unethical essay mills to be banned

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Essay mills to be banned under plans to reform post-16 education

Unscrupulous ‘essay mills’ to be criminalised as part of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill

Services offering to provide students with essays for money, known as essay mills, are to be made illegal under plans announced by the government today (5 October).

The government intends to make it a criminal offence to provide, arrange or advertise these cheating services for financial gain to students taking a qualification at any institution in England providing post-16 education including universities.

The move is one of a number of measures being introduced to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill , to transform the skills and training landscape and help level up opportunities across the country.

The law will also be changed to give equality to technical education in careers advice in schools, so all pupils understand the wide range of career routes and training available to them, such as apprenticeships, T Levels or traineeships, not just a traditional academic route.

Minister for Skills Alex Burghart said:

Essay mills are completely unethical and profit by undermining the hard work most students do. We are taking steps to ban these cheating services. We have also announced a new measure to make sure all young people receive broader careers guidance so everyone can get the advice that’s right for them.

Banning essay mills will help to safeguard the academic integrity and standards of post-16 and higher education in England and protect students from falling prey to the deceptive marketing techniques of contract cheating services.

This follows a number of steps already taken to tackle unscrupulous essay mills, including government working alongside the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Universities UK and the National Union of Students to produce guidance for institutions on how to combat the threat of contract cheating and guidance for students to make them better aware of the consequences, sending a clear message that these services are not legitimate.

Additional measures being introduced to the Bill include enabling sixth form colleges with a religious faith designation to become a 16-19 Academy, boosting diversity in 16-19 academies and allowing more faith school providers to open 16-19 academies with a religious character.

The Bill, which will enter its report stage in the House of Lord on 12 October, underpins the government’s transformation of post-16 education and skills as set out in the Skills for Jobs White Paper . The reforms outlined in the Bill will help to create more routes into skilled employment in sectors the economy needs such as engineering, digital, clean energy and manufacturing, so more people can secure well-paid jobs in their local areas, levelling up the nation and supporting communities to thrive.

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UK clamps down on academic fraud with ‘essay mills’ ban

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Companies that help university and college students to cheat by ghostwriting essays are to be criminalised under new government proposals.

Running so-called “essay mills”, businesses that provide, arrange or advertise paid-for assessment-writing services will be banned in England, the Department for Education announced on Tuesday.

Alex Burghart, the newly-appointed minister for skills, said: “Essay mills are completely unethical and profit by undermining the hard work most students do. We are taking steps to ban these cheating services.”

The measures will be added to the Skills and post-16 Education bill that is currently making its way through parliament, a sign of continued concerns about the rise of academic fraud across the country.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, the body tasked with upholding academic standards in universities, has identified more than 900 websites offering cheating services, up from 635 in 2018.

Some of essay mill companies rely on writers in Africa and the Middle East to produce works of plagiarism, while others boast that their writers attended elite UK institutions. Ministers have lobbied online payment and advertising platforms to ban such services from their sites.

On Tuesday, one website advertised that a mediocre 1,000-word undergraduate history essay would cost £124 at seven days notice. They also offered financing, allowing students to pay the cost over a year.

Another advertised that it would provide a 15,000-word piece of masters degree coursework in 60 days for £4,000. On its website, it also said that their service is not cheating and students should “use our custom essays as a guide to direct [their] studies”.

Former universities minister Chris Skidmore in February introduced a bill to implement a ban, calling essay mills a “rot that infects the very discipline of learning”.

Skidmore added that his bill “would not seek to criminalise students themselves” for using such services. He noted that other countries, particularly Australia, provide a model for the government as it seeks to crack down on the practice.

Officials told the FT that some companies have even blackmailed students, threatening to expose their customers’ cheating to their institutions if they do not pay up.

Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, welcomed the news. “While the use of essay mills by students is rare, all universities have codes of conduct that include severe penalties for students found to be submitting work that is not their own,” it said.

The National Union of Students said the companies “prey on students’ vulnerabilities and insecurities to make money through exploitation” and urged universities to roll out academic and pastoral support to stop the lure of such companies.

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‘Unethical’ essay mills to be banned in England under Government plans

Essay mills are set to be banned in England under plans to reform post-16 education.

The Government intends to make it a criminal offence to provide, arrange or advertise essay-writing services for financial gain to university and college students.

Making essay mills illegal under new legislation will help protect students from falling prey to the “deceptive marketing techniques of contract cheating services”, the Department for Education (DfE) has said.

It is one of a number of measures being introduced to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill – which aims to transform further and technical education.

Careers education in schools will also be strengthened to ensure all pupils have opportunities to learn about all the technical education options available to them – including apprenticeships, T-levels and traineeships.

Essay mills are completely unethical and profit by undermining the hard work most students do

Skills Minister Alex Burghart

Skills Minister Alex Burghart said: “Essay mills are completely unethical and profit by undermining the hard work most students do.

“We are taking steps to ban these cheating services.

“We have also announced a new measure to make sure all young people receive broader careers guidance so everyone can get the advice that’s right for them.”

Essay mills, which are already illegal in some countries, make money by encouraging students to cheat in assessments.

Their services include providing students with ready-made essays to pass off as their own.

The Government hopes banning the services will help to safeguard the academic integrity and standards of post-16 and higher education in England.

It comes after former universities minister Chris Skidmore called for essay mill websites to be outlawed in February this year.

In June, the Government pledged to work with politicians on proposed legislation around banning essay-writing services.

Tory frontbencher Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay told peers there is a “strong case” to support institutions in dealing with the rising number of essay mills.

The law will also be changed to give equality to technical education in careers advice in schools, so all pupils understand the wide range of routes and training available to them, not just academic routes.

Additional amendments to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, which enters its report stage in the House of Lords on October 12, includes allowing more faith school providers to open post-16 academies with a religious character.

A Universities UK (UUK) spokeswoman said: “We welcome this news. UUK has repeatedly called for essay writing services to be made illegal and we have worked together with Government, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and other higher education bodies to tackle their use.

“While the use of essay mills by students is rare, all universities have codes of conduct that include severe penalties for students found to be submitting work that is not their own.

“Universities have become increasingly experienced at dealing with such issues and are engaging with students from day-one to underline the implications of cheating and how it can be avoided.”

Gareth Crossman, head of policy and public affairs at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), said: “We’re delighted that the DfE has agreed to outlaw these unscrupulous outfits that threaten the integrity of UK higher education and prey on vulnerable students, and hope other UK Governments will also take action.

“This sends a clear signal but, with well over 1000 essay mills in operation, the sector must continue working together to put them out of business.”

A spokesperson for the National Union of Students (NUS) said: “These private companies prey on students’ vulnerabilities and insecurities to make money through exploitation, and never more so than during the pandemic.

“NUS has called on the Government to take action against them in the past, and I hope they are finally listening.

“In the meantime, we would urge universities to put in place academic and pastoral support so that students are never in the position of feeling they have to turn to essay mills in the first place.”

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‘Unethical’ essay mills to be banned in England under Government plans

Making essay-writing services illegal will protect students from ‘deceptive marketing techniques of contract cheating services’, the DfE says.