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Contract Cheating

1. What Is Contract Cheating?

  • When students get academic work completed on their behalf, which they then submit for credit as if they had created it
  • Some examples include:
    • paying someone to complete an assignment
    • posting or purchasing answers to an exam
    • asking an unpaid individual to complete an assignment for you
  • 7% of US Students report having purchased an assignment

2. The Risks Of Contract Cheating

  • Serious academic and disciplinary penalties (including suspension or expulsion)
  • Risk of doing business with a dubious company
    • Students have reported being blackmailed by services that write papers on their behalf
  • Robbing yourself of an opportunity to learn
  • It may be illegal (NJ Rev Stat § 18A:2-3 (2019))

3. Community Impact

  • Diminishes the value of a Rutgers education, and damages the reputation of the institution
    • Employers will be unlikely to hire individuals who come from programs where students are known to cheat
  • Unfair to students who work honestly; 23% of US students reported having peers who purchased assignments

4. What Can I Do To Help?

  • Share information about contract cheating among your peers
  • Hold yourself and other students accountable for completing work independently
  • Follow the Rutgers University Honor Pledge: “On my honor, I have neither received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this examination or assignment.”

Sources