Cheating scandal uncovered at UK uni as dozens of students on same course caught buying essays

Dozens of students on the same UK university course were caught paying someone to do their work for them. Students on the postgrad economics course at the University of East Anglia were involved in an “essay mills” cheating scandal.

This is a type of “contract cheating” – when you strike a deal with another person to do your work for you in exchange for something. Just in case you weren’t sure – yes, it is now illegal in England to pay somebody to write your essay for them. The 2022 Skills and Post-16 Education Act made contract cheating for financial gain a criminal offence.

We don’t know exactly how many students on this one university course were cheating with essay mills. But the number has been reported as being in the dozens. The uni dealt with 69 incidents of contract cheating in 2024, which is up from five in the 2022/2023 academic year. In other recent years, there have been fewer than five cases.

UEA’s iconic Norfolk Terrace
(Credit: Nicola J Patron via Creative Commons)

A spokesperson for UEA said: “In 2023-24, the university detected a significant increase in the suspected use of essay mills – where the student pays someone to write their essay – within the postgraduate taught economics cohort.

“This was observed in two modules and led to an in-depth internal investigation, whereby the students involved were appropriately dealt with in accordance with the university’s policy on plagiarism and collusion.”

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They continued: “UAE’s policy on plagiarism and collusion, which includes inappropriate use of AI, details the types of penalties that can be imposed on students depending on the case. This includes a range of sanctions up to and including potential suspension and expulsion.”

Although essay mills are illegal, UEA didn’t ask the police to get involved in their investigation of the economics course.

The postgraduate economics course at UEA involves lots of written work. Students have to do complete coursework and churn out a 12,000-word written assignment.

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Featured image of UEA by Nigel Chadwick via Creative Commons.