International students cheat their way into Sydney universities using doctored transcripts to meet standards
FOREIGN students are forging documents to con their way into Sydney universities to study prestigious business, engineering and law degrees. The practice is rife at one prestigious university.
NSW
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FOREIGN students are forging documents to con their way into Sydney universities to study prestigious business, engineering and law degrees.
The practice is rife at University of New South Wales (UNSW), where students and dodgy international intermediaries doctored high school and university transcripts to meet admission standards.
University misconduct records released under freedom of information laws revealed UNSW has expelled 54 foreigners in the last three years after close scrutiny of their records found they were fakes.
“UNSW introduced a thorough system some years ago to detect isolated examples of fraudulent credentials and we act promptly to exclude these students once detected,” a UNSW spokeswoman said.
There is no global standard for academic documents, which makes it easy for shysters to dupe admissions staff.
The vast majority of impostors at UNSW gained admission to the business faculty, while others took places in engineering, law and science classes.
Falsifying documents ranks as the single leading cause of suspension or expulsion across all the city’s leading tertiary institutions.
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The federal government has tasked the higher education watchdog to come up with new laws to crack down on student fraud, according to a Department of Education and Training spokesman.
“Any allegations of misconduct by international students are taken seriously — first and foremost by the institution with which they are enrolled,” the spokesman said.
“The government has directed the Higher Education Standards Panel to examine ways to support academic integrity in Australian higher education, including the need for a legislative approach to address cheating and fraudulent conduct.”
At Macquarie University, five foreign students have this year been expelled for tampering with official documents including transcripts.
“Some of the types of falsified documents that have led to students being excluded or suspended include documents relating to applications for admission such as transcripts and testamurs,” a Macquarie University spokeswoman said.
Students at University Technology Sydney have also been caught fudging documents but the majority were just trying to get out of mandatory internships or placements by cooking their attendance records.
And at Sydney University, 65 students in the last three years have been expelled or suspended for creating or illegally purchasing fake doctor’s notes, which they used to qualify for special treatment in their subjects.