Contract cheating has become an extremely serious problem in Higher Education. Rather than hoping students will not do it, I argue it is better to discuss it openly with students so that they are fully informed of the risks and can then make good decisions to avoid it.

What is contract cheating and how is it promoted?

Contract cheating is defined as ‘a form of cheating where a student outsources their learning…(by using) services provided by a third party…The contract with the student can include payment’ (QAA, 2020). These third parties target students in multiple ways through websites, social media, emails and print-based advertising. It has reached the point where it would be highly unlikely for any student to complete a course without being exposed to communications from these companies. Contract cheating companies use highly effective marketing to students by appealing to their situation (Are you struggling? Do you feel isolated and lack support? Do you have trouble managing your assignment deadlines?) then reassuring them that their services can offer the ideal solutions to their problems ('expert help'; bespoke assignments; A+ grades, no plagiarism; cheap price; fast turnaround).

How can open discussions about contract cheating help?

I recommend turning these marketing communications into texts for critical analysis and discussion with students. The appeals to students could be evaluated (why have the companies chosen these questions and presented their services in this way) and each of the solutions they offer could be analysed as to the likely reality (eg do they think they would achieve an A+ grade in practice from using these services?). The business models of these services can also be discussed. What additional services do they offer? Why do they offer these services as well? After this, students could make a risk assessment of using these services (what are the risks to students, their disciplines and universities). For example, one risk that appears to be growing is that contract cheating services may blackmail students for payments or abuse their personal data through identity theft and bank fraud (Sutherland-Smith and Dullaghan, 2019).

The next point in the discussion could be to ask the question: why do students not use contract cheating? Research by Curtis and Clare (2017) suggests 97% of students do not use contract cheating: why not? According to Rundle, Curtis and Clare (2019), the most common reason for students not to use these services is motivation for learning. In addition to encouraging students to use university services, ignore communications from contract cheating services and to focus on doing their own work, an open discussion about the services and reasons not to use them can serve as a reminder about why they are at university.

Curtis, G. J., and Clare, J. (2017). How prevalent is contract cheating and to what extent are students repeat offenders? Journal of Academic Ethics 15, 115–124.

QAA (2020). Contracting to cheat in Higher Education: How to address essay mills and contract cheating.2^nd ed. Available at www.qaa.ac.uk

Rundle, K., Curtis, G. and Clare, J. (2019). ‘Why students do not engage in contract cheating’. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(2229). Available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02229/full

Sutherland-Smith, W and Dullaghan, K (2019). ‘You don’t always get what you pay for: User experiences of engaging with contract cheating sites’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(8), 1148-1162, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2019.1576028

I am a member of the London and South East Academic Integrity Network - Contract Cheating Working Group, who produced a contract cheating detection checklist for markers here: https://bit.ly/cheatingchecklist