Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, universities in the UK have witnessed a worrisome surge in cheating, with a threefold increase in requests to a major academic support website and a rise in the number of “essay mills” due to the shift to online courses and assessments, according to UK researchers. Researchers at Imperial College London (ICL) looked at requests to Chegg, an American-based website, and found that students used the site to ask for aid with exam-style questions. The online answers provided could be received in real time, possibly within exam time limits, raising validity concerns for online assessments.
Chris Skidmore, the previous universities minister, submitted a 10-minute rule bill in the House of Commons in an attempt to prohibit essay-writing services in the UK, highlighting that such services imperil “academic integrity beyond repair.” He added that the number of websites offering those services in the UK is growing and that 932 are currently in operation, up from 881 in October.
“As students have been forced to study remotely from home, away from on-campus welfare and support, taking their studies and exams online, they are increasingly becoming prey to essay mills, whose number has increased dramatically as they seek to take advantage of the desperate situation many students face,” Skidmore said.
The ICL study, which compared the number of requests in five subjects – computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics and chemistry – submitted to Chegg between April and August 2019 with the same period in 2020, demonstrated a rise of 196.25% in requests. The paper suggests that such a rise indicates that students frequently use Chegg to cheat on assessments and exams.
Skidmore’s legislation has cross-party support and comes as essay mills in the UK have emerged as a growing source of anxiety in the higher education industry. The online threat has significantly increased due to the pandemic as students reach out to acquire their services on a “mass scale.” The Russell Group of universities, Universities UK, and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education are backing the move to criminalise essay-writing websites in the UK, following the lead of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
The vast majority of individuals who utilize Chegg are diligent and upright in their academic pursuits and rely on our platform as a supplement to their study materials. We remain steadfast in our commitment to thwart any instances of cheating by individuals who seek to exploit our services and dedicate significant resources towards preventing any form of misuse on our learning platform.
