Contract Cheating in Academic Settings

International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating A Teaching and Learning Resource Developer: Sarah Elaine Eaton, Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity 2021

How to use this slide deck This slide deck is intended for use by University of Calgary academic staff and teaching assistants. Use any or all of these slides to raise awareness about contract cheating with your students. Move this slide to the end of the slide deck before presenting this content to your students. Direct questions or comments to: Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity seaton@ucalgary.ca Creative Commons License Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License 2

What is contract cheating? Contract cheating is also called academic outsourcing . It happens when someone else other than the student completes academic work that the student then submits as their own. Contract cheating is a serious form of academic misconduct according to the University policy and procedure. Creative Commons License Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License 3

Breaching the expectation of integrity Contract cheating breaches the expectations of a contract of integrity between the educator (i.e., professor, teaching assistant, etc.) and the student. Expectation: Student Educator Violation: Educator Student Third party Creative Commons License Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License 4

Third parties Third parties can include, but are not limited to: Online services Friends and family Classmates and alumni Anyone else who is not you! As a student at the University of Calgary we expect you to complete individual academic work. If you need help, ask your professor or teaching assistant, but do not have someone else complete your work for you. Creative Commons License Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License 5

Statistics and Facts It is estimated that Canada ties the UK for second place among countries in which students outsource their academic work. The USA ranks #1 (Lancaster, 2018.) Conservative estimate for Canada: 71,000+ post-secondary students engage in contract cheating every year (Eaton, 2018). Approximately 1 in 7 students buy their academic work online (Newton, 2018). Top 5 fields in which contract cheating occurs most (Curtis & Clare, 2017; Bretag, 2017): 1. Business 2. Engineering 3. Science 4. Humanities 5. Education Creative Commons License Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License 6

Key messages You are here to learn. We are here to support you. If someone else completes your academic work for you, then you are not learning. Creative Commons License Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License 7

References and Resources Bretag, T., & Harper, R. (n.d.). Impossible to prove? Substantiating contract cheating. Retrieved from https://cheatingandassessment.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/EDUCATOR-RESOURCE- Substantiating-contract-cheating.pdf Bretag, T. (2017). Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, Good Practice Note: Addressing contract cheating to safeguard academic integrity Retrieved from https://www.teqsa.gov.au/latest- news/publications/good-practice-note-addressing-contract-cheating-safeguard-academic Clarke, R., & Lancaster, T. (2006). Eliminating the successor to plagiarism: Identifying the usage of contract cheating sites. Paper presented at the Second International Plagiarism Conference, The Sage Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, United Kingdom. Curtis, G. J., & Clare, J. (2017). How Prevalent is contract cheating and to what extent are students repeat offenders? Journal of Academic Ethics, 15(2), 115-124. doi:10.1007/s10805-017-9278-x Eaton, S. E. (2018). Contract cheating: A Canadian perspective. Retrieved from http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2018/07/24/contract-cheating-a-canadian-perspective/ International Center for Academic Integrity. (2016). Institutional toolkit to combat contract cheating Retrieved from http://integrity.fiu.edu/pdfs/Contract%20Cheating.pdf Lancaster, T. (2018). US in first place for essays orders (not surprising), with the UK and Canada in equal second place [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/DrLancaster/status/1029014675198013440 Newton, P. M., & Lang, C. (2016). Custom essay writers, freelancers, and other paid third parties. In T. Bretag (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (pp. 249-271). Singapore: Springer Singapore. Creative Commons License Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License 8