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Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

washingtonpost.com

21–30 of 69 posts

Re: Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

#21
post #16
post #11

If this college class operates like the ones I had then I think the professor is in the wrong. On the first day I would be given a syllabus that clearly outlined the grading scale and how the grade was calculated. I look at that like a contract. Professor presented students with a grading scale, students accept by staying in the class or withdraw from the class. Granted I know nothing about this particular incident,…

If the syllabus is a contract, cheating is a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. I'm all for failing classes pervasive cheating. There isn't enough social pressure in schools to name and shame cheaters.

Yeah. People that are stupid enough to be caught don't deserve to graduate.

Re: Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

#23
post #7

Even though this incident sounds more personal than idealistic, it keeps bringing back up the question of the purpose of universities. I am okay with universities being a medium of education, where one can take any courses they want, and passing and failing is irrelevant (MOOCs?) I am okay with universities being a place to enjoy four years of camaraderie and self exploration before committing to life or career goals…

I think you are confusing "universities" with "USA universities", specially when it comes to debt and GPA.

Most USA-people do this, and they're aware of it: when they talk about 'universities', or '[some class of] people', or 'VC' or whatever else. I think the reasons they do it are a combination of efficiency and a feeling that the rest of the world isn't always necessary to the discussion.

Those of us outside the US may feel it's naive, but it's unlikely they'll change. The simplest thing for us to do is to assume they always mean USA-[topic].

Re: Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

#24
post #7

Even though this incident sounds more personal than idealistic, it keeps bringing back up the question of the purpose of universities. I am okay with universities being a medium of education, where one can take any courses they want, and passing and failing is irrelevant (MOOCs?) I am okay with universities being a place to enjoy four years of camaraderie and self exploration before committing to life or career goals…

I think you are confusing "universities" with "USA universities", specially when it comes to debt and GPA.

Or even "one can take any courses they want"

Re: Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

#25

This really is a pointless article of he said, they said. There is nothing at all to be gained in reading it. There's no actual evidence of who was in the wrong or what the real story is. (You could easily argue after 20 years in the game he fully knew all the students wouldn't actually get a F, even this is unknown)

I agree there is nothing of immediate value here.

The story is part of a larger narrative. Those interested in that narrative will enjoy watching how it plays out.

Re: Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

#26
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you are confusing "universities" with "USA universities", specially when it comes to debt and GPA.

Most USA-people do this, and they're aware of it: when they talk about 'universities', or '[some class of] people', or 'VC' or whatever else. I think the reasons they do it are a combination of efficiency and a feeling that the rest of the world isn't always necessary to the discussion. Those of us outside the US may feel it's naive, but it's unlikely they'll change. The simplest thing for us to do is to assume they…

US citizens may be less cultured.

Re: Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

#27
post #20
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A syllabus is not a contract. It can be changed unilaterally at any time and is no way legally enforceable. "The court finds no legal support for treating a course syllabus as a contract. The few courts that have considered the issue have concluded that a syllabus does not constitute a contract....Indeed, a valid contract requires several elements, including mutual agreement and valuable consideration....A course syl…

That's crazy interesting and now I have some reading to do. I still view the grading scale as a something that should not change, however. I'm not surprised a syllabus is not a contract but I do think that most universities, when presented with a situation like this, have it in their interest to honor the syllabus.

Grading scales can and do change depending on circumstances of how the class goes. If a majority of the students do poorly on a quiz worth 20% of your grade, the professor may choose to bump that down to 10% and give a second quiz worth 10%. Perhaps because some students complained the quiz was a poor reflection of what was actually learned. Professors require flexibility to deal with things that happen as the class progresses. A Syllabus is just a basic outline. Seriously - if a test was scheduled on a day where there was a fire in the building and class was cancelled what is the professor supposed to do if he/she can't venture outside of the syllabus?

Universities do not create syllabi, individual professors do for individual classes. Some universities don't even require a professor to give one to their students. I don't see how a syllabus is even really relevant here at all because (University wide) student honor/conduct codes and the like are what actually applies here.

Courts generally stay out of grading disputes (for good reason!)

"University faculties must have the widest range of discretion in making judgments as to the academic performance of students and their entitlement to promotion or graduation." - Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz (Supreme Court)

Not only that the probability of this going to court is zero - the university provided a replacement professor to assign grades instead of failing the class.

I also read about this in another paper this morning and it said that the university had assigned security to this class previously due to its behavior.

Re: Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

#28
I also experienced that twice during my student years. That the professor not makes a decision with his fellow profs and school organizers looks quite poor. In any conflict you must choose one side, at least I believe so, and then support that. If you fight with the students, that's okay. If you fight with your fellow professors that's also okay. But just making trouble to both groups and then running away... That can't be reasonable or achieve anything.

From the experience with the two professors I knew trying something like that, I think that guy will be surprised that students and the other profs will bond together simply to avoid more trouble and continue with the university life.

Re: Texas college professor tries to flunk his whole class

#29
post #7

Even though this incident sounds more personal than idealistic, it keeps bringing back up the question of the purpose of universities. I am okay with universities being a medium of education, where one can take any courses they want, and passing and failing is irrelevant (MOOCs?) I am okay with universities being a place to enjoy four years of camaraderie and self exploration before committing to life or career goals…

I think you are confusing "universities" with "USA universities", specially when it comes to debt and GPA.

>I think you are confusing "universities" with "USA universities"

When the thread topic title starts with "Texas College Professor" on a US hosted web site, in English, not appending "in the USA" to every single assertion is not unreasonable.

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