The MyMaster essay cheating scandal has been dominating the Australian media for weeks, with new information coming out regarding a problem that has found its way into the country’s finest universities.
For those who might not be up to date on this scandal, it is about a Sydney-based website known as MyMaster, which was found to ghost-write assignments and online tests for university students. The website mainly targeted international students who were studying in New South Wales, and during the investigation it was believed that over 1000 students from 17 universities were involved in this cheating scandal.
What is more alarming was that students from Australia’s top universities were implicated in this scandal, including those studying at Macquarie, UTS, Sydney, UNSW, and Newcastle University.
So why did this happen? How did so many smart students get caught up in this embarrassing and unethical practice? And what will happen to guilty students who find themselves in this position?
Well, that is what we are going to explore below.
Why Should You Complete Your OWN Assignments?
We acknowledge the fact that as a student you find yourself in a super competitive university atmosphere where cheating is a common occurrence. While it is easy to get swept up into this culture, there are many ethical aspects that you need to take into consideration.
When you complete your own assignment without any fraudulent assistance, you have peace of mind that is priceless. Whether you pass or fail, the content is yours, and the opinion are yours. You can defend your assignment knowing that it was the product of your own hard work and determination.
Additionally, when you complete your own assignments and sit your own tests, you have the chance to learn. What happens when you find yourself a graduate job, but you don’t know how to do it because you cheated your way through university?
The consequences of cheating do not stop the day you get back your assignment. They will cause ripples for years to come, and you need to take that into careful consideration.
What Are The Consequences of Cheating?
Whether you are copying your friend’s work, buying your assignments online, or getting another person to sit your exam, there are consequences for your cheating. Here they are:
1. Loss of credibility
When you join university you will get to know your professors or lecturers very well, and you will be spending a lot of time with them. Whether you like it or not, the opinion that your lecturer has of you can help you succeed or cause you to fail.
When you get caught cheating, you will lose all your credibility with your lecturer. When this happens, your lecturer will never have a great recommendation for you in regards to awards, scholarships, special programs, internships, and graduate jobs. This is devastating for your career.
2. You are wasting money
University is expensive, and if you waste your time cheating, you will also be wasting the money that has been invested into your education.
3. You will be failed on the subject
Once you are caught cheating, the disciplinary committee at your university will give fail grades on the subjects you cheated on.
During the ongoing MyMaster investigation, 24 students were issued fail grades for their 2014 course, and 10 of them were unable to graduate as they no longer met the academic requirements for their particular degree.
4. Suspension and Expulsion
With the exception of UNSW, all universities that were listed in the scandal list expulsion as the maximum penalty that can be enforced on someone who breaches academic protocol.
The University of Newcastle has already expelled 2 students and suspended 8, and these are just the first casualties in the MyMaster scandal that will be ongoing for months if not years.
5. Get Your Degree Revoked
You might think that you can fully get away with your cheating once you have graduated from university. However, your sins will come back to bite you, in the form of a revoked degree.
At the present moment, Macquarie University has target=”_blank”>revoked the degrees of 2 of their former students, and the rest of the universities are looking at 2014 graduates to see who is mentioned in the cheating allegations.
Tips On How To Do Well In Your Assignment
1. Discuss the assignment topic with your professor
2. Break the assignment into smaller parts, and tackle each part by itself
3. Join a study group or get a tutor
4. Have an older student or another professor read your assignment beforehand
5. Pay attention in class, and make organized notes
As you can see, cheating is definitely not worth it. The consequences are dire, and the triumphs are small and temporary. If you are struggling with assignments and tests in university, follow the tips above instead of trying to cheat.
You will thank me later.
It is quite a difficult situation for the students who were involved in a similar scandal. This will negatively affect their further education at the university.