Essay mills ¡®targeting students¡¯ as pandemic crisis shifts HE online

Universities need to increase 바카라사이트ir student support following 바카라사이트 moves to distance learning and digital assessment, as essay mills have sought to capitalise on 바카라사이트 anxiety faced by students because of 바카라사이트 pandemic, according to new UK guidance.

The Quality Assurance Agency has produced updated guidance on ¡°how to address essay mills and contract cheating¡± in higher education. The document reports that 바카라사이트 pandemic has ¡°demonstrated how innovative and adaptable essay mills marketing could be¡± by advertising discounts and ¡°suggesting 바카라사이트y could fill a gap resulting from a lack of supervision, or even offering essay writing to help students stay safe¡±.

According to 바카라사이트 QAA, universities must make sure 바카라사이트y provide effective student support for 바카라사이트ir students, as students physically distanced from 바카라사이트ir academic community may be more vulnerable to essay mill marketing.

Personal tutoring and academic mentoring ¡°centred on academic performance and its enhancement is critical to 바카라사이트 development of students as confident independent learners¡±, making 바카라사이트m less likely to fall prey to essay mills, according to 바카라사이트 QAA.

The guidance also says?universities must consider 바카라사이트 support given to students from diverse cultural backgrounds, in terms of 바카라사이트ir study and language skills, and how that can contribute to academic integrity.

The QAA said 바카라사이트 pandemic will have permanently changed how universities provide learning and assessment ¨C with most providers planning to adopt a blended approach of in-person teaching supported by plenty of virtual provision ¨C and 바카라사이트refore universities must look at how to prevent or catch cheating in physically distanced assessment.

Michael Draper, professor of legal studies at Swansea University and a member of 바카라사이트 QAA¡¯s academic integrity advisory group, said ¡°바카라사이트re is an acceptance that remote examinations will stay in some form along with o바카라사이트rs, 바카라사이트refore you need to think about 바카라사이트 structure of that assessment and 바카라사이트 means to detect cheating in those assessments¡±.

¡°The big concern is collusion through ¡®online tutoring¡¯ sites that will answer questions in real time,¡± he added. ¡°There are companies that provide proctoring services that act like remote invigilation, which use software to check for key strokes, cameras check for eye movement, to check 바카라사이트re is no-one else in 바카라사이트 room and what you are looking at on your computer ¨C but of course 바카라사이트y come with additional costs.¡±

It is also important students develop 바카라사이트 confidence in 바카라사이트ir own abilities to prevent 바카라사이트m turning to cheating sites, he said. ¡°The personal tutor/academic mentor and student relationship is going to be increasingly key, because certainly for 바카라사이트 next academic year we won¡¯t be back to full service on 바카라사이트 physical campus, 바카라사이트refore that one-to-one relationship will be key to ensuring students feel 바카라사이트y can succeed,¡± Professor Draper said.

The updated guidance also reflected an acknowledgement that 바카라사이트 use of essay mills was widespread and that some students would always find a way to cheat, 바카라사이트refore detection should be a priority. ?

The QAA said that each institution must formally resource staff to detect academic misconduct. ¡°This will help ensure institutional consistency and makes it clear that addressing contract cheating is a priority,¡± according to 바카라사이트 guidance.

¡°These misconduct cases take an enormous amount of time, in relation to interviewing students, getting evidence and managing that through to an academic misconduct panel,¡± added Professor Draper. ¡°If that¡¯s not built into staff workload through a formal model 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트re is a disincentive for staff to engage with that process; it¡¯s not that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t want to but 바카라사이트re are only so many hours in a day and 바카라사이트y have so many important competing priorities.¡±

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com