Integrity Shelf

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Topic

contract cheating

Contract cheating means a student gets someone else to produce work that is then submitted as their own, often for payment. The research on this page looks at the market, at how often students report it, and at how institutions respond.

To see how often students report it, start with a review of earlier prevalence studies. Its figures are what students said in surveys. The review reports higher rates in samples from 2014 onwards, and it thinks the figures are probably under-reported. An investigation of custom essay sites reports how some of them operate and identifies three business models.

The other papers are surveys, commentaries, policy analyses and case studies. Surveys ask students why they avoid outsourcing or where they turn when they do it. Policy analyses ask whether policies name the practice at all. A case study of a university writing programme reports fewer detected plagiarism cases afterwards, though its data could not show any effect on contract cheating.

  1. Frontiers in EducationReview

    How Common Is Commercial Contract Cheating in Higher Education and Is It Increasing? A Systematic Review

    Philip M. Newton

    Across 71 samples from 65 studies, a review reports that 3.52% of students on average said they had used contract cheating, rising to 15.7% since 2014, or about 31 million students worldwide.

    For teaching The review says self-reported contract cheating has risen in recent samples, but figures are probably under-reported, so treat them as rough.

    Core reading Free to read

  2. The International Journal of Management EducationCommentary

    Who wrote this? Essay mills and assessment - Considerations regarding contract cheating and AI in higher education

    Simon Sweeney

    How might assessment design and feedback reduce misconduct involving essay mills and AI? Drawing on experience at a UK business school, the article explores options and wider ethical questions for universities.

    For teaching Offers assessment and feedback ideas drawn from one UK business school's experience; no test of them is reported.

    Core reading Free to read

  3. International Journal for Educational IntegrityCase study

    Reducing plagiarism through academic misconduct education

    Mike Perkins, Ulas Basar Gezgin, Jasper Roe

    From university records, the authors report a 37.01% fall in detected plagiarism after an academic English programme began, plagiarised work at 3.46% of submissions, and too little data to judge contract cheating.

    For teaching A dedicated academic writing programme may be worth weighing as one prevention measure, going by the misconduct records reported.

    Core reading Free to read

  4. International Journal for Educational IntegrityCommentary

    Academic integrity matters: five considerations for addressing contract cheating

    Erica J. Morris

    Universities are being urged to respond to contract cheating, sometimes through law. The paper argues for a broader integrity strategy and sets out five areas for institutions to consider, drawing on earlier research.

    For teaching Could frame a department review of assessment design and staff development around outsourced work, as recommendations drawn from earlier research.

    Core reading Free to read

  5. International Journal for Educational IntegrityPolicy analysis

    Academic integrity and contract cheating policy analysis of colleges in Ontario, Canada

    Brenda M. Stoesz, Sarah Elaine Eaton, Jennifer Miron and 1 other

    How clearly do college policies address contract cheating? The authors analysed written policies from Ontario colleges and report that direct language on contract cheating was largely missing and the underlying principles were poorly defined.

    For teaching Checking whether a policy names contract cheating and defines its principles may be worthwhile, going by one province's colleges.

    Core reading Free to read

  6. British Educational Research JournalCase study

    Contract cheating in UK higher education: A covert investigation of essay mills

    Dominic Medway, Stuart Roper, Leah Gillooly

    Essay mills, seen from the supply side. The authors approached five providers undercover and bought work from two, then report ten reassurance cues on the sites and inconsistent stances on misconduct.

    For teaching May help when talking with students about why essay mill offers can appeal, drawing on the reassurance cues the authors found on provider websites.

    Core reading Free to read

  7. Educational PolicyPolicy analysis

    Academic Integrity Policies of Publicly Funded Universities in Western Canada

    Brenda M. Stoesz, Sarah Elaine Eaton

    Integrity policies at 24 public universities in western Canada lean mostly towards punishment, the authors report after analysing 45 documents, and only one names contract cheating as such.

    For teaching A prompt for a department to compare its own policy with the authors' finding that educative support was thin, keeping in mind it covers one region.

    Free to read

  8. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced LearningCase study

    Contract cheating: an increasing challenge for global academic community arising from COVID-19

    Guzyal Hill, Jon Mason, Alex Dunn

    The pandemic move to online assessment gave contract cheating more openings, the authors report, from $50 COVID-19 discounts to paid tutors sitting online exams, and they call for action beyond single universities.

    For teaching Points to pandemic-era offers aimed at online exams, as the authors report them, which may be worth knowing when planning remote assessment.

    Free to read

  10. Frontiers in PsychologySurvey

    Why Students Do Not Engage in Contract Cheating

    Kiata Rundle, Guy J. Curtis, Joseph Clare

    Why do most students not pay others to complete their assessments? In a survey of 1291 students, the authors report that wanting to learn and personal morals were the reasons most endorsed.

    For teaching Assessment design and policy that support motivation to learn and limit opportunity may help, the authors propose, though the evidence is a self-report survey.

    Free to read

  11. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher EducationSurvey

    Assignment outsourcing: moving beyond contract cheating

    Rebecca Awdry

    Where do students turn when they outsource assignments? Using one survey tool across countries, the paper reports respondents named friends, family and peer-sharing sites more often than essay mills, with large differences by country.

    For teaching Prevention aimed only at essay mills may miss the friends, family and peer-sharing routes that respondents reported most often.