Paying people to do your coursework....

Original post by barrellc

I know quite a few people that have started paying people online to do their coursework for them; either because they've got other stuff on or they just cant be bothered.
I don't get why you would want to do it, because surely it is no longer your degree.
What are your thoughts?

They are dumb cheats and risk being thrown out.

Reply 2

OP

Original post by 999tigger

They are dumb cheats and risk being thrown out.

but its so hard for thee university to catch them, as technically speaking it is an original piece of work so it isnt going to be flagged up on turnitin. Unless the company they use its fake and used to catch people they wont get caught...

Reply 3

DrawTheLine

22

I don't get it either. They might as well not go to uni because even if they get a good degree they won't have the skills to go with it and will be unlikely to succeed in getting good jobs.

Reply 4

Original post by DrawTheLine

I don't get it either. They might as well not go to uni because even if they get a good degree they won't have the skills to go with it and will be unlikely to succeed in getting good jobs.

The sad truth is, not doing coursework does not mean you won't learn any skills. Most jobs look for soft skills and coursework does not count as that. The grand sum of going to university is getting a piece of paper that says you've done a subject to some given standard. Apart from vocational degrees, it's theoretically possible to self study everything that you normally learn at university.

This cheating is obviously more of a problem in humanities due to the amount of essays they have to submit, but I doubt that cheating would affect people in any way unless they got caught, which is why people get so annoyed by it

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 5

Original post by barrellc

but its so hard for thee university to catch them, as technically speaking it is an original piece of work so it isnt going to be flagged up on turnitin. Unless the company they use its fake and used to catch people they wont get caught...

Tutors cam spot style differences. If you are a third class student turning in 2:1 then they will spot that. Also doesnt help you for exams.
Only need to be caught once and you will probably be expelled. If they cnat be bothered, then they should think of why they are at uni in the first place.

Reply 6

Original post by barrellc

but its so hard for thee university to catch them, as technically speaking it is an original piece of work so it isnt going to be flagged up on turnitin. Unless the company they use its fake and used to catch people they wont get caught...

People just want a degree to get a job without doing the hard work. Personally I would never cheat as I think it would be more rewarding doing it myself, but not everyone shares that view and TBH, if two people do the same subject and get a 1st but one of them has cheated, neither of them will be less employable than the other on paper.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 7

OP

Original post by DrawTheLine

I don't get it either. They might as well not go to uni because even if they get a good degree they won't have the skills to go with it and will be unlikely to succeed in getting good jobs.

They have argued to me in the past that the skills we gain on our degree arent that relevant anyway so it wouldnt affect them... and in some ways i agree with that, im not sure how relevant any degree is if its not medical or science based...

Reply 8

But what about those few people who are half-competent but cheated and still get a good job, no one will be any wiser?

Reply 9

OP

Original post by 999tigger

Tutors cam spot style differences. If you are a third class student turning in 2:1 then they will spot that. Also doesnt help you for exams.
Only need to be caught once and you will probably be expelled. If they cnat be bothered, then they should think of why they are at uni in the first place.

I would love to think this was true, but for my course at least, I have never had the same tutor twice on my different modules, so they have no clue what my normal style would be and maybe dont even know my grade history. Plus it may not be that person would typically be a bad performer when they get people to do their work so the grade may not be an indicator... plus they can be variable anyway. My friend in our most recent module got 74% for his coursework and 42% in the exam - he was pretty mortified but it was all him.

Reply 10

username2911200

Original post by 999tigger

Tutors cam spot style differences. If you are a third class student turning in 2:1 then they will spot that. Also doesnt help you for exams.
Only need to be caught once and you will probably be expelled. If they cnat be bothered, then they should think of why they are at uni in the first place.

Original post by barrellc

I would love to think this was true, but for my course at least, I have never had the same tutor twice on my different modules, so they have no clue what my normal style would be and maybe dont even know my grade history. Plus it may not be that person would typically be a bad performer when they get people to do their work so the grade may not be an indicator... plus they can be variable anyway. My friend in our most recent module got 74% for his coursework and 42% in the exam - he was pretty mortified but it was all him.

Tutors don't know the names of the people's work they're marking so there's no risk of bias either way, they just given the work to mark with no details of the student. They have no idea whose work they're marking so there's no way they'd spot any style differences.

Reply 11

Original post by barrellc

I would love to think this was true, but for my course at least, I have never had the same tutor twice on my different modules, so they have no clue what my normal style would be and maybe dont even know my grade history. Plus it may not be that person would typically be a bad performer when they get people to do their work so the grade may not be an indicator... plus they can be variable anyway. My friend in our most recent module got 74% for his coursework and 42% in the exam - he was pretty mortified but it was all him.

Honestly I dont care. If they do it they are cheating every other student. I hope they get caught. If you think its a good idea, then go for it.

Reply 12

Original post by Glassapple

Tutors don't know the names of the people's work they're marking so there's no risk of bias either way, they just given the work to mark with no details of the student. They have no idea whose work they're marking so there's no way they'd spot any style differences.

Depends what work we are talking about. Not all work is blindmarked.

Reply 13

OP

I agree that theyre not so highly thought of by a lot, and I cant really blame people; as you said its so easy to get into uni now. I feel that these things are devaluing our degrees, as anyone can go in and pay their way through - and i genuinely dont think theyll get caught. There is so many studednts that tutors are already swamped with work and dont have time to figure out if someones style has changed.

Nowadays 75% of people get a 2.1 or above (25% being a first) and thats increased dramatically in the last 5 years, and im starting to think that maybe its because of these sites, and its devaluing it for everyone else.

I dont think an employer is going to notice, unless the degree is actually relevant to what the role is, which most of the time isnt the case...

Reply 14

username2911200

Original post by 999tigger

Depends what work we are talking about. Not all work is blindmarked.

Anything that actually counts for your grades is marked blind so that your classification isn't affected by favouritism or dislike. For coursework that matters they won't know who they're marking and so won't spot any style differences between pieces of work.

Reply 15

OP

Original post by e^iπ

People just want a degree to get a job without doing the hard work. Personally I would never cheat as I think it would be more rewarding doing it myself, but not everyone shares that view and TBH, if two people do the same subject and get a 1st but one of them has cheated, neither of them will be less employable than the other on paper.

If there was enough jobs to go around I would totally agree, but its likely that those 2 people will be directly competing for roles, and on paper they look the same and there is no real way of proving that you are the one the worked harder...

Reply 16

Original post by barrellc

I agree that theyre not so highly thought of by a lot, and I cant really blame people; as you said its so easy to get into uni now. I feel that these things are devaluing our degrees, as anyone can go in and pay their way through - and i genuinely dont think theyll get caught. There is so many studednts that tutors are already swamped with work and dont have time to figure out if someones style has changed.

Nowadays 75% of people get a 2.1 or above (25% being a first) and thats increased dramatically in the last 5 years, and im starting to think that maybe its because of these sites, and its devaluing it for everyone else.

I dont think an employer is going to notice, unless the degree is actually relevant to what the role is, which most of the time isnt the case...

This is due to the fact that most universities prioritie their postgraduates over their undergraduates. Many of the people couldn't give a toss about the work their undergrads hand in

Reply 17

OP

Original post by 999tigger

Honestly I dont care. If they do it they are cheating every other student. I hope they get caught. If you think its a good idea, then go for it.

I wouldnt do it, I wouldnt be able to say i earned my degree if i did. But its so easy for them to get away with it, and i dont understand why people do it :/

Reply 18

OP