Report: Hundreds of ASU students paying website to do schoolwork
Nov 14, 2014, 1:02 PM | Updated: 1:03 pm
PHOENIX — Call us crazy, but isn’t the whole point of paying for a college education actually learning the material?
KPHO-TV reported hundreds of Arizona State University students are opting to pay a popular website to do their schoolwork.
The woman who runs New York-based Pay Me To Do Your Homework, Jessica Mott, said about 20 percent of her customers are from Arizona. A majority of the state’s calls are from ASU students.
“I work full-time. We hear that a lot. Or I was out really late last night partying. I will not be able to get this done,” Mott said.
It appears ASU students aren’t afraid to drop some cash to get their assignments done.
The price tag for doing your homework varies. Basic assignments run from $20 to $500; essays cost $15-$50 a page; math problems rake in $2 to $15 a solution, and an entire course can run from $100 to $300 a week.
Mott’s top three ASU customers have shelled out a whopping $35,000 total to avoid homework.
An ASU official said paying a website to do homework is more immoral than illegal and is viewed as academic dishonesty. Tahjna Wilson, an online instructional manager, said the university has taken steps to prevent students from cheating, including plagiarism scans and online time limits.
“Our degree means something, and we don’t want to have that clouded by a few folks that have decided that their way to get through a course or get through a program is to cheat,” Wilson said.
Schools may frown on the practice, but Mott said it’s all about the bottom line for her.
“I found something that didn’t exist, and I created it, and it’s just taken off,” said Mott, who said her family was on unemployment when she started the website with just $20 about four years ago. Demand for cheating is so high, she’s made enough money to buy a home, a new car and a boat this past year.
