tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post6982792286742104398..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: As Online Courses Grow, Sites Offering Unauthorized Academic Help Get More Brazen. From a Chronblog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-3277155541016708782013-01-23T00:35:39.700-05:002013-01-23T00:35:39.700-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bradley Stackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14154291984534728507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-24178652032913748582012-09-25T09:20:30.441-04:002012-09-25T09:20:30.441-04:00@Aware and Scared, I've been hiding in my adju...@Aware and Scared, I've been hiding in my adjunct dungeon of horrors, but I totally appreciate and agree where you are coming from.Bisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02025209722326662833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-31481205669618273732012-09-25T08:38:29.365-04:002012-09-25T08:38:29.365-04:00But wouldn't it be funny (sad?) if you did wor...But wouldn't it be funny (sad?) if you did work for this company and wrote a paper for a student who then turned in said paper to you for class. You could fail him and sue him! Of course then everyone would know you were an unethical boob, but it would make for a great story.Academic Charlotte Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06617435890922621735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-84829645635572498132012-09-25T08:32:53.241-04:002012-09-25T08:32:53.241-04:00My college seems well down the path of the "c...My college seems well down the path of the "customer service" model. Since those exact words were used in an email sent by uber-supreme administrator just the other day. And all of our "career educators" (good, smart people who actually teach) who had moved into dean positions were mysteriously gone after the reorganization and replaced with career adminstrators with rather Academic Charlotte Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06617435890922621735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-64323834046266724912012-09-25T06:24:15.093-04:002012-09-25T06:24:15.093-04:00I have a sinking feeling that on the customer mode...I have a sinking feeling that on the customer model this IS integrity. Everybody gets what they want in return for a price they are willing to pay. If we fully embrace the customer model, then by definition that is a desirable outcome. (I think the economists call it an "efficient market")<br /><br />This is why "business ethics" is an oxymoron.Rosencrantz Andor Guildensternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05095512139776536635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-13003185659327868462012-09-25T00:03:33.913-04:002012-09-25T00:03:33.913-04:00I'm going to sign up as a contributor for that...I'm going to sign up as a contributor for that site, and simultaneously assign the most difficult, convoluted paper-topics of unreasonable-length that one can imagine. Five times a semester.<br /><br />I will then charge the students $100 each to write that paper, which they will then submit to me as their own, and I will give it a near-excellent grade. And I will fill my lectures with DrDoctorDrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01160070320563319938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-38835988851553479362012-09-24T21:41:54.561-04:002012-09-24T21:41:54.561-04:00At least this makes me feel a little better about ...At least this makes me feel a little better about various freelance jobs I've done, including writing standardized-test questions, and writing entries for reference works produced by one the major academic publishing megaliths. I may have some questions about the necessity and/or underlying value of both enterprises, but at least it's more or less mhonest work for honest, if not Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-26674945854693563252012-09-24T21:21:29.520-04:002012-09-24T21:21:29.520-04:00I strongly suspect that the site's lawyers wou...I strongly suspect that the site's lawyers would claim, if challenged, that the agreement "to not distribute the essay purchased, for payment or any other purpose, to any third party" means that the student has agreed not to "distribute" the paper to a professor (a "third party") for credit ("an[ ] other purpose"). The front page was presumably writtenContingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-3802490325366890462012-09-24T21:21:04.753-04:002012-09-24T21:21:04.753-04:00Since so many grad students TA for their instituti...Since so many grad students TA for their institutions while earning PhDs and then adjunct for those same institutions after defending, I can see the credential verification process going very well indeed.<br />drunk in a midnight choirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15648918436053645324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-86434131947645614432012-09-24T21:15:09.466-04:002012-09-24T21:15:09.466-04:00Yeah, that's the standard disclaimer. I've...Yeah, that's the standard disclaimer. I've seen it for years. The way in which they sell their products, though, completely contradicts the caveat. <br /><br />"shocked, shocked" etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-89192513636832889662012-09-24T21:00:58.289-04:002012-09-24T21:00:58.289-04:00Oh, it's occurred to me, in my darkest hours, ...Oh, it's occurred to me, in my darkest hours, I'm not gonna lie.Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-82841029116120251192012-09-24T20:02:49.213-04:002012-09-24T20:02:49.213-04:00Of course it's wrong. But I have to say that ...Of course it's wrong. But I have to say that the idea that I could possibly get fifty bucks a page for writing a research paper does give me a wee tingle. Yes, again, of course it's wrong--but in a slightly thrilling sort of way.<br /><br />StellafromSparksburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17584701718285662953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-88721463176676218102012-09-24T18:49:57.105-04:002012-09-24T18:49:57.105-04:00In all seriousness (although I am still picturing ...In all seriousness (although I am still picturing Darth Vader beckoning me to start writing), there is a small part of me that says "really? I could make decent money and not just be screwed over by a system that doesn't give a damn?" But ultimately I know that I'll cut my own damn hand off before writing essays to help students cheat. Stupid integrity.<br /><br />I'm going Academic Draghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04357849925027627831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-78433729472602636972012-09-24T18:47:32.907-04:002012-09-24T18:47:32.907-04:00Hiram, believe me, I would have agreed with you wh...Hiram, believe me, I would have agreed with you wholeheartedly for most of my decades in education. <br /><br />But given what I have heard for the past few years, where RETAINING students is more important than ANY other facet of education, seriously, "plain fucking wrong" has become much more fluid. Aware and Scaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14700345349806280657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-65913183088375106122012-09-24T18:44:48.757-04:002012-09-24T18:44:48.757-04:00Oh, no, I hear you HPP.
But as someone who has J...Oh, no, I hear you HPP. <br /><br />But as someone who has JUST achieved self-sufficiency with an adjunct workload and has fought an uphill battle with academic integrity issues throughout, I'm just exhausted from the unrelenting tea-partying. <br /><br />I have generally been lucky (blessed, even) that my immediate supervisors have supported my efforts. But given all the changes going on in Aware and Scaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14700345349806280657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-79031135883837272582012-09-24T18:16:31.409-04:002012-09-24T18:16:31.409-04:00Listen, I have rationalized all sorts of things in...Listen, I have rationalized all sorts of things in my life. Anyone who supports the notion of the site is doing the same thing. No reasonable person writes essays for a students' use and doesn't know it's just plain fucking wrong.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-13358391652628497372012-09-24T18:08:25.964-04:002012-09-24T18:08:25.964-04:00"Come to the dark side, we have a living wage..."Come to the dark side, we have a living wage!" Even better than cookies!Academic Draghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04357849925027627831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-22739346969007282262012-09-24T17:49:24.082-04:002012-09-24T17:49:24.082-04:00"But, on the other hand, difficult to deny th..."But, on the other hand, difficult to deny that academe has "screwed/hosed/cheated" most of us from earning a living wage."<br /><br />Perhaps, but one of the ways that an academic job becomes a time suck is dealing with lousy student behavior (and the subsequent lack of support from the administration), and this site panders to exactly those students.<br />HPPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11927706471904009157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-52942400109561405172012-09-24T17:10:57.679-04:002012-09-24T17:10:57.679-04:00The FAQ makes it clear the purchaser is welcome to...The FAQ makes it clear the purchaser is welcome to whatever is wanted with the purchase, not just learn from it as an example.<br /><br />But my favorite is how to get a refund: "If the essay provided by your writer does not meet the guidelines that you provided, and you are capable of cogently articulating why, you will be entitled to a full or partial refund..." Sneaky! If a student Ana Thyrosishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15381573932405845715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-35087887543053719422012-09-24T15:53:40.441-04:002012-09-24T15:53:40.441-04:00So not in a meaningful sense about what one does f...So not in a meaningful sense about what one does for a living.HPPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11927706471904009157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-17779733883924202002012-09-24T15:52:57.138-04:002012-09-24T15:52:57.138-04:00"All products are provided solely as examples..."All products are provided solely as examples for research, reference, and/or for the purposes of learning how to write a paper in a proper manner and in a particular citation style...."<br /><br />Isn't that what all these sites say?HPPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11927706471904009157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-59762899582216193962012-09-24T15:37:16.131-04:002012-09-24T15:37:16.131-04:00Really conflicted on this one.
Initially, of cou...Really conflicted on this one. <br /><br />Initially, of course, disgusted at yet another growing opportunity for flakes to take no responsibility for their side of the learning contract. C'mon, the motto "So you can play while we make your papers go away"? <br /><br />But, on the other hand, difficult to deny that academe has "screwed/hosed/cheated" most of us from Aware and Scaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14700345349806280657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-88452170817032672112012-09-24T15:15:37.074-04:002012-09-24T15:15:37.074-04:00Yes, in the sense that he is professed to his craf...Yes, in the sense that he is professed to his craft.French Professeurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08062264385792788503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-83916189607100641152012-09-24T13:13:29.956-04:002012-09-24T13:13:29.956-04:00Is an unemployed professor still a professor?Is an unemployed professor still a professor?HPPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11927706471904009157noreply@blogger.com