Dear all
I mentioned this to our Dean of Students here at the university of Plymouth - Dr Anita Jellings - who responded as follows:
"There are all sorts of services, sites etc in this arena. We should be focusing our resources on helping students to understand academic dishonesty and academic ethics generally.
"Before Facebook and the web there were plenty of students and ex students offering this sort of thing to other students for money. We have to continue to design assessment regimes that truly test the student as these things won't go away".
On the whole I agree with Anita - and especially that our focus needs to be on the learning issues, rather than getting caught up in panic or outrage about such services ...
All the best for now folks
John
-----Original Message-----
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Angela McQuade
Sent: 26 January 2010 14:22
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Proofreading website
Dear all,
I would like to draw your attention to a website, 'Proofread my Essay', that
was created in November 09. It is designed to 'help' students get the mark
they 'deserve' by proofreading and correcting their essays for the fee of £8
per thousand words. It is being promoted on Facebook, with students invited
to become 'fans'. The creator of the site is using Facebook to tell
students when he will be visiting various universities to promote his
service. The 140 (so far) 'fans' on the Facebook site are from various of
universities although a sizeable number are from Nottingham Trent.
According to the site there was a promotion there on 25th January.
In their FAQ section they state: "Our service focuses on making your work
attractively legible to the marker, to make them feel that your work is well
written and that you have spent the time reading over and improving it. This
should ultimately help you achieve the grade you deserve, but unfortunately
we cannot guarantee specific grades, as this would place us in direct
conflict with your University's Code of Conduct."
The Learning Development Service at Queen's have brought it to the attention
of Academic Affairs.
Just wondering what others think of the service this site offers and the
ease with which students can get someone else to finish their work and pass
it off as entirely their own.
http://www.proofreadmyessay.co.uk/
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