Revoked degrees and penalties for NSW students caught in MyMaster cheating scandal

IN the latest crackdown against the MyMaster cheating service, Macquarie University and The University of Wollongong have issued penalties to students found guilty of cheating as part of a private internal investigation. Jonathan Lian reports.

Two students from Macquarie University and one from The University of Wollongong have had their degrees formally withdrawn after internal investigations from both universities discovered its students were responsible for using the now defunct MyMaster ghost writing service.

A further 36 students from Macquarie University have also received fail grades for each unit cheated and are now under academic probation, with 10 of these students having been prevented from graduating.

The University of Wollongong has meanwhile failed five of its current students after they were found guilty of buying essays online.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, a spokesperson for The University of Wollongong further added that all of its identified students were also given “a deferred 12-month suspension and a severe reprimand”.

Both universities’ disciplinary and conduct committees made these decisions after discovering its students no longer met the academic requirements of their degrees as a result of using MyMaster.

In an official statement, Macquarie University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor John Simons said the University will continue to take academic misconduct extremely seriously.

“Although a minority of students practice cheating, the University will continue to work to prevent it and to penalise it where it is detected,” he said.

In November, the Sydney Morning Herald found 128 requests from students of Macquarie University and 26 requests from students of UOW were made to MyMaster.

Other leading New South Wales universities rocked by this scandal are finalising their own investigations with independent disciplinary hearings being held for suspected students.