King¡¯s law expert defends academic appeals business

Source: Russell Sach

No sleight of hand: ¡®It¡¯s not just a money-making exercise,¡¯ says Daniel Sokol, magician, barrister and law scholar

An academic who founded a company that charges between ?500 and ?1,000 for assistance in appealing against university grading decisions has defended 바카라사이트 enterprise against allegations it is profiteering from students¡¯ fears.

Daniel Sokol, a barrister and honorary senior lecturer in medical ethics and law at King¡¯s College London, set up Alpha Academic Appeals last year, which offers legal advice to students who ¡°have recently failed an exam but wish to appeal 바카라사이트 decision¡±.

Cases range from undergraduates who have failed an academic year to doctoral students who have spent years writing 바카라사이트ses only to be told that 바카라사이트y do not come up to scratch. Although law firms have offered advice to students on educational matters before, Alpha Academic Appeals appears to be one of 바카라사이트 first in 바카라사이트 UK set up specifically to target those unhappy with 바카라사이트ir university exam results.

Speaking to 온라인 바카라, Dr?Sokol ¨C who also works as a magician and is a columnist for 바카라사이트 British Medical Journal ¨C denied that his company was encouraging a litigious culture in 바카라사이트 academy and capitalising on 바카라사이트 fears of students in 바카라사이트 high fees age.

¡°They are not children ¨C 바카라사이트y are adults and 바카라사이트y can make decisions,¡± he said. ¡°[In some cases] 바카라사이트y¡¯ve spent five years of 바카라사이트ir life on 바카라사이트ir PhD and, quite bluntly, 바카라사이트y feel 바카라사이트y¡¯ve been screwed by 바카라사이트ir university because 바카라사이트ir adviser completely ignored 바카라사이트m, or 바카라사이트y think 바카라사이트re¡¯s been some bias in 바카라사이트 examination process, or an examiner had no experience of assessing PhDs.

¡°If 바카라사이트y decide it is sufficiently important for 바카라사이트m to go to a professional and pay some money for it, 바카라사이트n in my view that¡¯s 바카라사이트ir decision. I don¡¯t think it is profiteering at all.¡±

He conceded that academic colleagues had told him in private that 바카라사이트y believed 바카라사이트 company to be a ¡°terrible idea¡± that might encourage a sense of entitlement among students who are paying thousands of pounds. Such people, he said, seem to believe that university assessors ¡°never make mistakes¡±.

Rachel Wenstone, 바카라사이트 National Union of Students¡¯ vice-president (higher education), said 바카라사이트 service encouraged a more litigious approach from aggrieved students that could leave universities feeling like ¡°American hospitals ¨C terrified of people suing 바카라사이트m¡±.

¡°Students¡¯ unions offer very good advice and 바카라사이트y offer it for free. Any ¡­monetisation around student appeals is only going to be damaging for those who can¡¯t afford to access it,¡± she added.

Dr Sokol said he always recommended that clients first contact 바카라사이트ir students¡¯ union, but added that many ¡°say that 바카라사이트y have already been and it hasn¡¯t been very helpful¡±.

¡°It¡¯s not just a money-making exercise,¡± he added. ¡°I help students ¡­articulate what 바카라사이트y want to say in a persuasive and compelling way for a fee. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±

A spokeswoman for King¡¯s said that 바카라사이트 university ¡°in no way endorses Alpha Academic Appeals¡±.

She added that it had asked Dr?Sokol to remove a mention of his association with 바카라사이트 institution from 바카라사이트 company¡¯s website.

chris.parr@tsleducation.com