Students Hire Impersonators, Use Smart Watches And Buy Fake Doctors’ Certificates To Cheat, Report Finds

Aussie universities were rocked by a ghost-writing scandal earlier this year, but a report from a new taskforce reveals academic misconduct is even more far-reaching than anticipated.

Sydney University launched the taskforce following the revelation by the Sydney Morning Herald that as many as 1000 students across 16 unis had hired the team at MyMaster to ghost write assignments on their behalf.

Their report confirmed the worst: that more and more students are paying impersonators to sit their exams, smuggling in technology - like smart watches - to assist them in cheating, and even doing the old-school ‘peek-around’ to copy neighbours’ answers in multiple choice tests.

The University of New South Wales has taken immediate action, banning all wrist watches – smart, or otherwise – from exam rooms. Good thing there's usually a big clock on the wall during these things.

But, the scams being run by cheaters don’t end at the wrist. It is also believed there is a black market for fake doctors’ certificates, which is alarming for a number of reasons. The report also noted anecdotal evidence that miniature cameras were being used to copy exams for later redistribution.

Sydney University’s faculties were investigated over May and June, with the report concluding that there was “an average level of cheating of about 5 per cent.”

The report also found that international students were no more likely to cheat than local students.

The chair of Sydney University’s academic board, associate professor Peter McCallum, told the SMH that there was a “disproportionately” high number of instances of academic misconduct from business school students.

What say you? From your experience, is cheating as prevalent - and sophisticated - as the report finds?