custom assignment writing service ca

custom assignment writing service ca

Exploring the Ethical Implications of Custom Assignment Writing Services in Higher Education

1. Introduction to Custom Assignment Writing Services

Custom assignment writing services are online, specialized vendors that provide writing services as requested by clients. Provided that the transaction is financial and contractual in nature, service users purchase various information and knowledge aids, rather than goods. Custom assignment writing services have become increasingly popular in recent years, after the rise of the internet and the social changes that have come with it. Scholars have started to investigate the benefits and drawbacks of using such online services, as well as the impact on consumer and student behavior. As a standpoint, this chapter explores the moral implications of custom assignment writing services in higher education.

A whiff of scandal or academic dishonesty surrounds custom assignment writing services because they allow students to purchase knowledge, often for the wrong reasons: to pass exams, rather than seek knowledge. The growth of custom assignment writing services has grown so much that it has become necessary to conduct further research and review the growing literature in this area. Substantial research has been based on investigative journalism and the experiences of undercover journalists who pretend to be students needing to make a grade. Recently, more scholarly work has been conducted, including several empirical and review-based studies. The focus, however, is on the instructors’ views and the student experience. This chapter goes deeper and addresses ethical implications in higher education.

2. Ethical Concerns and Academic Integrity

Ordering custom assignments: Ethical concerns and academic integrity. Over the past decade, there has been growing concern about the number of students who may be commissioning others to write their written assignments. A substantial body of research already suggests this is a substantial problem, and there may be an increasing number of students who are turning to custom assignment writing services for some, or all, of their written work. The ethical dimensions of article writing services, however, remain underexplored at a time when academic misconduct is of increasing concern to educators and the wider student body. Values aligned to academic integrity are purported to be significant because they signal to employees a person’s values and character, and thus make transparent potential risk of academic misconduct such as plagiarism, collusion, ghostwriting services and contract cheating in their hiring decisions. Therefore, this raises two concerns: does using a custom assignment writing service impact on a student’s academic integrity? And what are the implications for students, educators and the gatekeepers of the academic discourse, the institutions?

In the following section, we offer a comprehensive overview of the literature related to academic misconduct in a higher or tertiary education context. We focus on work that considers academic misconduct as a disadvantage for tertiary education. Key concerns in the tertiary sphere are portrayed as cheating, plagiarism, dishonesty, gratification: trivialising, exploiting, and compromising, and writing. In conclusion, we note that academic and empirical research, from a legal and tertiary perspective, mirror some of our concerns around custom writing services in the secondary sector. The impact and implications of engaging with a custom assignment writing service are discussed in the following section more generally.

3. Regulatory Frameworks and Legal Considerations

Regulatory Frameworks & Legal Considerations

It has been argued by academia that the commercial trading of academic assignments is both legal, and an ‘entirely legitimate form of services’ on the side of the service provider business where there are no laws in the UK supervising the relations of student custom essay purchasing. Privacy and Data Protection laws both cite that they cannot ask an organisation who is conducting a criminal activity, without permission from the relevant body, to share information not just about a particular student, but to even disclose generally how many requests they have received. Additionally, most UK Universities are not incorporated under companies and charity law under the company acts in the UK, and as such are not legally bound to publication or declare their financial relationships with these academic contract cheating sites.

In the UK, the Fraud Act includes these criminal activities under section 4: ‘a person who has in his possession or under his control any article for use in the course of or in connection with any fraud’ is liable for fraudulent activities. However, cheating companies could argue that their services are designed to assist and provide academic aid either through providing examples to help students write better or providing editing services to students. It is difficult to prove in a court of law that a student has acted fraudulently in this case without definitive proof that a student did not write the work. Importantly, the UK Supreme Court judgment in R (on the application of Noone) v Governors of Waterfield Primary School determined that ‘the commitment to provide clear and helpful guidelines to potential claimants about how to establish a genuine and effective belief for the purposes of the course was crucial in shaping the liability’. How this guidance reflects upon scaremongering and arguably unhelpfully focusing on targeting students themselves over websites is outlined in section three.

4. Impact on Student Learning and Development

Part 4: Impact on student learning and development

Students who engage in the purchase of custom and contract cheating assignments and assessments take risks to their education and future. They are taught differently and may not master learning outcomes or develop needed graduate attributes. Clearly, the growth of custom assignment writing undertaken by individuals is a source of concern. The service, in any form, substitutes for the original educational experience. Academics do engage in service-based relationships with students at universities with the expectation of the underlying requirements regarding ownership, integrity, and original assessment performance being met. It is vital to maintain individual trust in the relevance, application, and meaning of qualifications taken at universities. While “Buying assignments” acknowledges the use by students of custom writing services, it fails to advance our understanding of the implications for pedagogy and curriculum.

These assignments should provide educators with evidence that allows them to provide benefits to students in the form of tailored feedback to foster academic growth and developmental acquisition of graduate attributes. Engaging in the purchase of the entire assignment simplifies feedback from academic assessors, so nothing is gained by the student in terms of feedback that would be an educational experience—save for avoiding a failing mark by submitting late in the assessment process. The degree of “development feedback” in relation to meeting the learning outcomes will be negligible. Used in a positive sense, original assignments model a service-based and authentic assessment environment, variously including external requirements, communication with peers and academic assessors, and the use of creative skills and interdisciplinary perspectives, and so forth. These provide context for enhanced critical thinking through evaluation, analysis, and application of original ideas in assisting the development of the student as a graduate.

5. Conclusion: Navigating the Complex Terrain of Custom Assignment Writing Services

5. Conclusion: Navigating the Complex Terrain of Custom Assignment Writing Services

In this controversial topic article, we have explored the issues and ethics of the use of custom assignment writing services in higher education. We have explored the literature and the questions around whether using custom assignment writing services constitutes cheating, the legal position, and the potential consequences for institutions. We have also considered evidence of the increasing use of these sites, potential motivations for students using them, and the poor quality work that is produced. We have discussed the inequities across an international student body and potential negative educational impact. We do acknowledge that while there may be many scenarios where seeking help is reasonable, those examples would generally involve providing students with opportunities for learning and development, whereas this commissioned work directly assists students to avoid meeting ethical requirements.

In addition, we have explored other potential complicating factors, including the motivations of some researchers and the role of these sites in the facilitation of student academic misconduct more widely. Alongside these issues, we have touched on a larger ethical question – does jumping to ban these services deny students’ opportunities to learn to deal with failure and reflect on that failure as part of their academic learning and professional development? Various authors have suggested that we should take a softer regulatory stance on this issue in order to provide a pedagogical opportunity for honesty and reflection. The problem, of course, is determining where these lines are drawn, and whether there could (or should?) be flexibility around ethical norms and honesty and integrity. Ultimately, if services such as these are here to stay, who should control and regulate their activities? What are the best, most ethical steps forward for regulators and educators? The integration of educational ethics and the practicalities of how we can care for and assess a large and diverse workload remains yet to be explored, as we acknowledge in the section on limitations.