Collusion

A second area where social media policies converge is the use of social media to collude with other students. This is often explicitly stated, for example the Open University policy states

• Answers to assessment questions and feedback must not be shared on social media under any circumstances – this could be contrary to the Academic Conduct Policy.

Note here that you are not only breaking the rules associated with the Social Media Policy, but you are also likely breaking rules associated with the Academic Conduct Policy. This could result in disciplinary action. While most students understand that sharing whole essays is against the rules there are various ways in which you may be exposed to rule breaking behaviour. Here, Mel Green discusses the issue of Collusion.

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Transcript: Video 5 Academic misconduct

Mel Green

In my, the Discord community that I created these past couple of years, I've not had any examples of students colluding with each other or sharing answers to assignments or going beyond the support and guidance perhaps that you should have with your fellow students.

However, as I'm part of a module team, a wider module team, I'm aware that has happened in WhatsApp groups. And what I've been really pleased about is that students are the ones that have reported that to members of the module team because I think it's really important that students understand that taking answers, taking, it's not even guidance, but taking, yeah, answers to tutor assignments, sharing ideas beyond, you know, working in a collaborative group, like some of the modules I've worked on do have collaborative groups work but sharing ideas when you're not in one of those open university set up collaborative groups, all of that is just plagiarism and students need to be very aware of that, that even if you are not the one that's sharing, if you've taken ideas or taken answers from other students then that is misconduct.

And I think, as I said, I've only had experiences where my students are very conscious of that and very mindful of what they're suggesting. Now asking a question as to, you know, how would you answer this assignment is much different to asking the question of I'm really stuck on on what resources or what references, sorry, that I can include in my assignment. Can you point me to the right part of the textbook or can you point me to the right part of the module reader?

They're completely different. The latter is very much sort of asking for support, asking for guidance, advice even. The first one would be more of that, you know, telling me what to write in my tutor marked assignment.

End transcript: Video 5 Academic misconduct

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Video 5 Academic misconduct

Now consider the following example.

Activity 6 Peer to Peer collusion or just helping a friend

Timing: 10 minutes

Consider the following post based on a real-life message posted in a module specific WhatsApp group.

Afternoon!

I was wondering if anyone had any tips/resources/websites etc.. that they have used to help them with planning this essay that is due next week? I have been to all the seminars but just cant get my head around it. I really need to improve this for next year but have absolutely no idea where to start so any help would be much appreciated! Thankyou! Suzie

Rachel: I made a really good essay layout if you wanted me to send it to you, wont share the content just the plan xx

Suzie amazing! That would be brilliant thanku x

Rachel: ill send it to you now! X

Alan: Could I have a look at it too please?

Rachel: of course I’ll send it to you now x

Dan: Can u send it to me too please x sorry if I'm been cheeky x

Rachel: Of course I’ll send it now! Xx

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The exact line for where academic misconduct is reached is difficult to exactly establish. A degree of personal judgement is needed to assess whether that line is being crossed. Watch Cath Brown discuss these issues and describe some of the risks for students.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 6 Academic misconduct

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Transcript: Video 6 Academic misconduct

Cath Brown

I have to be honest from a student perspective I've also had other students telling me about it and asking my advice about it and I know I'm probably seeming rather hard-lined from a student perspective.

I did say look if it's over the line, report it to the university. Leave the group. You know, don't let yourself be affected by it. To me the more The more difficult ones are what I might call the grey areas because we all know it can be helpful to discuss our studies with someone else.

That you're trying to get your head around in my subject of maths, perhaps a tricky technique in how you apply it, trying to understand what the core concepts are if you're reading a fairly long chapter, what we think is the most important things about that and discussing those. You think that's great. That's why we're all there to help us.

But when does it kind of shade over the line into, well yes I'm helping you with this technique but I'm not doing that question for you and sometimes that goes a bit wrong and I have seen from my point of view as a tutor student work where you have the work, some of the work's coming from them and then you have an answer which doesn't appear to be coming from them.

And that's a fairly big warning sign that this isn't just a legitimate academic practice. And obviously people on both sides of that, the person who's using the answer from somebody else and the person giving it to them could be in all sorts of trouble and I think people sometimes forget that actually.

If you're the person who's helping the other person a little bit too much, you are culpable as well as the person receiving the help. You could both get in all sorts of trouble. And that actually happened to someone I knew that he thought he was being helpful and kind, and his intent was helpful and kind.

But unfortunately, the person to whom he showed his essay to give an idea used chunks of it entirely,and this friend of mine got pulled up for potential plagiarism. So, I think you have to be careful and if you feel you're heading over into the grey area then you need to pull back because deciding exactly where that dividing line is, is hard and the little bit that the person might gain from that extra help you give them really isn't worth the risk of being pulled up for academic misconduct.

End transcript: Video 6 Academic misconduct

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Video 6 Academic misconduct

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Finally, in terms of collusion, it is also common for students to be targeted via WhatsApp and Facebook groups by essay mill organisations. For example here is an image of an example post in a WhatsApp group. Using such sites will breach most universities regulations and should be avoided.

Maximise

Figure 3

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Image of a Whatsapp group chat, subject: Chemistry course 202..

still have that pending assignment and you don’t know how to go about it, experiencing writers block or is it just that you don’t have time to do it? XXXXX is here to help you bury that problem away with our qualified writers, who go through a thorough test to make sure we provide nothing but the desired quality that is guaranteed to give you more than just a mere passmark.

we have been in the business of helping students long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. We can guarantee you the grade that you've been longing for

Figure 3