Cheating at some leading British universities has more than doubled in the past five years, new figures show as Russell Group institutions admit they are struggling to police so-called “essay mills.”

The number of students formally investigated for academic malpractice has quadrupled at Leeds University, from 127 in 2014/15 to 516 last year, according to figures obtained by The Telegraph under freedom of information requests.

Meanwhile, the number at Nottingham University almost trebled from 195 to 514 over the same period, and more than doubled at Queen Mary University London from 104 to 248.

It comes amid a rise in the use of “essay mills,” where companies offer essay-writing services for a fee. Also known as “contract cheating,” it is particularly difficult to spot since the essays are written by humans rather than machines and often tailored for individual subjects.

Some universities have seen a decline in traditional plagiarism, but it is now being replaced by contract cheating, figures show.

Despite overall academic misconduct decreasing by 27 percent over five years at Cardiff University, there has been a 73 percent rise in “collusion” offences, where students pay their peers to do their work for them or hire professional services.

Essay mills are illegal in some countries and vice-chancellors have called for essay mills to be outlawed in the United Kingdom, amid fears they are undermining the integrity of degree courses.

As many as one in seven recent graduates may have cheated by using essay mills during the last four years, according to a recent study.

Universities concede that it is hard to spot culprits, with a Manchester University spokesman saying, “Contract cheating is a difficult area to police and there are a number of external services marketing themselves to students around this area.”

Experts have warned that essay mills have become more common in recent years, with labor being outsourced to unemployed university graduates in countries like Kenya, India and Pakistan.

Irene Glendinning, an academic manager at Coventry University and vice president of European Network for Academic Integrity, said these figures are just the tip of the iceberg since so many instances go unnoticed.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【监督】jiāndū police regulate, control, or keep in order by or as if by means of police

【剽窃】piāoqiè plagiarism an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization

最新数据显示，过去5年来，英国一些顶尖大学的作弊现象翻倍。罗素大学集团承认，他们正在努力监管所谓的“论文作坊”。英国《每日电讯报》根据自由信息法案得到的数据显示，利兹大学正式调查的涉及学术不端行为的学生人数翻了两番，从2014-2015年度的127人增至去年的516人。在同一时期，诺丁汉大学因学术不端受调查的学生人数也几乎增长到原来的3倍，从195人增至514人。伦敦玛丽女王大学也翻了一倍多，从104人增加到248人。

其中，利用“论文作坊”的学生越来越多。“论文作坊”是指收费代写论文的公司，这一行为也被称为“合同作弊”。 由于论文是由人而非机器代写，且通常会按照要求“量身定做”，这种作弊情况常常很难被发现。

数据显示，虽然一些大学的传统抄袭现象有所减少，但其实是被这种“合同作弊”所取代。

在英国卡迪夫大学，5年来整体学术不端行为下降27%，但诸如付费给同学或雇佣专业服务代写作业这种“串通作案”却增加了73%。

“论文作坊”在一些国家是非法的，英国大学校长们呼吁取缔“论文作坊”，因为他们担心这会破坏学位课程的诚信。

根据一项最新研究，在过去四年中，多达七分之一的应届毕业生可能通过“论文作坊”作弊。

多所大学承认很难找出作弊者。曼彻斯特大学的一位发言人说：“合同作弊是一个很难监管的领域，有很多外部机构向学生推销自己的服务。”

专家警告说，“论文作坊”近年来变得越来越普遍，这些工作被“外包”给肯尼亚、印度和巴基斯坦等国的失业大学毕业生。

考文垂大学学术主管、欧洲学术诚信网络副总裁艾琳•格兰丁尼博士表示，这些数据只是冰山一角，因为很多事例都没有引起人们的注意。(chinadaily.com.cn)