Investigating contract cheating cases and harnessing academic integrity interventions

Associate Professor Ann Rogerson | Associate Dean (Education), Faculty of Business and Law at University of Wollongong
In this video, Associate Professor Ann Rogerson shares her teaching background and journey in the academic integrity space, leading to her key research focus - investigating academic misconduct, and more specifically, identifying patterns of behaviour and detection in contract cheating.
Ann explores the scope of contract cheating within the misconduct spectrum and the prevailing trends of student cheating prior to and during the pandemic, identifying a shift in cheating patterns where collusion - people working together to try and circumvent academic practice - has become a dominant form. She canvasses the technological tools and platforms involved that enable students to have unauthorised communication with others during an exam, even during lockdowns.
Towards gathering evidence for academic misconduct investigation, Ann shares her advice and resources for educators, predicated on an understanding of a discipline’s norms so that when something falls outside the norm, they’re primed to question and investigate the irregularities. Flagging levels of similarity to warrant a closer look and observing distinct replication of student mistakes are among the factors discussed, and further outlined in Ann’s research paper on detecting contract cheating in essay and report submissions, and the TEQSA instructor guide to substantiate contract cheating claims.
Regarding student interventions, Ann asserts the need for clearer instruction to help students hone their judgement skills regarding the use of resources and appropriate technology, and for educators to create assignments that incorporate reflective components on what resources students have used, and why.
Finally, Ann considers the role of technology in supporting a culture of academic integrity, and the value of making contract cheating investigation somebody’s job, to explore it in detail and manage it properly.
Ann’s research paper on detecting contract cheating: link.springer....
TEQSA instructor guide: www.teqsa.gov....
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