Senator Ken LaValle's Legislation Banning The Sale Of Dissertations, Theses, and Term Papers Electronically Passes Senate

March 2, 2016 - The New York State Senate today passed legislation (S2810), sponsored by Senator Kenneth LaValle (R-C-I, Port Jefferson), that would prevent academic fraud by banning the sale of electronic theses, term papers, and dissertations.

Senator LaValle, Chair of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee, said, “Unfortunately, there have always been some students who have found ways to cheat on exams or to buy term papers, instead of learning by researching and writing the documents themselves. The Internet has made academic dishonesty considerably easier and quicker. It has become more simple than ever to find other’s work on a topic and falsely pass it off as one's own with a simple copy-and-paste. Current State law bans the sale or purchase of dissertations and term papers but does not specifically indicate that papers obtained over the Internet or other electronic media are covered, as well. This legislation would remove any ambiguity and would subject students or others providing such unlawful assistance to prosecution.”

The measure would expand current law, which considers the sale or purchase of academically related papers a violation punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, to include sales or purchases via electronic media such as the Internet. A quick search of the internet can bring up results for many different kinds of academic material for sale and this legislation would help by creating penalties to further dissuade students from participating in fraud and maintain academic integrity.

The bill has been transferred to the Assembly Higher Education Committee for consideration.

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