I’ve often discussed the role of the family in relation to my #contractcheating research, and this came up more formally in a literature review we published last year. This is open access, in case it’s of wider interest. link.springer.com/article/10....
Thanks @beilinglaoshi.bsky.social, that has been happening for a while, but it needs investigating more systematically.
I think the problems are:
1. It is so incredibly easy to set up a #contractcheating service with #GenAI, including the website and offering the service
2. Zero legal enforcement
Screenshot of Google Maps (near Birmingham Moor Street station) featuring an 'assignment help' service
#contractcheating is now so blatant, companies even advertise on Google Maps #academicintegrity @drthomaslancaster.bsky.social
A robotic hand interacts with a laptop showing an auto-complete progress bar, surrounded by a student ID, gavel, handcuffs, and warning sign.
Another risk to #academicintegrity comes through a new AI tool called Einstein. This openly markets itself as a way for students to cheat through online courses. This is #contractcheating automation at scale, and it raises serious questions about platform security in online education.
#ContractCheating services extend beyond essay mills. In this blog post we talk about how these sophisticated operations target international students from China through their entire #StudentExperience. #AcademicIntegrity #AcademicMisconduct #HigherEd #Postplagiarism
There’s also the #academicintegrity risk that nobody's discussing. If students don’t have access to GenAI systems for learning and coursework support (approved or not), there’s the option for online firms to sell more human tutor support. There’s a thin line between support and #contractcheating.
Stacks of research papers engulfed in flames, featuring the bold phrase "PUBLISH OR PERISH," highlighting the urgency in academic publishing.
The “pressure to publish” culture has led to suspect research papers being released faster than they can be retracted. I’m quoted in a #researchintegrity story (link in first reply) which discusses the scale of the research paper mill culture, an industry with parallels to student #contractcheating.
A robotic dog stands amidst a fiery backdrop featuring iconic Indian architecture, highlighting an AI fraud scandal.
In academic fraud news that's gone viral in India and beyond, a university just got expelled from a flagship AI summit for claiming a $2,800 Chinese robot dog as their own innovation. The story has parallels with student #contractcheating, but on an institutional scale. A #techethics thread.
Did you know that #contractcheating services extend to the appeals process? In this paper we investigate the online marketplace for academic appeals services, targeted specifically to #InternationalStudents from China.
#AcademicIntegrity #InternationalStudents
#academicmisconduct
AI designed opening presentation slide contrasting plagiarism with contract cheating, showing source material on one side and a student paying an anonymous contractor on the other.
#notebooklm really does have a secret power.
I asked it to reimagine a research talk I first gave in 2006 on #contractcheating, and it produced this opening slide. There are ideas picked out in the slides that I'd long forgotten, and this does make the information seem fresh.
Add the word "anecdotally" to your watch list. It will be fascinating to see what happens next.
#academicintegrity #contractcheating
A teal square poster for The Shadow Scholars documentary. The title appears in large white letters above silhouettes of two people working at a laptop. At the bottom, text announces the UK television debut on Channel 4 at 22:00 on Wednesday 24 September 2025.
The Shadow Scholars documentary film on the Kenyan writers working for the #contractcheating industry airs for the first time on UK TV tonight (Wednesday 24 September 2025) at 22:00 on Channel 4.
I had a small role in the documentary, and some of my thoughts follow.
Poster for The Shadow Scholars by Eloise King. Shows two men at laptops at night with city lights behind. Lists UK cinema screenings Sept–Oct, including Oxford, London, Leeds, with some Q&A events.
There are lots of UK showings of the excellent The Shadow Scholars documentary on #contractcheating coming up, some with Q&As with director Eloise King and Professor Patricia Kingori. Image from Instagram.
Man blowing a whistle
In #JLDHE #36 Ellis Parkman explores educator perceptions of the impact of criminalising contract cheating on the academic misconduct landscape in the UK, through the lens of Theory O fPractice Architectures https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi36.1498 #LoveLD #ContractCheating, #HigherEducation
It's hard to believe it, but this is the 10th anniversary of the IDOA, which originally started out as an event to raise awareness about #contractcheating, but now covers all areas of #academicintegrity. This year's theme is the most exciting one I can remember for a long time.
Drawing of Thomas Lancaster as a podcast guest in front of a brick wall, with a microphone. The text says "VICTVS podcast" at the top. It says "Academic integrity, AI & contract cheating" at the bottom.
How has #contractcheating, #academicintegrity, and the world of professional ethics evolved over the past 25 years? I recently had the pleasure of joining the VICTVS team for a fascinating video podcast discussion (link in first reply) discussing these issues - and many more.
Cartoon image of a hand holding up a flyer with the headline "Every student today has a ghost" echoing text used by George H Smith to promote his academic writing business
One of the earliest exposes of #contractcheating presented the story of G H Smith with great admiration, a ghostwriter of academic work for 600 university and college students a year across the United States. His advertising was to-the-point as well.
An exceptionally exciting thing happened this week ... My first journal article got published!
Very proud of the work that went in, and thankful for the support I got along the way.
journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jl...
#ContractCheating #Educators #HigherEducation #Criminalisation
Legal status of providing software services for cheating in various countries. Likely illegal in Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland and Austria.
Here is a quick summary of what I believe the educational cheating laws in place in several countries would say about offering this service. In some cases, this is captured by existing #contractcheating laws. Note this is a quick overview and would need fully checking.
What do students think about contract cheating laws? Research indicated that students supported legislation but had low awareness about the details. One intriguing survey result was that one third of students said that they'd warn a peer they knew was #contractcheating of the legal risks.
The hottest topic debated related to AI detection and asked if this could ever keep up with technology. The research suggested that 'humanizer' software for AI generated text was a problem, as was a move by #contractcheating providers to offer human editing services for AI generated text.
Advert for an essay writing platform making $127K annual profit
Anyone want to buy an essay writing business? A bargain at an advertised $249,999 for a 10-year old Czechia based business #academicintegrity #contractcheating
Fake Degrees, Fraudulent Credentials and the Ecosystem of Commercial Academic Fraud - #AcademicIntegrity #AdmissionsFraud #FakeDegree #ContractCheating #TermPaperMill #PaperMills
drsaraheaton.com/2025/04/10/f...
Reddit discussion where it’s revealed the housemate is paying someone in an upper year - and not for the first time
My housemate is paying someone to do their assessment. Interesting Reddit discussion here. The general recommendation from other students seems to be to not get involved www.reddit.com/r/UniUK/s/ll... #academicintegrity #contractcheating
A legal case was settled out of court in September 2023, with the University of Northampton paying back £6 million in tuition fees. This was cheating at scale, with over 90% of students said to have used #contractcheating providers, based on document metadata not matching student profiles.
Academic misconduct at scale exposed by the Sunday Times by a College where 1,232 out of 1,397 students were found to have committed #contractcheating. The article is paywalled, but I'll summarise the main findings in future replies www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
A2 - Yes, I mean let's be honest, students have been outsourcing their work for ages... #contractCheating #AI... How do we make learning meaningful? How can we assess the meaning making that happens from learning? These are some of my wonderings... #Postplagiarism #LTHEChat
I'm familiar with essay mills, but hadn't encountered 'reference houses' before #contractcheating www.theguardian.com/law/2025/mar...
The infamous "homework help" site Chegg has filed a lawsuit against Google claiming that Google's AI summaries are stealing their traffic.
www.plagiarismtoday.com/2025/02/27/c...
#Copyright #Chegg #Plagiarism #AI #ContractCheating
