A recent media article identified an RTO which is reported to be facing the cancellation of its registration, in part because it had not successfully identified the use of contract cheating websites by its students and therefore could not ensure the integrity of student learning.

One of the earliest examples of contract cheating in Australia was a 2014 media report of Australian students at 15 universities and two non-university higher education providers outsourcing their assessments to be completed through the ‘MyMaster’ website.

This media story put the issue of academic integrity onto TEQSA’s radar and it followed up by writing to all higher education providers asking them to share best practices in “minimising student misconduct in assessment and promoting academic integrity amongst students.” TEQSA also asked the 17 providers named in the article to report on the actions they had taken to investigate the claims made in the media story and any remedies they had made as a result.

TEQSA subsequently published a report on contract cheating in the sector and best practice in addressing it. As they noted:

“Contract cheating – the purchase of another person’s work to present as your own – has a long history. Recently, the ready availability of sophisticated communication technology and the rise of social media have increased the opportunity to access and/or repurpose another’s work to present as your own. Availability of essay writing services is pervasive with both local and international websites advertising their services. A number of assessment strategies have been devised to minimise the opportunity for such fraudulent activity by students and to detect it when it occurs. However it should be noted that the efficacy of such strategies has not been established and the favoured way to combat such behaviour is by the promotion of academic integrity in the student body.”

Since then TEQSA has worked extensively with the higher education sector on this issue. They have also been working with the Australian government to develop legislation to ban cheating and block websites used by commercial contract cheating providers.

In the last decade TEQSA and a range of higher education experts have developed a suite of resources to help higher education providers understand contract cheating and take action to prevent it. They have made the resources publicly available and free to access.

ASQA has also become concerned about the threat of contract cheating websites being used in the VET sector and the issue is now a key regulatory risk priority for ASQA. Specifically ASQA’s research has identified that:

  1. “Allegations of provider-enabled cheating persist in complaint data, where students report being freely supplied or sold answers to assessments. During the first six weeks of operation of our VET tip-off fline, academic cheating featured in more than 15 per cent of the reports we received.
  2. Prevalence and nature of academic cheating has grown in parallel to an increase in online delivery.
  3. The growth in sophistication and reach of contract cheating services and ease of access to AI technology may heighten the risk of academic cheating.
  4. Illegal commercial cheating services are actively marketing themselves to educators and some providers are complicit in facilitating cheating behaviours within their RTO.
  5. Academic cheating enables the presence of non-genuine students in VET programs, compromising Australia’s visa system.”

ASQA goes on to state that they are:

  • “making clear our expectations that providers to have systems of governance for academic integrity
  • responding to intelligence and complaints identified in this area, including through monitoring and compliance activities which focus on providers’ compliance with standards around assessment (including authenticity)
  • exchanging information and working closely with TEQSA to disrupt the business of commercial academic cheating services
  • encouraging tip-off reports from the VET community and from students who may be being approached directly through individual email messages or via class groups set up in messaging apps or on social media platforms.”

So if your RTO has not yet come to grips with the challenges of identifying if your students might be using contract cheating websites – the TEQSA resources page is a great place to find helpful information and expert advice to combat this complex issue and help ensure the academic integrity of your assessment practices.