Thanks to a learned reader for pointing out the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education has a win againstUKEssays, “we take your instructions to tailor an awesome essay just the way you need it”. According to the essay provider, students purchase, “a model answer for the student to use as a learning exercise and resource to start from when writing their own work for submission.” The QAA argued this is not what students take away from advertising. The Advertising Standards Authority agreed, “because we considered consumers would expect from the ad that they could submit purchased essays as their own that would meet the ordered grade without risks, which was not the case, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”

With masterful British understatement, (particularly for a bloke who hails from frank-speaking Queensland) QAA’s Ian Kimber says, “’essay mills mislead students and put their academic and professional careers at risk.” ​

The learned reader suggests TEQSA should follow the UK example and use all available agencies to go after essay providers.