Tracey Bretag's Keynote speech about ground-breaking data from two large Australia-wide surveys – one
of students and one of teaching staff – which explored attitudes toward and experiences with
students’ use of third parties to complete assessment, and related teaching and learning factors.
Speech at 3rd international conference Plagiarism across Europe and Beyond 2017 (24th-26th May 2017, Brno, Czech Republic).
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8oowLwpRjo&feature=youtu.be
Length: 55 minutes
Abstract:
Following a number of scandals in Australia and internationally, contract cheating
has been identified as a significant problem for higher education institutions across the globe.
This keynote address¹ will report the preliminary findings from surveys conducted as part of a
current Australian Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) funded project, Contract cheating and
assessment design: Exploring the connection (led by Tracey Bretag and Rowena Harper) which
aimed to determine if and how authentic assessment may be used to minimize opportunities for
students to outsource their work.
The keynote will present ground-breaking data from two large Australia-wide surveys – one
of students and one of teaching staff – which explored attitudes toward and experiences with
students’ use of third parties to complete assessment, and related teaching and learning factors.
The data provides the higher education sector with a clearer understanding of the relationship
between university learning and assessment environments and contract cheating behavior.
The surveys were conducted in late 2016 at 12 higher education institutions and received over
15,000 student responses and 1,200 teaching staff responses. The keynote will share critical
findings of international interest, and make recommendations for evidence-based approaches
to addressing the issue of contract cheating. Delegates will be informed of:
• Self-reported rates of contract cheating, and the relationship with discipline, mode of study,
age and other variables
• Implications for assessment design, teaching and learning, and institutional practices
• Evidence regarding the critical role of the student-teacher relationship
The findings from this project will inform the development of teaching and learning resources
which will be freely available on the project website, as well as an online Academic Integrity
training program for students and staff, led by Tracey Bretag, and due for release in 2018 by
Epigeum, Oxford University Press.
Bretag, T. (2017). Evidence-based responses to contract cheating. In Plagiarism Across Europe and Beyond – Conference Proceedings (pp. 9-9). Brno: Mendel University.
