Do UK students cheat...because they can?

A number of undergraduate students are cheating because university teaching has become formulaic, the Higher Education ombudsman has said.

Baroness Deech said that the expansion of higher education meant too many degrees now involved ticking boxes and absorbing hand-outs.

She said the emphasis on original work and creative thought was being lost.

Baroness Deech said students now think they have to "copy down accurately something that is already on screen".

BBC education correspondent Sue Littlemore said it is estimated that 10% of university work from across the UK is plagiarised and that most cheating goes undetected or ignored.