International students ‘accused most’

Dr Sokol said it is his experience that the majority of those accused of buying essays are international students.

One of his clients, a 21-year-old recently expelled from an asset management course at a Welsh University, is fighting back against a ruling that he submitted an essay written by someone else.

He said: “I went to the meeting and it felt like the committee had already made their decision. Whenever I asked for a second to answer, they laughed. It was humiliating.

“They treated me like I was a criminal and put me under so much pressure. I was in the fourth year of my course and I had never been accused of any misconduct before.

“I was shocked because I knew that I wrote the essay. It’s obviously wrong if people are cheating but I feel like universities shouldn’t treat students like this. I am very optimistic the decision will be overturned because I know the truth and my family are fully behind me. I never expected to have to go through something like this.”

A former student at one of Scotland’s leading universities said she had used an essay-writing service in her final year after struggling to deal with personal issues.

“I wouldn’t say that I regret it but I also don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it,” said the 26-year-old.

“The way I thought of it was that I was having a pretty tough time and this was something that would make things a bit easier. I didn’t want to admit that I was struggling.”