NSW universities are in damage control following a Fairfax Media investigation that revealed hundreds of students across the state were engaging the services of an online essay writing business.

On Wednesday, the Herald exposed an online business called MyMaster, run out of Sydney's Chinatown, that had provided more than 900 assignments to students from almost every university in NSW, turning over at least $160,000 in 2014.

Yingying Dou, who is the director of the MyMaster website, has taken the site down. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

A number of universities were holding emergency meetings when Fairfax Media called for comment this morning and most have declined requests for an interview.