It’s an ongoing problem and one inevitable side effect of always-online internet connectivity. Universities have been trying for years to tackle the problem of essay mill content, introducing ways of picking out plagiarised or paid-for content in academic project submissions. Now, following a report from QAA, the universities minister Jo Johnson is calling for universities to actively block websites offering such content. There is now a real need to improve standards for flagging up potential abuse.
What Are Essay Mills?
It’s a bane of the internet but universities have largely kept on top of the problem by using software such as TurnItIn, software used to locate plagiarism. But plagiarism is not the only issue. Arguably, far bigger problems exist with essay mills that deliver original content not using copy-paste. Plagiarism checkers cannot pick these up; universities still rely on lecturers and examiners noticing differences in style and content of the student’s previous submissions. They have become much wiser in recent years and now it is time for universities to act, says Johnson.
The Prevalence of Essay Mills
Essay mills are no longer in the business of copy-paste and stock essays due to previous efforts. Content may very well be of high quality, well-referenced and sourced, written by a person with relevant knowledge specifically commissioned to write it. However, it is not the work of the student and that is fraud – arguably as bad, if not worse, than plagiarism. Students pay hundreds of pounds and take the risk of paying for shoddy work every week. Repeated studies have shown that the overwhelming majority of essay mill content is of substandard for university submission. Institutions typically have their own guidelines and procedures on what to do when a potential content mill essay is submitted as student’s own work. The QAA said it was time to act with a uniform and national approach so education ministers and universities can combat the problem as a whole.
What the QAA Found
Students and lecturers alike may be shocked to find that there are now more than 100 websites dedicated to producing essays to order. They charge for essays at undergraduate level all the way up to PhD theses. It’s understood that a PhD thesis costs in the region of £6,750 or more.
The Quality Assurance Agency has already made a number of recommendations, but Jo Johnson wants to widen the net in solving the problem.
- Provide a greater range of support for students struggling with academic work
- Diversifying assessment methods specifically to combat opportunities to cheat
- Calling on universities to actively block essay-mill websites
- Developing new software to highlight style, ability and linguistic variation
- To keep records of the types and numbers of plagiarism and paid-for content to compile a picture from national data