Endless requirements, quizzes after quizzes, and piles of paperwork—just a peek at the life of a regular student. But hung up students can worry less as these “academic commissioners” would love to lend a hand in beating your deadlines.
The new online learning modality springing from the pandemic has given birth to several practices that would barely cross the mind of a normal student back in 2018. Full-blown classes on conferencing apps, students ready to barter anything for a decent device, and online negotiations for other people to do your academic load for a price with so-called academic commissioners.
Academic services entail the concept of commissioning someone—a student in most cases, to ease your workload. These people who offer their service are called academic commissioners in the modern day. The negotiation starts when the client inquires about a certain service offered by the academic commissioner, then they will both settle the price based on the type of paper and word count.
There are Facebook groups with more than 50 thousand members where you can find commissioners who offer a wide range of academic services. From grammar checks and proofreading, to poems, essays, book and movie reviews, reflection papers, infographics, and think pieces, to research papers, laboratory reports, and video productions—you can avail this complete package. Just seal the deal and pay the price.
In a traditional setting, most students know the lore about Recto Avenue which magically helps students or even working adults to complete requirements and documents. This has been a known practice, and students have patronized this kind of scheme. All you have to do is negotiate, give instructions, and pay. Just like magic, a paper worth nights will be in your hands right away.
Almost all academic commissioners are students, mostly struggling financially. They need money to afford tuition and devices, or to help feed their family. The online setting has produced a groundswell of students willing to pay just so someone else could do their outputs on their behalf, and clients find these services the easiest way to lessen their academic burden, and to help fellow students as well. SunStar Davao, in the article “Bayanihan or Kopyahan? The rise of ‘academic commision services’”, interviewed one “Ninna”, who earns at least 10,000 to 12,000 a month since August 2020.
Interestingly, not every commissioner is doing it for the money. Lian, not her real name, is a college student who has been selling academic services for seven months now. She does essays, reaction papers, movie reviews, and even research proposals which help sharpen her skills in doing paperworks.
Asked about having encountered difficulties, Lian says, “I prioritize completing their assessments first before mine… If I don't have time to do these things, I won't accept anything else. Sometimes, I temporarily close the academic commission services in order to give way for my academic workloads.” Lian considers it a side hustle and her rates are based on the length and type of the requirement.
“...This will be considered as unethical if the reason of the student for asking a commission was because of his/her sluggishness which will land as an invalid point. But if the reason of the student was because his/her teacher lacked in discussing and making sure that the students do understand, then it is an accurate reason,” says Lian on whether she thinks that her side hustle should be considered unethical and a form of academic negligence. In a follow-up interview, Lian adds that it is a rule of thumb to decline clients who had no valid reason to avail her services; it became her initial step to ask clients first.
Clients also have dissenting opinions on the matter. Maisie, not her real name, is also a college student who had sought academic services when the online setup began. “Kaya ako nagpapa-acad commission, kasi may subjects ako na kailangan unahin na mas importante sa course ko, ever since nagpa-commish ako, puro minors, kasi ‘di ko talaga siya maisabay especially if tambak ako ng plates,” Maisie says when asked on why she avails academic services.
“Siguro academic dishonesty siya in a way, since ‘di ko nga work ‘yon pero sa online setting kasi, ‘di ko kaya i-sacrifice ‘yung major plates over minor requirements. If the commissioner needs money, I see it as a way of helping them since it pays their bills,” Maisie added. She also says that people should see past the action being just a mere act of dishonesty, and should consider the bigger picture of the work being an income stream for financially-struggling students.
It is a two-way street that benefits both parties, the way these commissioners have been helping other people pass their requirements on time while helping themselves get better at writing or earn money. In online forums, students recognize that they need to reconsider this kind of work since it inherently causes other people to submit an unoriginal work, but at the same time, it is hard to criticize some commissioners whose work sustains them and their loved ones, financially.
Many academic commissioners prefer to use dummy accounts and fake aliases, and there seems to have been a slight recognition of the odd and illicit nature of their work. This kind of work has paid for the meals and bills of many, so taking away this opportunity might mean stripping them of their chances to earn.
The new online learning setup has forced students to go extra miles just to be continuously productive despite the circumstances since the neoliberal standard of education has made students, and even professors, a slave of the system. After all, the pandemic has brought anti-masses policies that led to the decline of the quality of education. In this case, students, commissioners and clients are on the losing end.
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