In less than 24 hours Aussie students can now have an assessment written and submitted without even opening a text book, attending a lecture or logging onto a learning management system.
With the new buzz industry of Copy Contracting hitting the underground world of education, students are being tempted to cheat in even more creative ways. Impressive websites that promise production of services from essay writing and short answer question responses, through to bespoke dissertations and theses that are being dangled in front of Australian students every day. These essay mills are promising the reproduction of any assessment content for as little as $130 with a 24 hour turnaround time. Clever reassurance cues such as “Your order is 100% confidential” and “Zero plagiarism guaranteed” guide students into a false sense of security. Others offer emotional encouragement: “We know sometimes you’re having hard times writing your essays or overloaded with so much work”.
Copy Contracting has become so normalised in the education sector that investigations have uncovered YouTube stars being paid to promote an academic cheating website based in the Ukraine, in videos with more than 700 million views.
Even if students manage to resist the urge to engage Copy Contracting services, they can draw upon smart devices such as watches, enabling access to online communications, invisible ink pens, wireless headphones with tiny ear pieces, programmable calculators and the sleuthing of hidden iPhones to cheat on assessments.
The rise of cheating and Copy Contracting is an international problem to which no educational institution is immune. Many institutions have returned to the traditional-style examination space, but this is not the solution.
To tackle student cheating, instructional designers need to re-imagine assessment. Disrupting the way we think, write and approach assessment is more crucial than ever. Instructional designers now need to think strategically in the planning phase: “Can this assessment be Copy Contracted?”
The key to the solution is authentic assessment—designing assessments that focus on real experiences and real tasks. Asking students to demonstrate their skills and understanding results in undertakings that essay mills simply cannot replicate. Creating personalised and engaging assessment experiences, including reflections, is a sure way to reduce demand for Copy Contracting services.
While more time is required during the initial stages of authentic assessment design, the investment will undoubtedly be worth it.
By Katie Crandon and Rebecca Summits
