1rlef17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189735/original/file-20171011-16657-1rlef17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189735/original/file-20171011-16657-1rlef17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Contract cheating is a global issue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My <a href="http://www.plagiarism.cz/seeppai">research across southeastern Europe</a> has also shown that contract cheating is not reserved to the English speaking world either. Students there have reported seeing adverts for essay mills on social media and pinned to noticeboards around campus. </p>
<h2>National interventions</h2>
<p>For the sector to really demonstrate resilience against contract cheating, national interventions are necessary. These are now beginning to emerge, particularly in the form of guidelines from sector bodies designed to assure the quality of courses.</p>
<p>Like the UK, the <a href="http://www.teqsa.gov.au/news-publications/good-practice-note-addressing-contract-cheating-safeguard-academic-integrity">Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency in Australia</a> has also recently provided guidelines on contract cheating for universities.</p>
<p>The University Grants Commission in India has also <a href="https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/8864815_UGC-Public-Notice-on-Draft-UGC-Regulations,-2017.pdf">issued a public notice</a> providing draft guidance on academic integrity. This includes a zero tolerance approach to plagiarism in some key subjects.</p>
<p>But despite these steps forward in a few countries, issuing national level guidance does not yet seem to be on the agenda for most. Ongoing research looking at around 200 countries and the guidance they offer on <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20171006145505882">contract cheating and academic integrity</a> suggests that very few have useful guidelines. </p>
<p>This is something that needs to change. Because it is only by working across local, national and global levels that universities can successfully ensure the value of academic awards.</p>
<h2>A growing problem</h2>
<p>I have worked as a researcher in the field of plagiarism, student cheating and academic integrity since 2000. And the issue of contract cheating remains at the forefront of everything that I do.</p>
<p>Over the years, I have seen this issue grow. From focus groups I’ve conducted, I know that some students consider access to hired essay writers as being just a standard part of university life. I’ve even experienced students admitting to writing essays for their peers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189737/original/file-20171011-16653-he1n25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189737/original/file-20171011-16653-he1n25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189737/original/file-20171011-16653-he1n25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189737/original/file-20171011-16653-he1n25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189737/original/file-20171011-16653-he1n25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189737/original/file-20171011-16653-he1n25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189737/original/file-20171011-16653-he1n25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changing the way students are assessed can help.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But I have also seen how <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-287-079-7_17-1">changes in the way students are assessed and tested can make a difference</a> in this area. Rather than a majority of marks hinging on one essay, I have experienced first hand how a more continuous form of assessment can better help students to develop a rounded set of skills – which ultimately makes them more ready for their subsequent employment.</p>
<p>Despite this, contract cheating services continue to be visible. And teaching interventions are not able to keep pace with the wider ways in which students can commit academic misconduct.</p>
<p>Every indication suggests that today’s students are aware of the service essay mills claim to provide. With the financial pressures of university seeing many students having to fund themselves with part-time employment, the essay mills may find themselves with yet more customers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85407/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Lancaster has previously received funding from the Council of Europe to research and promote academic integrity. He has previously received funding from the Higher Education Academy to establish the UK contract cheating special interest group.</span></em></p>Changes to student assessment can help to reduce the potential for academic misconduct.Thomas Lancaster, Associate Dean, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/763942017-05-11T19:22:23Z2017-05-11T19:22:23ZAssessment design won’t stop cheating, but our relationships with students might<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168526/original/file-20170509-20738-5mqj58.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">University students can cheat on any type of assessment.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cheating-during-exam-150108239?src=AvGeTyquT-3eF_rKFXeWZw-1-16">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Changes in the higher education sector have created the perfect environment for students to cheat - and get away with it. </p>
<p><a href="https://cheatingandassessment.edu.au/">New research</a> shows that can students cheat on virtually any type of assessment. </p>
<p>So why is this the case, and can anything be done to prevent cheating?</p>
<h2>Why is it so easy for students to cheat?</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://cheatingandassessment.edu.au/">nation-wide research project</a> funded by the Australian government’s now defunct Office for Learning and Teaching, investigated the phenomenon known as contract cheating.</p>
<p>Contract cheating is where students arrange for an assessment to be completed by a third party. This can be an acquaintance or commercial provider.</p>
<p>While cheating is not a new problem, what is new is the increase of online, commercial cheating sites that target naïve or vulnerable students. </p>
<p>This trend is emerging in the context of increasing competition, <a href="http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/607/bok%253A978-981-287-098-8.pdf?originUrl=http%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Fbook%2F10.1007%2F978-981-287-098-8&token2=exp=1493619862%7Eacl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F607%2Fbok%25253A978-981-287-098-8.pdf%3ForiginUrl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Flink.springer.com%252Fbook%252F10.1007%252F978-981-287-098-8*%7Ehmac=1fbecc92094e6cb3b9824c8143535d8c092a1c967719730a5526277043991207">commercialisation</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201504/r1414622_20289958.pdf">corruption</a>, cost-cutting, casualisation and credentialism in higher education. </p>
<p>This creates a “perfect storm” that increasingly positions learning as a transaction. Contract cheating can therefore be seen as a symptom of a strained system.</p>
<p>15,000 survey responses from students at 12 higher education providers found that <a href="https://cheatingandassessment.edu.au/resources/">6% of students</a> report using one or more of the five cheating behaviours investigated. These included:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Obtaining a completed assignment with the intention of submitting it as their own work</p></li>
<li><p>Providing assistance in an exam</p></li>
<li><p>Receiving assistance in an exam</p></li>
<li><p>Completing an exam for another student </p></li>
<li><p>Outsourcing an exam to another student.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>International students, those who speak a language other than English (LOTE), and engineering students were over-represented in the cheating group. </p>
<p>Students actually rarely use professional services to cheat. They are more likely to get assistance from those they know – fellow students, friends and family.</p>
<h2>Why do students cheat?</h2>
<p>Despite media reports claiming otherwise, students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds did not affect their views about the wrongness of cheating. </p>
<p>More importantly, students in the cheating group expressed significantly lower levels of satisfaction with three key aspects of the teaching and learning environment:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Staff ensure that students understand assignment requirements</p></li>
<li><p>Staff provide sufficient assessment feedback</p></li>
<li><p>Staff can be approached for assistance when needed. </p></li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168537/original/file-20170509-11023-18hda0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168537/original/file-20170509-11023-18hda0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168537/original/file-20170509-11023-18hda0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168537/original/file-20170509-11023-18hda0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168537/original/file-20170509-11023-18hda0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168537/original/file-20170509-11023-18hda0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168537/original/file-20170509-11023-18hda0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Based on survey responses from students at 12 higher education providers, research found that 6% report cheating.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/inline?url=http://download.shutterstock.com/gatekeeper/W3siZSI6MTQ5NDM0MjcwNSwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTk4OTE3NjU3IiwiayI6InBob3RvLzE5ODkxNzY1Ny9odWdlLmpwZyIsIm0iOiIxIiwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCJUT3pOZ3UweGJzeC9EL1pLREVoTWxCWFlLbTQiXQ/shutterstock_198917657.jpg">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What can we do about it?</h2>
<p>Unlike other components of teaching and learning (such as course/assessment design, academic integrity education, grading processes), these three items form an individualised and personal relationship between the teacher and student. </p>
<p>Without this, some students may be more tempted to cheat. </p>
<p>To foster such a relationship, teachers should be available to students for learning help and support. They need to clarify assessment requirements through succinct task instructions, scaffolding, interactive discussion and rubrics. </p>
<p>Teachers should also provide constructive, meaningful and timely feedback for each student. The particular needs of International and LOTE students should also be recognised.</p>
<p>This kind of student-teacher relationship is important when it comes to detecting contract cheating. </p>
<p>Data from 1,200 responses to the staff survey indicated that the most common signal to suspect an outsourced assignment is teachers’ knowledge of their student’s academic or language ability. Other tools such as text-matching software remain useful, but are secondary.</p>
<p>Regardless of the method used, very few cases are actually detected. And even when they are, the penalties are generally very lenient. </p>
<p>The most common outcome for outsourced assignments was a warning or counselling, and only 3% of cases resulted in suspension. </p>
<p>Around one third of the time staff are not informed of academic integrity investigations. This may make them less likely to refer future cheating cases.</p>
<h2>Assessment design is not the solution to cheating</h2>
<p>Survey responses and other data investigated by the project provide an evidence base to debunk the myth that assessment design will solve the problem of contract cheating.</p>
<p>Analysis of students’ orders on commercial cheat sites demonstrated that they are willing to outsource every type of assessment. This includes traditional essays through to reflections, practicums and dissertations.</p>
<p>Analysis of detected contract cheating incidents at two universities also confirmed that no assignment type is immune. </p>
<p>While contract cheating cannot be “designed out” of a course, this does not excuse teachers from thinking carefully about assessment design. </p>
<p>The focus should be on designing assessment that makes the best of learning, rather than reduces the risk of contract cheating. </p>
<p>As previous commentators have noted, assessment remains just one aspect of a <a href="http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/690/chp%253A10.1007%252F978-981-287-098-8_38.pdf?originUrl=http%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Freferenceworkentry%2F10.1007%2F978-981-287-098-8_38&token2=exp=1493619389%7Eacl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F690%2Fchp%25253A10.1007%25252F978-981-287-098-8_38.pdf%3ForiginUrl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Flink.springer.com%252Freferenceworkentry%252F10.1007%252F978-981-287-098-8_38*%7Ehmac=f3aafd2c66d18dc27e88287828f604ab76ea84ce9ce92349a467757bcf56808a">multi-pronged</a> and <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001574">holistic approach</a> to strengthen academic integrity. </p>
<p>Teachers have a responsibility to establish personalised teaching and learning relationships, and carefully design assessments. However, all higher education providers need to ensure that there are appropriate and consistently implemented processes of detection, reporting, and communication of outcomes to both staff and students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracey Bretag and Rowena Harper received funding for this project from the Australian Government Department of Education and Training (formerly the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching) - Project ID SP16-5283. Project team members include: Cath Ellis (UNSW), Karen van Haeringen (Griffith University), Pearl Rozenberg (University of Sydney), Phil Newton (Swansea University, Wales), Sonia Saddiqui (University of South Australia). Thanks also to our colleagues Saadia Mahmud and Ian Zucker.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rowena Harper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It doesn’t matter how assessments are given to students, as students can still find a way to cheat.Tracey Bretag, Associate Professor; Director: Academic Integrity, University of South AustraliaRowena Harper, Associate Director: Curriculum Development and Support, Teaching Innovation Unit, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/711322017-01-31T09:49:10Z2017-01-31T09:49:10ZEverything you need to know about fake degrees and the ‘universities’ awarding them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154813/original/image-20170130-7675-1laeekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>Would you be fooled into thinking that the University of Devonshire existed? How would you like to own a qualification from the University of Wexford? Or does graduating from the University of Palmers Green appeal? </p>
<p>These were all trading names of the <a href="http://www.hep.uiuc.edu/home/g-gollin/diploma_mills.pdf">University Degree Programme</a>, set up with websites looking like they were licensed universities. Thankfully, these fake institutions have all long since been shut down, though the qualifications they issued may still be in use. </p>
<p>And this is only the tip of iceberg, because new fake universities appear all the time. The process to set up a fake university can be easy – a convincing domain name with an educational website installed from a template should do it. And with the addition of relevant text, sometimes plagiarised directly from a real university website, the deception is complete. </p>
<p>Recently, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38494664">more than 40 websites awarding fraudulent</a> and worthless degrees to UK students were closed down as part of a higher education crackdown. The websites allowed those desperate enough, to fork out money for a fake certificate, which would state they had achieved anything up to doctorate level qualifications.</p>
<p>Many of the websites shut down by the <a href="https://hedd.ac.uk">Higher Education Degree Datacheck</a> used names close to those of real universities – such as the supposed “Stafford University”. This seemingly operated on the laurels of the legitimate Staffordshire University.</p>
<h2>Genuine fake</h2>
<p>During my 15 years working in academic integrity research, I’ve come across many methods students use to claim qualifications they don’t deserve. <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-exams-the-way-to-beat-cheats-buying-contract-essays-32399">My work on contract cheating</a>, where students pay others to complete their assessments, revealed a network of students looking to build up their degree one fake assignment at a time. Buying a whole qualification outright goes beyond this, circumventing any chance that students have of learning.</p>
<p>Fake universities and diploma mills operate with different levels of subtlety and sophistication. Some fake universities claim to be able to issue awards based on “life experience”. For a fee, they allow people to demonstrate that they’ve already gained the skills needed for a qualification – and they issue a certificate to prove this. </p>
<p>Other fake universities set their site up to look like a real university. Some issue assignments to students. The assignments may never be marked, but could fool people into thinking they were taking a legitimate course. Many fake universities dispense with pretence and just ask for payment for an award.</p>
<p>But a more elaborate business model used by a small group of fake universities has also emerged. These offer subscriptions where they keep up the pretence that their fake qualifications are legitimate. They have also <a href="http://www.degreemills.com">been found to offer services</a> to verify that qualifications they awarded exist, accompanied by fake job references.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154814/original/image-20170130-7649-l8mcst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154814/original/image-20170130-7649-l8mcst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=699&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154814/original/image-20170130-7649-l8mcst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=699&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154814/original/image-20170130-7649-l8mcst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=699&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154814/original/image-20170130-7649-l8mcst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154814/original/image-20170130-7649-l8mcst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154814/original/image-20170130-7649-l8mcst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fake it till you make it?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s also possible to buy a fake degree certificate for a real university. This certificate often looks identical to the real thing. Fraudsters with access to high quality printing equipment can produce these to order. They can even include the elaborate seals and holograms found on the real documents. </p>
<p>Some sites claim that these certificates are just “novelty items”, but there is no text on the purchased certificates to suggest such a thing. And it is possible for individuals with desktop publishing skills and access to templates or photographs of real degree certificates to knock up their own convincing fake versions.</p>
<h2>Reputational damage</h2>
<p>With employability at the forefront of many universities, it is the link with the commercial world where the danger of fake degrees needs to be keenly considered. Once an employer has taken on a graduate worker who cannot deliver, they will not wish to engage with that university in the future. Fake degrees bring with them a clear risk of damage to university reputation.</p>
<p>As a sector, we need to do more to combat fake universities and fake degrees.
The important work undertaken by the Higher Education Degree Datacheck is a good start, but awareness needs to go further. Every university needs to know about the imposters trading on its name, as well as the sites offering fake qualifications claiming to be from that university.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154815/original/image-20170130-7685-1pl7hap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154815/original/image-20170130-7685-1pl7hap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154815/original/image-20170130-7685-1pl7hap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154815/original/image-20170130-7685-1pl7hap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154815/original/image-20170130-7685-1pl7hap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154815/original/image-20170130-7685-1pl7hap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154815/original/image-20170130-7685-1pl7hap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">It’s not just universities that are suffering.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Employers too need to shoulder some responsibility when recruiting staff. They should not just take every candidate and every document at face value. UK universities offer a service where qualifications can be verified. Some offer this verification directly. Other universities refer employers to the Higher Education Degree Datacheck or similar services that have been set up for this purpose.</p>
<p>Continued alertness and vigilance is needed to preserve academic integrity. We need to stop fake universities trading on commodities that they’re not licensed to award.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Lancaster runs the Contract Cheating Special Interest Group, which received a small initial grant for startup costs from the Higher Education Academy (HEA).</span></em></p>Fake degrees are bad news for universities and employers.Thomas Lancaster, Associate Dean, Recruitment (Digital Technologies), Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.