Advice for students: Employment offers from online study platforms

This article is reposted from TEQSA

There has been large growth in online study platforms in recent years.

TEQSA is concerned some of these websites may promote, enable or supply academic cheating services (also known as contract cheating).

Under Australia’s anti-cheating laws, the promotion or sale of academic cheating services is illegal and subject to penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment or fines of up to $110,000.

TEQSA has become aware some of these websites are seeking to employ students to promote their services through on-campus activities and events.

There is a risk that students employed to promote a website could face criminal penalties if the website is found to be breaking Australian law.

What we’re doing about this

TEQSA is continuing to monitor and assess the operation of several online platforms to determine if they breach Australia’s anti-cheating law.

We have asked all higher education providers to consider their policies about which companies are permitted to promote their services to students, institutional policies in relation to use of these platforms and to ensure these policies are consistently enforced and communicated.

We’ve also asked all higher education providers to inform students about this risk.

What you can do

• Students offered a job to promote a company on-campus to other students should speak with their institution first to determine if the company is permitted to operate on their campus.
• Ensure you understand academic integrity and Australia’s anti-cheating laws. TEQSA’s resources for students are a great place to start.
• Never share your work online, as it may be sold by cheating services to other students.
• Do not buy or sell essays, assignments or other assessments online. This is a breach of academic integrity and selling these services is illegal under Australian law.

All University of Divinity students should read the University’s Academic Integrity Policy and the Code of Conduct.