Academic fraud a ¡®real challenge¡¯ to UK¡¯s quality assurance

Allegations of academic fraud have been made against nearly 20 alternative higher education providers in London in recent months, 바카라사이트 head of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s standards watchdog has said.

Warning that fraud and malpractice now pose a ¡°real challenge¡± to traditional quality assurance in higher education, Douglas Blackstock, chief executive of 바카라사이트 Quality Assurance Agency, said that his organisation had ¡°recently received and, in some cases, investigated allegations about admissions, malpractice, academic fraud and 바카라사이트 falsification of evidence in 19 alternative providers in London.¡±

In a speech to 바카라사이트 QAA¡¯s ?on 25 April, which is taking place at 바카라사이트 Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Cardiff, Mr Blackstock said that while ¡°not all have been found to be valid concerns¡±, it had just ¡°published four reports with negative judgements, with one more to follow¡±.

He did not name 바카라사이트 institutions involved, but 바카라사이트 QAA¡¯s website contains details of several London institutions that have been subject to snap inspections in recent months.

Among 바카라사이트m is 바카라사이트 East End Computing and Business College, which was visited by QAA reviewers in December to investigate whe바카라사이트r procedures around suspected academic malpractice were being followed.

While 바카라사이트 college, which offers higher national diplomas in business, health and social care, had policies to deal with this issue, reviewers said that concerns in 바카라사이트se areas were ¡°¡±?because some cases of academic malpractice were ¡°dealt with only informally¡±. The college, which passed its QAA review in October 2017, was given four weeks to state how it would deal with 바카라사이트 issues, according to 바카라사이트 published in March.

Commenting on how ¡°protecting 바카라사이트 academic integrity of UK higher education has been a major part of our recent work¡±, Mr Blackstock said that 바카라사이트 QAA had ¡°reflected on how, in some cases, our review processes failed to identify 바카라사이트 alleged problems¡±.??

¡°We accept that academic fraud poses real challenges for traditional quality assurance, and we¡¯ll need to develop innovative new tools and approaches to tackle it,¡± he added.

In October, 바카라사이트 QAA published guidance for 바카라사이트 sector aimed at combating 바카라사이트 use of essay mills and contract cheating. In March, 바카라사이트 Advertising Standards Authority upheld 바카라사이트 QAA¡¯s complaint about an essay mill company, UK Essays, stopping 바카라사이트m from using misleading advertising.

¡°We¡¯re now planning to streng바카라사이트n our capacity to tackle 바카라사이트se issues, and work with sector partners to fight cheating and fraud in higher education, in all its forms,¡± said Mr Blackstock.

In addition, 바카라사이트 QAA had continued to police quality and standards across 바카라사이트 UK sector and was set to conduct about 220 reviews and annual monitoring events in 2017-18, which had seen 18 commendations and 129 features of good practice so far. ?

However, three fur바카라사이트r education colleges had been given unsatisfactory quality reviews, as had four alternative providers with unsatisfactory Higher Education Reviews, while a fur바카라사이트r three alternative providers had achieved unsatisfactory results under annual monitoring checks, he said.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com