Inappropriately shared content
This page provides guidance on what to do if University course material is shared by students online without permission. The aim is to make the process of issuing copyright infringement notices to sharing sites more visible and more accessible to staff who may want to use it.
File-sharing and homework-helper sites
The University is aware that some of our students use file-sharing and homework-helper sites. While such sites offer some legitimate services, they are also platforms where collusion, contract cheating, and other forms of academic misconduct are made possible.
Use of these sites can include the uploading of course materials in search of unauthorised assistance with work submitted for assessment. These materials can include assignments, exams, lecture slides, notes created for teaching purposes, and third party copyrighted material shared with students under legitimate use provisions.
What to do if you find your course content online
If you find your University course material online, there are a number of steps you can take. If the material is on a file-sharing or homework-helper site such as Chegg or Course Hero and it is possible to identify the student who posted the material, this should be investigated as an allegation of potential academic misconduct. More information on how to act on academic misconduct.
There are two options to get University course or assessment material taken down.
- Issue a Takedown or Copyright Infringement Notice, using these templates. Submission directly to the site is often the fastest route to removal.
- Alternatively, by using this form to record the details of the found material, the Copyright Office can action the issuing of a takedown request on behalf of staff.
We also recommend that if University course content is discovered online this is communicated to student cohorts as early as possible. It is important to discuss with students the inappropriateness of sharing these materials and the potential consequences for them if they are found to be doing so. Under the Academic Board Penalty Guidelines, the consequences of contract cheating (either the sharing of materials or the use of a purchased answer) range from failure of a subject, through to suspension and expulsion, depending on the severity of the case.
How to find if your course content has been shared
Materials shared online may show up via a simple Google search or staff may be made aware of them through other means. We recommend that all materials shared with students include the University’s logo, the name of the creator or Unit Coordinator, and the subject that the materials have been created for. This will make it easier to identify materials as the University’s Intellectual Property.
In addition to these methods, the University has recently subscribed to an experimental tool called AssignmentWatch. Designed to identify when assessments are being shared, this tool is free and optional to use for all our staff. It was developed by academics from Queensland University of Technology and Swinburne University of Technology and funded by an Australian Council of Deans of ICT grant.
How AssignmentWatch works
AssignmentWatch monitors the web for specific terms over a set period of time. It works best with short answer assessments. Details of the assignment along with select terms contained within the tasks can be uploaded to AssignmentWatch and the tool will then notify users via email if any material matching those terms is found online. The tool will continue to search and notify matches until the ‘due date’ specified at the time of upload.
The key to AssignmentWatch’s efficacy is the monitoring terms selected, so we recommended referring to the usage guide. We further recommend that the ‘due date’ for the search terms is set to be a few weeks later than the due date for the assessment to account for late submissions.