Academic Misconduct in Higher Education

Academic Misconduct in Higher Education
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Academic Misconduct in Higher Education
Academic Misconduct in Higher Education Introduction Recent outbursts in Australia on the rampant cases of contract cheating in the country's higher education highlighted a growing concern about the quality of education and students graduating from their institutions of higher learning. Australian researchers estimate that approximately 150,000 students across the country's universities have cheated in their studies (Duffy, 2020). The scourge of academic misconduct elicited a widespread rebuke from government stakeholders. The policymakers called for the development and implementation of stringent measures for safeguarding the reputations of their prided institutions of higher learning. The government, for instance, enacted policies criminalizing particular forms of academic misconduct, such as contract cheating and student impersonation (Duffy, 2020). Another response to academic misconduct in Australia was a nationwide crackdown on online platforms offering assignment help or essay writing services to students at a fee. The Australian government's reaction to the outburst prompts an evaluation of the issue of academic misconduct in the country's industry of higher education. Academic misconduct refers to any action or behavior that undermines the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility in learning, teaching, and research in one's studies (TEQSA, 2022). In essence, academic misconduct betrays the academic integrity of students, teaching staff, higher learning institutions, and the higher education industry. It creates a bad reputation for the entire higher education sector, whose graduates are likely to be considered incompetent to deliver in their future positions in the country's workforce. The students would also be unqualified to continue exercising the right to explore their respective disciplines (Bretag, Contract cheating in Australian higher education: a comparison of non-university higher education providers and universities, 2019). Australia's higher education sector serves to achieve critical outcomes that transcend the common notion of preparing students for the job market. Among its essential purposes include inspiring and empowering individuals or students to achieve their highest potential in developing their knowledge and skills, enabling individuals to embrace learning as a lifetime process, and assisting in the application of acquired knowledge and skills toward sustainable growth and development of the country's economy (Stevensonclarke, 2011). The higher education sector also purposes to enhance the flexibility of individuals to adapt and learn the demands of the emerging trends across the social, political, and economic spectrum (Stevensonclarke, 2011). The industry further contributes to maintaining a civilized and democratic society that embraces diversity and the underlying principles or ideologies that promote the country's social identity (Bretag, Contract cheating in Australian higher education: a comparison of non-university higher education providers and universities, 2019). The highlighted purposes of Australia's higher ...