’Essay Mills’ Pose Serious Risk to Scottish Universities

(© Image: Pexels) Vulnerable students are turning to online 'essay mills' to purchase written work that they then pass off as their own, threatening academic integrity and exploitation, a new study has found. Researchers based at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research found hundreds of examples of online adverts targeting students in what is known as 'contract cheating'. This is where suppliers offer to write assignments for around £5 per 250 words. The research found stress and pressure were common reasons behind why students were being driven to engage in academic misconduct with contract cheating one avenue to completely outsourcing assignments and coursework. Dr Alistair Fraser, University of Glasgow, co-author of the report, 'Criminal Grades' Contract cheating and student exploitation in Higher Education' , said: "Contract cheating is not entirely new but online essay mills, coupled with increasing pressure, have made the issue much more widespread. "The result is a major new administrative burden on universities, a complex threat to academic integrity, and the prospect of teachers turning into plagiarism police. Most significant of all, essay mills devalue the slow and careful process of independent learning and critical thinking that stand at the heart of an academic education." Through searching 200 online adverts and profiles on Gumtree and Fiverr and 100 essay mill websites, the researchers found they were 'predatory in nature' and targeted vulnerable students.