Macquarie University in Sydney has revoked two degrees and prevented 10 students from graduating after they were caught using a ghost-writing website to complete their assignments.
An independent investigation by the university, in Sydney’s northwest, found 36 students guilty of cheating by using a website called MyMaster to submit course work.
Fail grades have been handed to all 36 students, including 10 who have been prevented from graduating as “they no longer meet the academic requirements for their degree”, a university spokesperson said in a statement
Two graduates had their degrees revoked. The remaining students will have to complete an ethics assignment and will remain on probation until they complete their studies.
The university referred 56 students to the disciplinary committee for hearings earlier this year.
Fairfax Media last year reported MyMaster had provided ghost-writing services to thousands of university students, with the cheating scandal engulfing numerous universities across New South Wales.
Professor John Simons, deputy vice-chancellor, said: “The university continues to take matters of academic misconduct extremely seriously.
“Although a minority of students practise cheating, the university will continue to work to prevent it and to penalise it where it is detected.”
