Written by Misha Eleanya, Local Democracy Reporter.
With more students than ever utilising essay writing services for higher education submissions, the government is taking action and making the practice of offering paid essay writing services, a form of contract cheating, illegal.
Contract cheating is using services from a third party to write essays posed as a student, which is not permitted by university institutions. Essays can be ordered for a fee. These charges can range from £15 all the way to £7000 for PHDs and dissertations.
In 2018 a survey suggested almost 16% of university students have admitted to cheating for their essays through the use of these services. The numbers are believed to have increased significantly since then.
Pressure from effects from pandemic and advertisements are increasing the likelihood that university students will turn pre written essay arrangements.
There are growing concerns about the authenticity of work that university students are expected to produce. Students have been urged to consider the long term affects these actions will impact their knowledge and careers.
Universities minister Jo Johnson stated that “Mr Johnson said this form of cheating “not only undermines standards in our world-class universities, but devalues the hard-earned qualifications of those who don’t cheat and can even, when it leads to graduates practising with inadequate professional skills, endanger the lives of others”.
Image courtesy of Misha Eleanya
QAA executive Douglass Blackstock comments, “paying someone else to write essays is wrong and should damage their career.” Vice President of education at the university of west London also believes it will “help with the quality of education”
The National Union of Students is now launching a campaign to combat essay cheating. There are hope that this will restore the quality of higher education learning and ultimately fulfilled careers.