Understanding Contract Cheating Businesses

Like all commercial operations, commercial contract cheating is beholden to the laws of “supply” and “demand.” This chapter argues that in order to address the problem that this cheating behavior represents, it is important to understand both sides of the equation. It offers an historical comparison between recent business models uncovered by contract cheating scandals with another one from half a century earlier. This historical perspective enables an appreciation of how little has changed in the interim both in terms of the attitudes of the “suppliers” and the “consumers,” and the responses from those endeavoring to address the problem. The comparison prompts a re-evaluation about what might be done differently by educators and institutions to turn our vulnerabilities into strengths, and thereby turn the tables on commercial contract cheating providers to make their industry unviable.