The little published work on cheating and plagiarism amongst students in higher education has, almost without exception, used questionnaire techniques which take for granted a shared understanding of the issues involved. The work reports the use of a qualitative methodology which attempts to discover the student perception of cheating and plagiarism without presupposing that students start from the same premises as academics. Prominent among the findings are the following: (a) there is a strong moral basis to studems" views, which focus on such values as friendship, interpersonal trust and good learning. This means that some punishable behaviour can be regarded as justifiable and some officially approved behaviour can be felt to be dubious; (b) the notion of plagiarism is regarded as extremely unclear--some students have a fear that they might well plagiarise unwittingly in writing what they genuinely take to be their own ideas; and (c) factors such as alienation from the university due to lack of contact with staff, the impact of large classes, and the greater emphasis on group learning are perceived by students themselves as facilitating and sometimes excusing cheating. Understanding the student perspective on cheating and plagiarism can significantly assist academics in their efforts to communicate appropriate norms.

A level 6 module was developed in order to implement innovative assessment strategies and encourage higher level learning. The module tutor (one of this paper's authors) was seconded from teaching duties (40%) to the University's academic development unit to work on the module transformation. The rationale for the redesign of the assessment strategy was to enhance the student learning experience whilst taking an innovative approach to computer aided learning and assessment. Information technology enabled assessment strategies and ways of using computer based assessment in higher level learning were examined. The redesigned module has been delivered two years running, and the students' experience of the module evaluated following the final taught session each year. This paper outlines the experiences of the learners and the tutor and considers the potential for future development of blended learning and assessment.