So, the University of Sheffield is experiencing a problem with students cheating. In the last year, 26 of our students were found cheating, leading to seven expulsions.
The University sees cheating as “a very serious matter”, and has always vowed to take strict disciplinary action on students who do it.
It is tempting to cheat. While I have never done it, I confess I have been tempted to.
If you’re tackling a dissertation and have essays to do at the same time, having one less piece of work to do will be a great relief. I am not surprised that students are using these websites, given the stress we are often under with our workloads.
This might, to some, seem a generational problem. In their day, young people had better morals and would never dream of cheating. But I don’t think you can make that generalisation.
But as one of the Russell Group, our uni is one of the best in the country. As a result, there are high expectations on students who are expected to strive for top grades. And the pressure can be too much for some.
However, cheating is not just a University of Sheffield problem. The pressure for young people to succeed is increasing, while the job market is getting more and more competitive.
Students want to do the best they can, and sadly, the increased pressure sometimes leads them to cheat. And while cheating is wrong, I can find it in my heart to sympathise these rogues. Unfortunately for them, universities can’t.