Australian student shares secrets to academic success

ALASTAIR Weng shares the secrets to his academic success for less than the price of a coffee.
The University of Melbourne science student is among thousands of young Australians who are converting their lecture and textbook notes into cash.
Hundreds of students have paid $3 (about K6.74) to access Weng’s neatly formatted biology and chemistry notes, which he uploads on a website called NoteXchange.
“It’s a little bit of pocket money on the side,” the 19-year-old said.
Students trust his work – he achieved a perfect ATAR ranking of 99.95 and receives good marks at university.
“I’m doing this for myself anyway. I may as well spend a few more minutes putting them online,” he said. “It helps students understand some weird concepts.”
There has been a proliferation of note-sharing websites, where Australian students submit their university notes and profit from their sale.
But not everyone is happy with their existence.
University of South Australia academic integrity expert Tracey Bretag says buying notes led students down a “slippery slope” to purchasing essays.
“These sites are dangerous, even if they are legitimately trying to just provide notes,” she said.
“These notes are available freely to students at their own university. Go to class people!”
She said that while many students thought buying notes gave them academic edge, it actually disadvantaged them.
“They cheat students of an opportunity to learn. When you get into an exam, those notes are not going to be that useful. It can undermine your learning.”
Associate Professor Bretag is conducting research into contract cheating and assessment design, which will also examine the proliferation of note-selling websites.
But Richard Hordern-Gibbings, the co-founder of Nexus Notes, said it was unfair to compare note-selling websites with those that sold essays.
“You can’t plagiarise a set of notes,” he said. “They are a learning aide.” – The Age, Victoria