More uni students cheat in exams than assignments, but are less likely to get caught, UniSA research finds
While universities focus on catching students who pay others to write their essays for them, they are actually more likely to cheat in exams – and get away with it.
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University students are more likely to cheat in exams than assignments but are less likely to get caught, UniSA research has found.
Concern over “essay mills”, where students pay for professional assignment writers to do their work for them, has led to calls for a return to greater emphasis on exams.
But the new findings have prompted researchers to warn that might not be the best way to minimise cheating.
More than 14,000 students and about 1150 staff from eight universities were surveyed about cheating and detection rates for outsourcing assignments, and giving or receiving exam help in person or means such as phones, smart watches or earpieces.
They were also asked about taking an exam for someone else or having someone do it for them, and the types of assignments and exams involved.
More than 3 per cent of students reported giving exam help, and 2.4 per cent had received help, slightly higher than the 2.2 per cent who had outsourced an assignment.
But the detection rates reported by staff varied wildly. While more than half had detected assignment outsourcing at least once, only 7 per cent were aware of exam cheating in a course they had taught.
“Of the 10 most common contract cheating behaviours reported by students, seven involved exam assistance,” the researchers found. Giving and receiving help in multiple choice exams, followed by short answer exams, topped that list.
“Of the 10 most common contract cheating behaviours detected by staff, all involved assignment outsourcing,” the findings continue, with essays by far the type of assignment where cheating was uncovered most often.
“This study calls into question the ‘common sense’ discourse that universities should move away from text-based assignments and towards invigilated exams as a means to prevent contract cheating.
“While students do report contract cheating at relatively high rates in some text-rich assignments, such as reports and essays, staff appear to be skilled at detecting contract cheating in these assignments – particularly essays.
“Our data suggests that the belief in the inherent integrity of the exam format has provided a false sense of security.
“Students report cheating more commonly in exams than assignments, and staff report relatively low rates of detection across most exam types.”
One in every 200 students admitted to taking an exam for someone else.
The research has been published in the journal Higher Education Research and Development. Lead author Rowena Harper has moved from UniSA to Edith Cowan University. UniSA’s Tracey Bretag, one of the co-authors, is a leading authority on academic integrity.