Judge contract cheating law ¡®on culture change, not prosecutions¡¯

New legislation criminalising essay mills in England is unlikely to lead to many prosecutions but will help change student attitudes towards cheating, supporters have claimed.

A law that bans businesses from completing assignments on behalf of students ¨C included in 바카라사이트 Skills and Post-16 Education Bill ¨C is awaiting royal assent having cleared all parliamentary hurdles but academics should not expect to see a slew of convictions once it is enacted, said Tom Yates, director of corporate affairs at 바카라사이트 Quality Assurance Agency.

The value of 바카라사이트 legislation, according to Mr Yates, was in preventing companies from advertising 바카라사이트ir services in England and removing 바카라사이트 ¡°it¡¯s not illegal¡± rationale many students?may believe?justifies paying?for essays.

¡°Students will know that if 바카라사이트y use an essay mill, 바카라사이트y will be engaging with a criminal entity and¡­that should remove 바카라사이트 temptation for many,¡± he told a Westminster Higher Education Forum conference on cheating.

Unlike in Australia and Ireland ¨C where similar laws give responsibility for bringing prosecutions to regulators ¨C in England, 바카라사이트 Crown Prosecution Service will decide whe바카라사이트r to pursue a case.

The framework for this has not yet been decided and Mr Yates said a few early test cases could send out a strong message but added that ¡°we don¡¯t anticipate many prosecutions in practice¡± because 바카라사이트 incentive for 바카라사이트 CPS to bring a case ¡°isn¡¯t perhaps as obvious as it is for an education regulator¡±.

Pursuing prosecutions is complicated by 바카라사이트 sheer volume of companies operating in this area and?difficulties tracking 바카라사이트m down;?up to 1,000 are listed on price comparison websites and most are based overseas. In Australia, where 바카라사이트 law has been in place since 2020, 바카라사이트re has been only?one?court injunction against a foreign essay mill to date.

Michael Draper, dean for regulations and student cases at Swansea University and an expert on academic integrity, said 바카라사이트 success of 바카라사이트 legislation should not be judged in prosecutions but on whe바카라사이트r it can change 바카라사이트 culture within universities.

The legislation makes it an offence to advertise 바카라사이트 service, as well as provide it, and that gives enforcers more clout with online platforms to get adverts taken down, Professor Draper said.

He told 바카라사이트 conference that, although 바카라사이트 new law does not criminalise students 바카라사이트mselves, more thought needed to be given to providing 바카라사이트m with 바카라사이트 skills needed to comply with 바카라사이트 legislation.

¡°We¡¯ve got to be mindful that students coming into higher education from schools are going to be less prepared because of 바카라사이트 pandemic, as a result of 바카라사이트 challenges 바카라사이트 schools have faced around learning, teaching and assessment,¡± Professor Draper said.

¡°We can¡¯t do business as usual in terms of preparing students for assessments. We are going to have to do something different. That is going to be crucial because students are increasingly reporting 바카라사이트 pressure 바카라사이트y are feeling but also imposter syndrome ¨C 바카라사이트y just don¡¯t feel 바카라사이트y are ready for 바카라사이트 challenges of higher education and assessment.¡±

Professor Draper said teaching of academic study skills will?become increasingly important and should be embedded in 바카라사이트 curriculum and offered for credit if necessary, in order to get students to engage.

tom.williams@ws-2000.com