University students in cheating scandal

Jan 16 2008 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

Exam hall

HUNDREDS of Merseyside students are paying thousands of pounds to get their degree coursework written for them to ensure they pass.

The University of Liverpool is taking the problem so seriously it is now offering staff courses to help them spot the cheats.

Professor Drummond Bone, vice-chancellor at the University of Liverpool, said: “Essay writing sites claim that students pay hundreds of pounds for model answers – but do not then submit these as their own work. We all know this claim is absurd.”

Growing pressure to get a good degree, coupled with the prospect of leaving university saddled with thousands of pounds of debt, is said to be behind the booming number of students effectively outsourcing key coursework, and even final dissertations.

One company alone has told the Daily Post that its client base in Merseyside has expanded to 812 in the last year.

The company also boasts that because it writes essays individ-ually for each order, they are harder to detect. It also promises a minimum 2:1 grade – or refund. Essays are written by graduates, and sometimes even by lecturers.

Figures obtained by the Daily Post show that at the majority of universities in the region, the number of students caught cheating has fallen.

But universities in Liverpool last night said people using so-called “essay mills” would be caught – and that if the pressure was so great that people feared they had to cheat, they should instead speak about their fears.

According to UKessays.com, students studying law and human-ities are most likely in Merseyside to order the essays. They insist they don’t write the essays for the students to hand in as their own work, but just to help them.

But Prof Drummond said such a claim was farcical: “Google has said it has banned these com-panies from its advert search engines. Making life harder for these cynical web 'essay mills' is a step in the right direction.

“We feel strongly about this because plagiarism devalues the efforts of students who work hard to achieve their degrees. It also damages the student who commits plagiarism, as they will not bene-fit from the research and learning experience. Universities have severe penalties for those students caught cheating, with many insti-tutions already using advanced anti-plagiarism software to make sure that this is enforced.”

Liverpool University is taking the problem so seriously it is offering staff courses to help iden-tify work not that of students.

A spokesman said: “Measures are in place to ensure plagiarism is prevented where possible. Examiners have the option to electronically screen coursework submitted by students to highlight any incidents of plagiarism.”

Many of the orders for bespoke essays are coming from parents, UKessay.com said – with some even giving them over as presents.

The firm charges an average £1,500 for a custom-made essay, boasting it is plagiarism-proof .

Just nine cases of cheating were reported at the University of Liverpool in 2006, down from 16 the year before, while at Hope University, the plagiarism figure has fallen from 163 to 56 in the last two years. Edge Hill, with campuses in Liverpool and Orm-skirk, punished 21 students for cheating last year, down from 48 in 2004. John Moores University recorded 87 cases of cheating in 2006, compared to 52 in 2004, while Chester’s cheat-rate has risen from 34 to 60 in the last two years.

OPINION: PAGE 12

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