Schools now outsourcing grading of papers to Asia
As if North Americans didn’t live in outsourcing hell already …
In a world where cheap labour talks, contracting out work is part of life. Your TV wasn’t made here, nor is its tech support call centre likely located in this hemisphere.
And while Canadians curse their lack of employment, the devil’s advocate point of view on outsourcing is quite convincing: This isn’t charity. We’re running a business. If they can do it cheaper, why would we go anywhere else?
Yet, even the staunchest supporters of sending work overseas must feel there’s a limit to what should be outsourced and what shouldn’t. Sewing shirts? Yeah, that seems to make sense. What about grading school papers, though?
Grading school papers?
Yes, according to a new report from the Chronicle of Higher Education, many North American colleges and universities have now taken to outsourcing the grading of school essays and assignments to countries like India, Singapore and Malaysia.
The University of Houston is just one institution that uses a U.S.-based company called EduMetry, whose Virtual-TA program uploads papers to so-called experts worldwide.
“The goal of the service is to relieve professors and teaching assistants of a traditional and sometimes tiresome task,” says the Chronicle, noting that many overseas graders are women with children, eager to do part-time work from home.
Not to speculate on the quality of EduMetry’s work – “This is what they do for a living,” said one Virtual-TA customer. “We’re working with professionals.” – but this, well, disturbing trend raises a few key issues.
First, outsourcing the grading of papers seems like it robs professors and TAs from feedback crucial to their job performance. Tedious as it may be, reading your students’ work shows teachers what’s sticking and what’s not. How can a scholar improve his or her lesson plan if they’re removed from how intimately classes demonstrate a grasp of the course’s content?
More importantly, though, while this service is billed as a service to complement existing TAs, how can anyone reasonably suggest it won’t lead to widespread lay-offs of teaching assistants going forward?
Virtual-TAs costs vary by length and complexity, according to the Chronicle, but a benchmark price the program advertises is that each graded assignment will run $12 per student. For a class size of 20 students, then, outsourcing the grading of six assignments over a course would cost a university or college about $1,440.
I’d imagine even TAs – a group that, even by my own naïveté to the profession, would probably concede grading papers is a chief component to their job – have to be concerned over that price quote.
What’s to say, with those cost structures in place, more schools wouldn’t jump on board with Virtual-TA? Long-term, this may not lead to the dismissal of all TAs in North America, but if a course needs seven teaching assistants today, for example, wouldn’t it be much more cost-effective to only hire four and outsource grading to make up for the missing responsibilities?
Or maybe the schools are already thinking that. This quote on using Virtual T-A seems to be pretty telling on the future of academic outsourcing:
“We definitely have a cost-benefit ratio that’s completely in our favour for us to do this,” admits Lori Whisenant, the University of Houston’s director of business law and ethics studies.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: malarkey | Apr 16, 2021 7:30:45 PM
when are they going to start outsourcing blog-writers? surely money can be saved in this area. there is no one that cannot be replaced. only money matters at any cost.
Posted by: Steve | Apr 17, 2021 7:30:09 AM
Why not outsource all the teaching, lecturing etc and get rid of these bloated overpriced North American institutions. Heck while we're at it why not outsource our economy and then we can sit back pondering why our Canadian retirement equity funds have collapsed in value.
Posted by: meyer | Apr 17, 2021 8:33:08 AM
http://antiquemapsasia-meyerprints.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Malcolm Mansfield | Apr 17, 2021 10:07:30 AM
OMG What next? Why don't we outsource the raising of our children? When they are born, send them to Asia to be raised until they can handle things on their own. Why stop there? Send our aging population as well to be looked after until they pass. Get a handle people and start doing your job again or we are destined to be a bloated, overweight, non thinking population
Posted by: Dave Brown | Apr 17, 2021 11:51:33 AM
It may seem difficult to compete with countries that do not share our:
(1) expansive bureaucratic and regulatory environment
(2) social framework
(3) work culture
(4) consumption habits
As many of these countries develop and reach more mature levels there will be many associated and unknown issues which will impede growth and act as general inefficiencies. Any model that forecasts years into the future assumes many variables and critical success factors. The economic feebback loop will be to create more opportunity in our country. The key is to remain educated, innovative and entrepreneurial in this new international division of labour.
Posted by: Chuck | Apr 18, 2021 8:01:07 AM
I cannot believe what i am reading...out-sourcing the grading of essays, etc.? There are so many obvious reasons why this should not even be contemplated. I am so taken back by this outrageous stupidity by certain academic institutions, that i for now refuse to go any further with this!!!
Posted by: Canada Rocks EH ! | Apr 19, 2021 9:02:19 AM
Wow! Can't believe this actually happens. But on to another note...Nice to see things getting positive across the country. Construction is booming, People are spending.....Thanks to companies like HomeAssistCanada.ca. They are the one to watch. This company is going to grow like wildfire. They are already spreading their wings from east to west. Visit the site www.homeassistcanada.ca You will be impressed! Canada Rocks..EH!
Posted by: Anonymous | Apr 19, 2021 11:06:26 AM
The issue is to show the universities that there is a difference between outsourced work and our own. The fact that they are outsourcing means that they don't see a difference between the quality of the work or in the outcome. So either:
- We are not doing a better job than our overseas brothers/sisters
- The people at the head of universities are idiots.
I think it's a little of both.
At the end of the day, however, we should all understand that, if you're not indispensable, you WILL get replaced by someone who works for less.
Posted by: Mia | Apr 19, 2021 11:57:59 AM
Its unfortunate that a university education has become secondary to "big business" values.
With all these saving tactics etc by the University, when do we as parents get to see a cost savings??? what a joke, a University education has lost its shine, clearly its values and now its common sense.
Posted by: medieval clothing | Apr 19, 2021 2:53:08 PM
Well here in Asia, jobs like these are mostly preferred because of the high salary when dollar is converted. This seems to be a pretty decent job too and the best part is, you earn more than the usual office dude and you since you work online, you are exempted of taxes. :) Cool huh!..
Posted by: winter | Apr 19, 2021 3:02:56 PM
Vote with what the companies believe in YOUR DOLLARS!! Only buy what is made, supported and/or produced in your home country! If the big guys want to out source our jobs then stop buying from them... Don't attend their Universities or schools if they outsource or bring in foreign labour!
Doing anything else says YOU AGREE with their business model and they will continue to kill the North American economy for the everyday guys. This recovery is only being recovered for the VERY well to do, It hasn't trickled down to the average guy.
Posted by: don | Apr 19, 2021 4:56:10 PM
Globalization means our standard of living will go down while the "poorer" countries standard of living will go up. Wasnt that the goal to being with? I dont why we are surprised.
Posted by: Colin | Apr 19, 2021 5:21:53 PM
Why dont we just get it over with and outsource our government to asia too. I am so tired of hearing about this we should just let them take over. It's going to happen anyways!
Posted by: John | Apr 19, 2021 6:58:57 PM
Ciudad has grown from 1.2 mil people to more than 15 million in twenty years due to outsourcing and offshoring.
The government has never heard of protecting our markets and jobs.
This news story is 20 years too late.
Lets give all of the possible government jobs to foreign countries.
Posted by: Bill | Apr 19, 2021 7:45:55 PM
Today is yet another sad remainder that the funeral is imminent because North America and the way of living are now officially on Life Support..This isn't the first, won't be the last and I think why not why don't we just outsource the Prime Minister's job...the one that we have really isn't thinking about Canada no more, no that ship sailed in the 80's with Trudeau when it seem our Government officials only began to care about there own. The future is F***ed and sorry to put it that way, but you'll see then we won't stand for this s*it no more... especially if we want to stabilize this country going into the next 15 years, the sad truth is that all of us what we have say doesn't f***ing mean anything anymore and I hope that a few of you understand this. We are lucky to say what we can because anywhere else, some of your words would have you hanging by a tree and that's not me saying that there is anything wrong with any of what you have to say. Just please begin to understand, that there's too many people in the world now a days and the bar is at a all-time low... with all this in mind, anyone really have a problem with the reality of 2012? , with the way the world is set-up and heading don't bother me if we met are fate then....
Posted by: LAUR | Apr 19, 2021 8:49:27 PM
Not a surprise, here we think that we are to smart, to educated, to perfect, anyway #1. Reality?In reality we need to see yourself what is the reality not from propaganda sources. What kind of quality and quantity is coming out from our schools . If you don't know I will tell you:@8% technical professionals the others well prepared for bureaucracy with hope that one day with same help work for Government a institution that hate communism but in reality they are working in 100% communist environment we hate communism but everybody want to work in his environment . You start to think and yo will see your future. If you see clearly, you will see that the mainly technical personnel is outsourced (emigrant).
Posted by: James | Apr 20, 2021 3:11:26 PM
This is ridiculous. Meanwhile foreign trained teachers, doctors and lawyers cannot find suitable professional employment because they do not have Canadian experience or education. Many foreigners' education does not match up to that of US and Canada - but somehow they are qualified to mark papers? I do not get it. I think the education system and students will suffer. The universitities need to hire more people for marking. And do not blame the recession, everyone goes back to school and the unis and colleges actually make their most profit during recessions.
Posted by: PirateKitty | Apr 20, 2021 3:41:30 PM
Wow... This is almost baffling to me. Are they going to start outsourcing lesson plans too so the teachers can just stand there like robots and spew information?
It's bad enough our education systems in North America are in the state they are (under-funded, under staffed, often redundant) now you're lucky if you can get in a class where the school (or teacher, I guess it depends on who makes the decision to outsource) actually cares about their students succeeding.
I'm sure the people doing the marking are qualified. My SIL is from Singapore and incredibly intelligent and well-educated, but if someone's getting paid $12/paper, how much time are they spending on it? What about essays? So much of the mark can be biased based on how the essay is written and the argument documented, the level of inconsistency in marking these by outsourcing is surely excessive.
Posted by: iBoltguy | Apr 21, 2021 1:34:26 AM
What a system to live by...."whoever is cheaper" "outsourcing". I guress we are the blame. I am happy my son graduated University before this agenda is applied. Why doesn't someone start an on-line educating system here in Canada, where our children can be educated and grow into the system of educating others? We do not need Universities that bleed money for profit. Tuitions will not go down, just the quality of learning will. The rest of the world is getting smarter than us, and we need to catch up.
Posted by: shoot me now | Apr 23, 2021 12:43:06 AM
hmm. i was going to do a post that was clearly illiterate and preposterously so.
however genuine and heartfelt the previous posts are, i see i have been beaten to the punch.
all we need is some brainiac to come on here and whine about teachers being overpaid, and that there is nothing wrong with turning our right to a decent education into something akin to buying the cheapest soft drink.
does anyone think for a second, that the people who are making these assinine decisions are risking sending their own children to these schools?