Cheating Reported in British Universities

More than 80 universities have gone through this survey and the information obtained proves that thousands of students plagiarize, bribe lecturers, buy essays from the Internet, copy from peers, use unauthorized technology in exam halls, take notes into exam halls, falsify professors’ signatures and much more. Yet, not all are penalized for this lack of ethical behavior and academic dishonesty.  The highest number of cheating incidents took place in Greenwich University which reported 916 incidents last year, compared to 540 just five years earlier. Sheffield Hallam reported the next largest number with 801 incidences, out of which 500 were for plagiarism. East London University went through 733 cases of deception, of which 612 were of plagiarism. Loughborough University had 151 incidents take place last year of which 43 were committed by post graduates. Even Oxford University has not escaped this epidemic.

Professor Geoffrey Alderman, from the University of Buckingham, who is a long-standing critic of falling standards in higher education, said the factors to be blamed for this depressing state of events are the style of teaching and assessment now used at some institutions 

"It is worrying that students now resort to cheating on such a widespread scale and that the punishments on the whole are not robust enough.