I am a ghost-writer based in Armidale with a client base comprising students at the University of New England.
First, in reply to the anonymous author of the letter dated 21st published in your newspaper, yes you can gain a degree at the University of New England without attending, and without completing any work towards that degree at all. Incidentally I do not charge a fee, the knowledge I am attaining without the HECS is worth every word I write.
I am asked, how can I justify the ethical basis for ghost-writing? I reply that the ethical standards that I apply is matched (in my opinion), if not superseded by, the ethical standards applied to the running of the University. I cannot see the error now in allowing my work to be used for inappropriate purposes when the institution that the work is directed towards, seems to condone such behaviour. I tried to stop my work being used by others, now I, like the manufacturer of guns and cigarettes fundamentally do not give a damn what my products are used for.
The University Deans noted in an email delivered to the student body that the University employed lawyers that were handling the matter of academic misconduct as a consequence of ghost-writing. However, when I approached the University two years ago with concerns that the work that I was commissioned to write was being used inappropriately to achieve academic credit, and was told by the University lawyers in writing that the University does not believe that ghost-writing occurs, even in the face of compelling evidence presented to the University. I believe that the millions of dollars that the students I write for contributed via fees, is intrinsically more important to the administrative wing than the academic credibility of the University.
I would like to put forward some advice to the senior administrators of this institution: the University is not a high school, nor is it a TAFE, and the sooner you start treating the individuals who attend the institution as ‘University students’ whose requests for assistance are treated as inconveniences, often to be ignored, the sooner the University will be on a much firmer academic footing, and my ghost-writing activities will no longer be needed or sought. Why do you think students seek out ghost-writers in the first place, most of the hundreds of students I have had contact with believe they have been let down by the institution at some stage after asking for assistance, or approach me post-victimisation by staff. This is the reality.
Name withheld
