Student suspended over ‘bought’ essays

Deakin University has suspended at least one overseas student believed to be among a large group of students using online services to buy essays. More than 100 students were implicated in academic misconduct at the Victorian university earlier this year. The Business and Law Faculty’s deputy dean, Chris Kelly, said in the process of marking a group assignment staff members identified “inconsistencies and irregularities that prompted them to investigate possible academic misconduct amongst some of the submitted group assignments”. Kelly said 30 students were then investigated, and following a hearing, it was proved that nine of them had submitted work that wasn’t their own. “Students were advised of their right to appeal. None of the nine students appealed the decision,” Kelly said.