This blog already contains an entry on the national UK User Summit that was held in Newcastle on 19 October 2017.
Here is a summary (with links to further information) provided by Turnitin after the event:
- More education is needed to communicate what academic integrity actually means – for both staff and students.
- This lack of understanding represents a major reputational risk for individual institutions, awarding bodies and the HE sector as a whole.
- Contract cheating is a growing industry. 800–1,200 different websites have been identified as selling essays – there is sure to be more out there.
- The QAA, working in partnership with Turnitin, provided an overview of its latest policy to help HE institutions address contract cheating and essay mills.
- However, it is not just essay mills that are the problem. “When a student gets someone else to do the work for them, they usually give it to a friend or a family member or someone they know rather than a commercial service.” Phil Newton, University of Swansea (Watch Phil’s presentation here)
The Support and Consultation team in Academic IT Services (Technology-Enhanced Learning) is working closely with Turnitin and the UK higher education sector on these and many more aspects of promoting academic integrity.
Contact Oxford University Turnitin support: turnitin@it.ox.ac.uk
