Contracting for Academic Fraud The Concept and the Imperatives for Criminalization

The increasing demand for higher education was a double-edged weapon. Although it resulted in undeniable positive outcome such as universities\u27 pursuit to develop their performance as well as their academic quality standards, there were, also, undeniable abuses among students. The expansion of the Essay mills has contributed to the transformation of cheating into an industry. Many students were tempted to contract others to write and submit their university essays as their own work, resulting in the emergence of the phenomenon of Contract cheating , which poses a serious threat to the quality and standards of higher education throughout the world. The aim of this study is to clarify the concept of “Contract cheating” under the Essay mills, and to determine their legal nature, as well as to analyze the difficulties facing the penal system in dealing with it, with a view to proposing the most appropriate methods for protecting the higher education system. The study found that a legal-pedagogical-technical system must be built against the Essay mills. This strategy is based on preventive pedagogical measures to enhance the values of academic integrity, as well as technical measures to contribute to the detection of Contract cheating. New legislation should be enacted taking into account comparative legislation, especially in the Arab world - that incriminate these practices and allows Essay mills to be prosecute