The extent and reach of commercial cheating opportunities is ever present; thousands of websites promote differing business models offering assignments in multiple languages and currencies. In addition to commercial companies, students are known to outsource their assignments from friends and family. Assignment outsourcing and contract cheating…

Academic integrity lies "at the core of the reputation of Australia's world class higher education sector" (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), 2020). This pilot study analyses the dominant approach (punitive or educative) of academic integrity policies by selected institutions within the Australian state of Victoria…

Academic misconduct is a problem of growing concern across the tertiary education sector. While plagiarism has been the most common form of academic misconduct, the advent of software programs to detect plagiarism has seen the problem of misconduct simply mutate. As universities attempt to function in an increasingly complex environment, the…

Teaching staff play a pivotal role in the prevention, detection and management of cheating in higher education. They enact curriculum and assessment design strategies, identify and substantiate suspected cases, and are positioned by many as being on the 'front line' of a battle that threatens to undermine the integrity of higher education. Against…

Academic integrity is important, not just in the university setting but beyond, as students graduate and move into professional fields. Discrepancies in the understanding of what constitutes academic dishonesty exist between institutional policies, discipline areas and individual educators, which creates challenges for students trying to uphold…

Prevalence of contract cheating and outsourcing through organised methods has received interest in research studies aiming to determine the most suitable strategies to reduce the problem. Few studies have presented an international approach or tested which variables could be correlated with contract cheating. As a result, strategies to reduce…

This article reports on one aspect of a nationally funded research project on contract cheating in Australian higher education. The project explored students' and educators' experiences of contract cheating, and the contextual factors that may influence it. This article reports the key findings from non-university higher education providers…

This article presents a literature review of published research focused on challenging cheating in higher education. A brief overview of the literature on cheating in higher education is offered, showing the global interest in the topic, the varied ways in which it has been defined, and evidence on its incidence and causes. The range of methods…

Contract cheating is, potentially, a serious threat to the quality of higher education around the world. Prior research has focused on student perspectives and the companies themselves, but the staff view is poorly understood, despite staff being a major stakeholder with considerable influence over strategies designed to address contract cheating.…

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to provide background information to develop deeper awareness about contract cheating in Canada and generate conversations about possible legislative approaches to address this growing problem. Methods: A qualitative legal analysis of legislation from the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and US (17…

Work produced during a course of study in the creative arts may differ from assessment in other disciplines in the following ways: (1) it is non-text-based: work may consist of a performance, video recording, digital or interactive work, music composition, audio recording, or physical artefact; and (2) it is creative: works demonstrate individual…

Introduction: With a definition that is evolving, a serious component of the contract cheating issue involves individuals paying a third-party to complete assessment items for them and then submitting this work as if it were their own. The issue of contract cheating poses a significant problem for tertiary institutions. The research literature…

Plagiarism has been characterised as a "major problem" for universities. While tensions between students and universities are inevitable, the problem with the existing system of plagiarism management and prevention is that it operates to problematise the relationship between the university and the student, rather than address the core…

International students experience unique challenges that place them at risk for academic misconduct violations, including language, academic expectations, cultural differences, academic preparedness, and policy understanding. Academic misconduct issues can significantly risk student success, leaving international students especially susceptible to…

This article reviews and evaluates the academic integrity research conducted in Australasia over a 30-year period from 1990-2020. It presents an analysis of studies on academic integrity including those on contract cheating as an increasing area of concern in higher education. The authors divide the research according to the diverse…