Contract cheating

Curtin understands that students have busy lives and that working, studying and completing assignments can be stressful.

Sometimes, this can lead to a decision to take a shortcut with your academic work. You may be tempted to use help from generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) software, a friend, family member, or an online company offering writing or tutoring services, but this may put you at risk for contract cheating and potential blackmail.

What is contract cheating?

Contract cheating (also known as assessment outsourcing or ghost writing) can be defined as submitting written or creative work which has been drafted or produced by another – including Gen-AI software, friends, family, or a paid contracting service, and claiming authorship for it. This includes:

Allowing someone or an organisation to draft or complete an assessment task on your behalf
Contracting another person to do the work for you
Purchasing work from another source
Allowing or contracting another person to edit and substantially change your work
Unapproved, inappropriate, or undisclosed use of Gen-AI software within an assessment task.

Where can I learn more about contract cheating?

The following programs are available at Curtin:

The Academic Integrity Program (AIP) is a compulsory educational program that provides information about contract cheating.
The Academic Integrity Website has comics and other resources that discuss contract cheating.

Is using Gen-AI software considered contract cheating?

Inappropriate use of Gen-AI software may be considered assessment outsourcing. To avoid this, learn about appropriate use of Gen-AI technologies.

How do I know if I am looking at a contract cheating website?

Some legitimate university websites (like those ending in ‘edu.au’) are being hacked by contract cheating organisations. They insert malicious code into the university website that redirects students to the illegal cheating website. Australia’s higher education regulation agency TEQSA has provided advice to students to help (reproduced with permission):

Check the URL of any page you click on and ensure it is the correct website.
When searching for academic support, use the search function within your institution’s website. Do not use a search engine.
Do not use any website that asks for payment from you in order to access ‘study support’ or which offers essay or assignment writing services.
Be wary when clicking links to any third-party website left in comments on a website or on social media pages.
Confirm that essay or other competitions are legitimate. Illegal cheating services sometimes hold fake contests in a bid to get student work to on-sell.
Never share your work online. This includes via social media or websites that ask for a sample of your work in return for ‘free’ support.
Report any suspect website link on your institution’s website to your institution’s website team.
Ensure you understand academic integrity. TEQSA’s resources for students are a great place to start.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre has more general information for individuals about staying safe online.

Guy Curtis (2020) has created a list to help students.

Tell-tale signs that you are looking at an illegal cheating site:

Asking for payment to complete assignment work for you.
Assurances that they offer good quality writers/writing.
An Order button.
Prices linked to assignment length and completion times.
Attempts to justify why buying assignments might be okay.
Testimonials from customers, often accompanied by stock photos of people who aren’t real students.
Guarantees of plagiarism-free work.
The need to create a personal account and login.
One of a number of nearly identical sites with different domain names.
Terms of service that disclaim responsibility if students are caught submitting work from the site.
Various service guarantees such as 24/7 support, live chat, feedback, money-back if unsatisfied (research shows they don’t always deliver on these*).

Resources

_{Ellis, C., Zucker, I. M., & Randall, D. (2018). The infernal business of contract cheating: Understanding the business processes and models of academic custom writing sites. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 14(1), 1. doi: 10.1007/s40979-017-0024-3}
_{Rowland, S., Slade, C., Wong, K-S. & Whiting, B. (2018) ‘Just turn to us’: the persuasive features of contract cheating websites, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(4), 652-665, doi: 10.1080/02602938.2017.1391948}
_{*Sutherland-Smith, W., & Dullaghan, K. (2019). You don’t always get what you pay for: User experiences of engaging with contract cheating sites. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(8), 1148-1162. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2019.1576028}
_{TEQSA (2021) Advice for students: Always check the link you click. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, Australian Government. Accessed 21.9.2021 https://www.teqsa.gov.au/advice-students-always-check-link-you-click}

How will I know if I am at risk of contract cheating?

You are at risk of contract cheating if you inappropriately use Gen-AI software (inclucing, but not limited to, Chat GPT, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, Resemble.ai, etc.) in an assessment task, such as without attribution (using in-text citations and references), proper acknowledgement, and prior approval from your UC.

You are also at risk of contract cheating if you ask someone to:

Complete an assignment for you (see video example on Youtube)
Substantially edit your assignment
Do your university work, with our without compensation
Check your work through Turnitin
Check test or quiz answers (such as through websites like Chegg.com)
Sit a test or quiz for you
Provide someone with your login details

You may be at risk of contact cheating if you provide information to people or organisations outside of Curtin, such as:

Your student number and student card details
Assignment questions, briefs or content
Lecture notes
Marking rubrics or marking guides

You may also be at risk of contact cheating if you enter contests where you submit your work for a chance at winning prize money.

Where can I find study support to avoid contract cheating?

Curtin offers the following study support options:

Study support
Online programs and resources for writing, research and English language
Referencing resources
Unihub events and workshops
Studiosity – 24/7 access to FREE online personalised feedback for short writing submissions. Or chat live to real advisors who are experts in their fields and have your questions answered quickly. Access Studiosity through your Blackboard units.

Other options include:

Asking for an extension from your lecturer
Talking to your tutor or unit coordinator

What is the impact of contract cheating on my studies?

Missing out on learning

At university you develop a range of new skills, knowledge and experience by engaging in your studies. If you contract cheat you will not gain these fundamental skills and this may put you in a situation where you lack the skill-set required to succeed in your chosen profession.

Loss of credentials

Curtin’s ability to detect contract cheating is continuously improving through technological advancement and staff training. This means that even after graduation, the risks associated with contract cheating continue. Your degree may be rescinded if we find you engaged in contract cheating during your studies.

Risk of extortion

Curtin is also aware that some students have been blackmailed by the people and organisations who completed the work the student submitted (see video example). Sometimes the contracted organisation or person will threaten to tell Curtin about the cheating if the student does not pay. This blackmail could be one-off or ongoing.

If you or someone that you know are in this situation, it is important that you contact the Student Wellbeing Advisory Service, Student Assist or AIP@curtin.edu.au at Curtin for help.

Is it contract cheating to work with a tutor or editor?

Tutors can be helpful in some instances, however you are responsible for setting the boundaries for appropriate assistance. If at any point the tutor begins to substantially edit or complete parts or your assessment then this becomes contract cheating.

If you are considering hiring an editor or asking someone to proofread or edit your work, make sure to clearly outline your expectations for the scope of the edit. You can refer to the Guideline for Professional Thesis Editing [.pdf 40kB].

The person should only highlight or indicate where there are problems rather than changing the text for you. If you provide them with an electronic copy of your document it is preferable for them to use commenting tools rather than to change the work.

Professional editors, as part of their usual role in document production, often make changes within the document. However, as a student submitting your work for assessment, accepting the changes of an editor may be seen as contract cheating or plagiarism as you are claiming the work of someone else as your own.

The elements of a document that an editor may be able to check for you are:

Typographical and spelling errors
Errors in word usage
Errors in grammar and syntax
Errors and inconsistencies in punctuation
Consistent use of formatting, capitalisation, abbreviations, or systems of measurement
(metric versus imperial)
Consistent and accurate application of academic writing conventions such as captions for tables/figures, formatting of in-text citations and referencing
Connections and transitions between paragraphs and sections.

When reviewing the editor’s comments you can implement corrections for spelling, punctuation, formatting and style but should carefully consider recommendations that could substantially alter the meaning, the flow, or the originality of your document. As much as possible consider recommended sentence or paragraph changes and put them into your own words.

If you plan to use an editor for your thesis it is recommended that you:

Discuss your desire to use an editor with your supervisor before approaching an editor
Discuss the scope of the edit with your supervisor and ensure that the editor understands and agrees to apply this when reviewing your document
Indicate within the appropriate section of your theses that an editor was used and include a description of the scope of the edit.
Follow the guidelines for the editing of research theses by professional editors [.pdf 40kB].

Can I get help from websites such as Chegg.com?

No. The use of file sharing and assignment help websites such as Chegg.com are not condoned for use at Curtin. If you are asking someone online or elsewhere to provide you with assessment answers, this should be a major red flag that you are contract cheating.

If you are in need of assistance, Curtin offers the following study support options:

Study support
Online programs and resources for writing, research and English language
Referencing resources
Unihub events and workshops
Studiosity – 24/7 access to FREE online personalised feedback for short writing submissions. Or chat live to real advisors who are experts in their fields and have your questions answered quickly. Access Studiosity through your Blackboard units.

What are the penalties at Curtin for contract cheating?

Contract cheating is considered academic misconduct and the usual penalty is an annul (ANN) for the unit in which the cheating occurred. This means that you will not receive credit for the unit. A reoccurrence of contract cheating may result in an escalation of penalties.

Contact for assistance

Student Wellbeing Advisory Service

Guild Student Assist

Useful documents

Academic integrity student guide [.pdf 2.4MB]

Student conduct guide [.pdf 3MB]

Student checklist to prevent plagiarism [.pdf 98kB]

Curtin University acknowledges the contribution of UNSW for some information on this page.