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<p>The shift to online platforms has heightened concerns about academic misconduct, particularly contract cheating, where students outsource work to third parties. While research has examined perceptions of this issue, less attention has been given to concrete teacher-led strategies, especially within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. This study explored how 40 Iranian EFL teachers mitigate contract cheating in online higher education exams. Data were collected through focus groups, written narrative accounts, and open-ended questionnaires, complemented by a customized ranking scale to assess the perceived importance of strategies. Findings revealed three main areas of intervention: assessment design and delivery, identity verification and monitoring, and student engagement with academic integrity. Redesigning exam tasks to limit outsourcing opportunities and implementing multi-factor authentication were ranked as the most effective approaches. The study highlights the need for a proactive, multi-pronged approach that combines pedagogical redesign, ethical engagement, and institutional support. By centering teachers’ perspectives, it underscores their role as frontline defenders of academic integrity and provides context-sensitive insights for policy-makers, material developers, and teacher educators seeking to strengthen online assessment practices.</p>

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Stopping the Silent Fraud: Language Teachers’ Strategies to Mitigate Contract Cheating in Online Higher Education Exams

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月8日

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  • Alireza Maleki,
  • Sedigheh Karimpour

摘要

The shift to online platforms has heightened concerns about academic misconduct, particularly contract cheating, where students outsource work to third parties. While research has examined perceptions of this issue, less attention has been given to concrete teacher-led strategies, especially within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. This study explored how 40 Iranian EFL teachers mitigate contract cheating in online higher education exams. Data were collected through focus groups, written narrative accounts, and open-ended questionnaires, complemented by a customized ranking scale to assess the perceived importance of strategies. Findings revealed three main areas of intervention: assessment design and delivery, identity verification and monitoring, and student engagement with academic integrity. Redesigning exam tasks to limit outsourcing opportunities and implementing multi-factor authentication were ranked as the most effective approaches. The study highlights the need for a proactive, multi-pronged approach that combines pedagogical redesign, ethical engagement, and institutional support. By centering teachers’ perspectives, it underscores their role as frontline defenders of academic integrity and provides context-sensitive insights for policy-makers, material developers, and teacher educators seeking to strengthen online assessment practices.