It makes sense, when you think about it, but it still seems odd at first. Colleges have begun to outsource the grading of students’ papers, exams, etc. I mean, everything else is being outsourced, so why not this, right?
Technology makes it easy to share information. Expertise in subject matter can be found in lots of places around the world, not just the US. Colleges save time and money by not having to keep Ta’s on staff. These “virtual TA’s” are anonymous as to remove any bias in grading. Papers to be graded are uploaded through a secure interface.

The whole thing is perfectly logical.

But, does it seem…odd…to anyone else? Or is academia simply following best-business practices?