Outsourcing industries have become common practice.
It is not uncommon to notice that a children’s toy was made in China or India or that telephone operators are housed in some remote corner of another continent.
But students would be thrown if they received a term paper back that said, “Graded in India.”
Unfortunately, this is a developing trend in university classrooms. Professors at various universities around the country outsource workers in India, Singapore and Malaysia to grade students’ papers.
The University of Houston, University of Northern Iowa and Roosevelt University all have business colleges that utilize these services from companies like Virtual-TA and EduMetry.
“The argument for this is that they are trying to take some work off the professor’s hands, since, especially those on the tenure track, have to research as well,” said Leanna Archambault, an assistant professor at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.
Virtual-TA job applicants must have at least a master’s degree, according to its website, and experience in higher education, be it in teaching or research, is highly recommended.
The Virtual-TA website states it “want[s] the work to come to you!”
With this information, one might be under the impression that retired university professors are grading papers in the comfort of their homes.
However, the reality is vastly different.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported earlier this year that these workers tend to be part-time and live overseas.
Though the companies maintain their workers have advanced degrees, there is a good chance they make little in wages too, as Virtual-TA charges roughly $12 an assignment.
“It is questionable who the graders are,” Archambault said. “What do they understand about the principles of learning, and what is their background? How much familiarity do they have with the topic they are grading?”
Advocates of outsourcing grading say it gives students consistent feedback.
The graders at these companies only focus on scoring assignments and marking up papers.
While students certainly do deserve feedback, it should not come from anonymous workers in Malaysia. It should come from either the professor or the teaching assistants to the class.
Outsourcing grading not only hurts the undergraduates in more populated classes, but also graduate students in TA positions.
Mark Lussier, a professor in the Department of English, teaches large lecture classes but still requires his students to write three essays along with a midterm and a final and would not consider outsourcing his grading.
“What I like [is] I present instruction for our undergraduates, but also mentoring for my graduate students, such as how to construct tests, grading and instruction,” Lussier said.
Neither Archambault nor Lussier said they were aware of grade outsourcing happening at ASU.
“[Outsourcing grading] would be counterproductive to the student-based learning model we have,” Lussier said. “We have made a considerable commitment to this model. When you outsource this, it seems you have given up a considerable [amount] of the teaching process, which [is] grading.”
While he is correct, I would guess that with skyrocketing enrollment and a recent decision by the Arizona Board of Regents to further increase enrollment, ASU might eventually buckle under pressure.
ABOR is encouraging the three in-state universities to expand their online programs, particularly ASU, by significant amounts. The goal for ASU is to enroll 27,000 more students in the ASU Online and Extended campus by 2020 — quite a jump from the current 3,000.
“[Outsourcing grading] is occurring in large online classes,” Archambault said. “Universities are increasing online programs for a variety of reasons, including the flexibility to students, and it allows students in remote areas to take classes. But the university also is able to offer larger class sections and save money on overhead costs.”
With a proposed increase of 27,000 students in online classes over the next 10 years, it really begs the question not if, but when, ASU will turn to companies like Virtual-TA and EduMetry.
This future vision of President Michael Crow’s idea of a New American University is nauseating.
If this drastic increase in online classes becomes reality, students will be cheated out of their education. We must not succumb to calling professors and TAs “overhead costs.”
Students will be cheated out of their education. As the price of attending college rises into the stratosphere, opportunities that were once ample will fall back to Earth.
“I think this brings into question whether faculty are really necessary,” Archambault said.
We should not run education like a business. Cutting corners by allowing anonymous individuals to grade students’ papers and relying heavily on online classes is not a recipe for success.
When students are paying tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, it is imperative for universities to offer students the same caliber education, if not better, than the previous generation received.
Send comments to Andrew at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu
