Editorial: Outsourcing student essays novel, dubious

The essay is the staple of an American education. No matter which field, technical or… The essay is the staple of an American education. No matter which field, technical or artistic, writing is at the cornerstone of assessing a student’s comprehension and his ability to express that comprehension.

Grading essays becomes a bit much, though, for a college professor as classes often consist of 300 or more students. Every student produces thousands of words a term, which must be read and reviewed with the same care as those of his classmates’. Often, to decrease the workload on the professor’s part, teaching assistants are employed or recruited. They assist in the grading and logistics of the course. But even then, the work might still be too much.

A professor at the University of Houston has detailed her approach to this ubiquitous predicament in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Lori Whisenant, who teaches business law and ethics, outsourced assignment grading to a company whose workers are mostly outside of the United States. Virtual-TA, a company of EduMetry Inc., aims to relieve professors and teaching assistants of the task they traditionally tackle.

The workers are mostly from Malaysia, Singapore and India and hold advanced degrees. They communicate with professors via e-mail and provide detailed feedback on assignments. The turnaround time is short, and assignments are handed back to students promptly.

This solution appears to make the education process efficient for both professors and students. It is a reflection of how advancements in technology can be harnessed for a multitude of purposes.

But how far should this efficiency be extended?

Undoubtedly there are consequences of changing the traditional mechanics of education. It is possible that third-party feedback on assignments will widen the gap between an instructor and her students.

Traditional teaching assistants are seen as an extension of the teacher, but virtual TAs cannot be associated with any relevant entity in the coursework. They are completely external.

Students will inevitably have questions on the feedback on their assignment, and there could be complications in communicating these questions with professors since the professors were not the graders. Additionally, traditional teaching assistants will have less work to do and might see a lower amount of recruitment. These are actual jobs that graduate students undertake, which will effectively be outsourced along with the assignments.

Ultimately, though, the aftermath of employing a service like Virtual-TA is open-ended. It’s value may outweigh what seem like tremendous costs, but only in appropriate situations. It will take time for such an arrangement to become ingrained in the course, such that students would perceive it as normal. The essay is not leaving anytime soon — except by e-mail — and it will always be a part of the class structure. Will this system make teachers more available and produce better essays or will it discourage students with indifferent grading and no communication with the person that grades the paper? Time will tell.