{"id":2036,"date":"2021-09-21T08:50:52","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T07:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/?p=2036"},"modified":"2026-04-02T08:54:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:54:02","slug":"we-need-to-talk-about-contract-cheating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/2021\/09\/21\/we-need-to-talk-about-contract-cheating\/","title":{"rendered":"We need to talk about Contract Cheating"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”on” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ specialty_columns=”2″][et_pb_row_inner locked=”off”][et_pb_column_inner type=”4_4″ saved_specialty_column_type=”2_3″][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”3.17.6″ featured_placement=”above” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” featured_image=”off” comments=”off” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″ background_layout=”light” parent_locked=”off”]<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/b>Emma Sanders is\u00a0a\u00a0Teaching and Learning Adviser in the Institute of Teaching and Learning\u00a0(ITL).\u00a0Rhea\u00a0Poonevala\u00a0was one of the ITL\u2019s first Student Partners\u00a0in\u00a02020 and\u00a0is currently\u00a0a student on the BSc (Hons) IT with Business (ITMB) programme.\u00a0Together they ensured a range of student voices\u00a0fed into\u00a0the work of the Contract Cheating Task and Finish Group.\u00a0In this article, Emma reflects on their investigation into\u00a0contract cheating at the\u00a0University<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0discusses the findings with\u00a0Rhea.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The University\u2019s Contract Cheating Task & Finish Group (CCTG)<\/a>\u00a0convened for the first time\u00a0in April 2020, with a\u00a0remit to\u00a0agree\u00a0what\u00a0support\u00a0staff\u00a0and students\u00a0require\u00a0in order\u00a0to\u00a0raise awareness and understanding\u00a0about\u00a0this\u00a0specific\u00a0form of academic\u00a0malpractice.<\/p>\n

Our own Professors Dave Schultz (Faculty of Science and Engineering) and Dan Rigby (Humanities) had\u00a0already\u00a0published papers on\u00a0information literacy<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0the \u2018market\u2019 in essays<\/a>\u00a0respectively, and the group\u00a0brought them together with academic representation from the Faculty of Biology, Medicine, and Health, as well as\u00a0staff working across\u00a0My Learning Essentials, Student Engagement, Student Conduct and Discipline\u00a0(at university and faculty levels), and the Student Union\u2019s Education Officer.<\/p>\n

Rhea joined the group as a Student Partner in June 2020, having just completed her first\u00a0year as an\u00a0undergraduate.\u00a0Rhea explains\u00a0how\u00a0\u201cwhen\u00a0I was first introduced to the project, I had never come across the term\u00a0\u2018contract cheating\u2019. After\u00a0researching it, I understood that\u00a0it\u00a0is the practice of engaging a third party to write an assignment on your behalf.\u00a0It\u00a0usually\u00a0involves\u00a0payment, which\u00a0makes the cheating deliberate, pre-planned and intentional, despite being\u00a0unethical\u00a0\u2013\u00a0to the point that selling essays has been made\u00a0<\/i>illegal in some countries<\/i><\/a>.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Although\u00a0I had experience of supporting malpractice panels,\u00a0I had no idea that selling assignments is now a\u00a0massive\u00a0industry\u00a0that markets\u00a0aggressively\u00a0to students.\u00a0When it comes to contract cheating, there\u00a0are so many angles to\u00a0consider, and\u00a0we had to\u00a0work\u00a0quickly and\u00a0closely together\u00a0in order\u00a0to\u00a0understand the\u00a0phenomenon and\u00a0put\u00a0some measures\u00a0in place in time for\u00a0September.\u00a0It was an involved and absorbing project.\u00a0The Quality Assurance Agency\u2019s reports\u00a0were a hugely helpful source of condensed information,\u00a0and\u00a0Phill Dawson, a\u00a0Professor at Deakin University\u00a0in\u00a0Melbourne,\u00a0is a specialist\u00a0on\u00a0this topic:\u00a0he\u2019s a regular speaker\u00a0at conferences, and\u00a0his webpage<\/a>, Linkedin<\/a>,\u00a0papers<\/a>\u00a0and monograph are all\u00a0really useful.<\/p>\n

Working with Rhea was easily one of the most rewarding parts of the project. Once\u00a0briefed,\u00a0she very quickly took over the running of a series of focus groups; from\u00a0recruiting and selecting participants,\u00a0devising\u00a0activities\u00a0to elicit their thoughts\u00a0within the sessions, to\u00a0delivering them online, she really hit the ground running.\u00a0Doing everything via email and\u00a0Zoom\u00a0meant that Rhea\u00a0working from\u00a0Bangkok\u00a0while I was in\u00a0Stockport wasn\u2019t an issue.<\/p>\n

As for the findings, the CCTFG were\u00a0blown away\u00a0with the richness of the data Rhea had collected and the concise way she presented\u00a0the students\u2019 views<\/a>. Rhea\u00a0even\u00a0agreed to tutor\u00a0me\u00a0on how to use Canvas afterwards!\u00a0In short,\u00a0we realised that tackling this problem\u00a0is everybody\u2019s responsibility.\u00a0All our findings indicated that\u00a0contract cheating\u00a0should\u00a0be tackled holistically,\u00a0through promoting a culture of\u00a0academic\u00a0integrity.\u00a0Our students said\u00a0that\u00a0\u201c[the] implications of contract cheating should\u00a0be made clear,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0that they thought\u00a0\u201cthe\u00a0University should talk more about it because it\u2019s never discussed or discouraged by\u00a0lecturers\u201d.<\/i><\/p>\n

We\u00a0advocate a two-pronged\u00a0Campaign and Train<\/b>\u00a0approach:\u00a0campaigning\u00a0which\u00a0focusses\u00a0on awareness and discussions around ethics, supported by training in skills such as information literacy and critical thinking,\u00a0in addition to\u00a0the usual\u00a0note-making and referencing.\u00a0We\u00a0\u2013 at all levels of the institution \u2013 need to\u00a0develop and implement a year-long programme of student-facing messaging and resources,\u00a0which begin\u00a0at Welcome and Induction,\u00a0if not before\u00a0students even arrive at the University\u00a0\u2013\u00a0informed by the\u00a0recommendations proposed by\u00a0the\u00a0CCTFG Student Focus Groups<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0July 2020.<\/p>\n

To support our staff in having these conversations,\u00a0the\u00a0CCTFG produced the\u00a0<\/b>Contract Cheating Toolkit<\/a>.\u00a0This covers\u00a0Prevention,\u00a0Detection\u00a0and\u00a0Action,\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0offers\u00a0insight into\u00a0the question of\u00a0why students plagiarise and cheat.\u00a0While there is no debate that cheating is wrong, it\u2019s important to remember that\u00a0the majority of\u00a0our students\u00a0would agree, and to discuss the issue with sensitivity.\u00a0The QAA report that\u00a0\u201cessay\u00a0mill marketing seeks to exploit students who are feeling vulnerable or anxious, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0These companies\u00a0directly\u00a0target students\u2019 university\u00a0email accounts to sell their services,\u00a0and\u00a0it isn\u2019t\u00a0always clear that their use is not legitimate.\u00a0This WonkHE article<\/a>\u202fhighlights the dangers students face and how they can be exploited.\u00a0Seen through this lens,\u00a0it is\u00a0as much a safeguarding issue as it is a conduct and discipline issue.<\/p>\n

After that period of intense activity over\u00a0the\u00a0summer of 2020, the CCTFG agreed to reconvene in a year\u2019s time to review progress and determine\u00a0the\u00a0next steps. So,\u00a0we\u00a0will\u00a0be\u00a0regrouping later this month.\u00a0There is still\u00a0much to do.\u00a0We\u2019ll be working\u00a0with\u00a0the Student Conduct and Discipline Committee (SCDC),\u00a0and as part of this ongoing work the CCTFG\u00a0would love to hear from colleagues\u00a0about\u00a0any local\u00a0initiatives or\u00a0resources,\u00a0and\u00a0would welcome\u00a0case studies<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0blog posts<\/a>\u00a0about\u00a0our colleagues\u2019\u00a0experiences.<\/p>\n

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If you are interested in\u00a0finding out more on\u00a0topic of contract cheating or you\u2019d like to be involved with our ongoing work, you can contact Emma through the Institute of Teaching and Learning via email at teaching.learning@manchester.ac.uk.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h5>\n
Resources\u00a0and training which may be of interest:<\/b><\/h5>\n