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| More university students are cheating – but it's not because they're lazy | More university students are cheating – but it's not because they're lazy |
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| A Guardian investigation published last week into academic misconduct revealed that the number of students caught cheating at Russell Group universities has risen by 40% from 2,640 to 3,721 between the academic years 2014-15 and 2016-17. This phenomenon though is not unique to Russell Group universities, with The Times reporting on more than 50,000 cases of cheating at British universities in a three-year period between 2013 and 2016. | A Guardian investigation published last week into academic misconduct revealed that the number of students caught cheating at Russell Group universities has risen by 40% from 2,640 to 3,721 between the academic years 2014-15 and 2016-17. This phenomenon though is not unique to Russell Group universities, with The Times reporting on more than 50,000 cases of cheating at British universities in a three-year period between 2013 and 2016. |
| Based on the current state of higher education in this country though, this should come as no surprise. For students, the pressure to succeed has never been greater due to the increased cost attached to learning as well as the seeming necessity for students to get jobs as soon as they graduate. Both of these factors have led to an environment where results and grades are more important than scholarship and intellectual development and ultimately undermine the entire purpose of universities, turning them into nothing more than exam factories with degrees seen as little more than a route into a profitable job. | Based on the current state of higher education in this country though, this should come as no surprise. For students, the pressure to succeed has never been greater due to the increased cost attached to learning as well as the seeming necessity for students to get jobs as soon as they graduate. Both of these factors have led to an environment where results and grades are more important than scholarship and intellectual development and ultimately undermine the entire purpose of universities, turning them into nothing more than exam factories with degrees seen as little more than a route into a profitable job. |
| The increase in tuition fees to £9,000 marked a watershed moment in higher education. The relationship between student and staff was fundamentally changed from an intellectual one to a business transaction. The government even justified the increase by claiming that students will end up earning more if they go to university, thereby reducing a degree to a means to an end rather than an end in and of itself. | The increase in tuition fees to £9,000 marked a watershed moment in higher education. The relationship between student and staff was fundamentally changed from an intellectual one to a business transaction. The government even justified the increase by claiming that students will end up earning more if they go to university, thereby reducing a degree to a means to an end rather than an end in and of itself. |
| As seemingly nothing more than customers, students have been forced to focus more on quantifiable outcomes such as grades rather than the joy that academic stimulation can provide. This has had a number of knock-on effects, with an increase in the rate of cheating undoubtedly being one of them. Students, instead of being able to focus on their academic development, are forced to think about little more than the impact their final grade will have on the rest of their lives and so some turn to cheating in order to ensure the best possible result. | As seemingly nothing more than customers, students have been forced to focus more on quantifiable outcomes such as grades rather than the joy that academic stimulation can provide. This has had a number of knock-on effects, with an increase in the rate of cheating undoubtedly being one of them. Students, instead of being able to focus on their academic development, are forced to think about little more than the impact their final grade will have on the rest of their lives and so some turn to cheating in order to ensure the best possible result. |
| Coupled with this is the apparent need for students to get a well-paying job as soon as they graduate, most of which require at least a 2:1 if not better. The inclusion of graduate prospect statistics in university rankings has necessitated this, with universities selling themselves on the success of their recent students on finding a job within six months of graduation. | Coupled with this is the apparent need for students to get a well-paying job as soon as they graduate, most of which require at least a 2:1 if not better. The inclusion of graduate prospect statistics in university rankings has necessitated this, with universities selling themselves on the success of their recent students on finding a job within six months of graduation. |
| This is all in spite of the fact the former head of Ucas described such rankings as “unhelpful”, noting the “huge stress” felt by students who did not secure a well-paying job. Nonetheless such rankings exist, further fuelling student anxieties, with a recent YouGov poll showing that eight in 10 students feel pressure to get a job within six months of graduating, with 23% citing paying off their student debts as a major factor behind their decision to find some form of employment. | This is all in spite of the fact the former head of Ucas described such rankings as “unhelpful”, noting the “huge stress” felt by students who did not secure a well-paying job. Nonetheless such rankings exist, further fuelling student anxieties, with a recent YouGov poll showing that eight in 10 students feel pressure to get a job within six months of graduating, with 23% citing paying off their student debts as a major factor behind their decision to find some form of employment. |
| Cheating at UK's top universities soars by 40% | Cheating at UK's top universities soars by 40% |
| It must be emphasised that students who do cheat are not bad people, and more often than not do so because they simply lack confidence or are desperate. This view has been echoed by Jack Wallington, community director at The Student Room, who claims students often resort to cheating due to the pressure under which they find themselves. | It must be emphasised that students who do cheat are not bad people, and more often than not do so because they simply lack confidence or are desperate. This view has been echoed by Jack Wallington, community director at The Student Room, who claims students often resort to cheating due to the pressure under which they find themselves. |
| What is abundantly clear is that there is a wide variety of reasons why one might choose to cheat in an exam or on coursework and while those people who choose to do so should not be applauded for their decision, more work needs to be done to eradicate the causes behind the cheating rather than to merely dismiss it as students being lazy. | What is abundantly clear is that there is a wide variety of reasons why one might choose to cheat in an exam or on coursework and while those people who choose to do so should not be applauded for their decision, more work needs to be done to eradicate the causes behind the cheating rather than to merely dismiss it as students being lazy. |
| Perhaps it’s time to change how we think about higher education and learning. Rather than an unhealthy fixation on final exams and coursework, universities should instead focus on the intellectual development of their students and look to create more well-rounded graduates who would arguably be better suited to contribute positively to any workplace they might enter. | Perhaps it’s time to change how we think about higher education and learning. Rather than an unhealthy fixation on final exams and coursework, universities should instead focus on the intellectual development of their students and look to create more well-rounded graduates who would arguably be better suited to contribute positively to any workplace they might enter. |
| Devarshi Lodhia is a history student at the University of Cambridge and a freelance journalist | Devarshi Lodhia is a history student at the University of Cambridge and a freelance journalist |
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