We’re now in the run up to the 4th International Day of Action Against Contract Cheating. This annual event, aimed at raising awareness about contract cheating and getting the discussion going, began in 2016. The event has got bigger every year, with more international institutions taking part.
One of the biggest strengths of the event is when students themselves have taken leadership roles in organising local activities (or have partnered with academic staff).
Irene Glendinning and I are part of the group organising this year’s event and we delivered a webinar to encourage people to get involved.
The slides we used for the webinar are available . They are also included below.
The slides contain examples of why contract cheating remains a problem and the measures that the contract cheating industry is taking to continue to grow and prosper. There are lots of examples of activities used in previous International Days of Action Against Contract Cheating, as well as ideas for more.
The webinar attendees shared several of their own good ideas. Whiteboard pledges are a well-established part of the event, but I love the idea of group pledges. There was also a suggestion of running a contract cheating based escape room, which would be a lot of fun if someone can figure out good puzzles and activities.
You can watch the whole video of the webinar here.
Do try and get involved if you’re not already taking part. Even if you can’t sign up your institution, you can still show your support on the day and get involved with the online discussions. It is really important to make noise and show that the whole academic community is in favour of academic integrity, not contract cheating.