Universities: Contract Cheating

Lord Watson of Invergowrie Excerpts

Wednesday 11th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The OfS of course takes responsibility for this and undertakes an annual analysis of degree classification trends at sector and provider level. It will publish its findings and directly challenge the sector where there is evidence. We welcome the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment’s work to define the standards for all classifications of degrees.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister will remember that when the Higher Education and Research Bill was before your Lordships’ House last year his colleague the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, stated that legislation to counter cheating was not necessary and that he had asked the sector bodies to develop guidance with tough new penalties. The Minister just referred to that guidance, but it contains no penalties either tough or new. I noticed that he mentioned sanctions against institutions, but what about individuals? The emphasis is very much on prevention rather than cure, which is all right up to a point, but surely there comes a point when sanctions have to be taken against students on an individual basis. I shall repeat the question just asked by the noble Lord, Lord Storey, and again invite the Minister to say at what point the Government will conclude that guidance is not sufficient and that legislation targeting the providers is necessary to root out the source of this serious problem.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

There are a number of questions there, but I say at the outset that it is often made clear when individuals sign on for courses that they have to be aware of the punishments for students who deliberately cheat. They include being sent down from university. That is made very clear. Some universities, including Nottingham and Oxford, demand an authorship signature from people submitting essays so that if something has gone wrong and they are seen to be cheating, it is down to them and they have signed for it.