Collusion, Rackets, and Plagiarism in Assessments
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21100/msor.v21i1.1411Keywords:
assessment, cheating, collusion, malpractice, plagiarismAbstract
Recently, due to the global pandemic, some higher education institutions moved from formal closed-book examinations to emergency virtual assessments (EVAs). These EVAs normally comprised open-book, remote, short time-frame assessments. Most institutions are moving back to formal examinations as effects from the pandemic reduce, but some institutions have created a “new normal†regarding assessments and have opted to remain with open-book, remote, non-invigilated assessments. With these enforced changes, the mathematical sciences assessment setter is tasked with creating assessments which are resistant to collusion, plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice. Here we discuss some recent examples of issues encountered in the assessment of science and engineering topics without formal invigilated examinations.References
British Broadcasting Company, 2023, ChatGPT: Microsoft to invest billions in chatbot maker OpenAI, Available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64374283. [Accessed 24 January 2023].
Department of Education, U.K. Government, 2021, Press Release: Essay mills to be banned under plans to reform post-16 education, Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/essay-mills-to-be-banned-under-plans-to-reform-post-16-education. [Accessed 28 November 2022].
Financial Times, 2021, Student cheating is now a multibillion-dollar business, Available at https://www.ft.com/content/3fcfcf72-4838-49e5-b9ce-a360b5b5ab6b. [Accessed 30 November 2022].
Khan, M. A., 2021, COVID-19’s Impact on Higher Education: A Rapid Review of Early Reactive Literature, Education Sciences, 11, 421, https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080421 .
Lancaster, T. and Cotarlan, C., 2021, Contract cheating by STEM students through a file sharing website: a Covid-19 pandemic perspective, International Journal for Educational Integrity, 17(3). Available at https://edintegrity.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s40979-021-00070-0.
Scottish Government, 2020, Coronavirus (COVID-19): First positive case in Scotland, Available at: https://www.gov.scot/news/coronavirus-covid-19/ [Accessed 28 November 2022].
Scottish Parliament, 2022, Timeline of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland, Available at: https://spice-spotlight.scot/2022/11/18/timeline-of-coronavirus-covid-19-in-scotland/ [Accessed 28 November 2022].
Terwiesch, T., 2023, Would Chat GPT3 Get a Wharton MBA? A Prediction
Based on Its Performance in the Operations Management Course, Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Available at https://mackinstitute.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Christian-Terwiesch-Chat-GTP.pdf. [Accessed 24 January 2023].
World Health Organization (WHO), 2020, WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020, Available at: https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020 [Accessed 28 November 2022].
Yoder-Himes, D. R., Asif, A., Kinney, K., Brandt, T. J., Cecil, R. E., Himes, P. R., Cashon, C., Hopp, R. M. P., and Ross, E., 2022, Racial, skin tone, and sex disparities in automated proctoring software. Frontiers in Education, 7, 881449, https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.881449 .
