The Mother of All Faculty Boo-Boos
The internet is buzzing today about an email sent on behalf of a professor in the veterinary medicine dept. at UC-Davis concerning how to grade a student who was absent due to giving birth. It was sent to all students in the class. Here is a sample:
——-
Davis officials confirmed the authenticity of an e-mail that was first quoted on the blog “On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess” by a female scientist at a major research university who blogs, as “Isis,” about issues in academic science, particularly for women.
The e-mail was sent by the presidents of the third-year class to its members and reads as follows (in italics):
Dear Colleagues,
One of our classmates recently gave birth and will be out of class for an unknown period of time. This means she will undoubtedly miss one, or more, or all quizzes in VMD 444. Dr. Feldman is not sure how to handle this and has requested the class give input and vote. He has provided us with 6 options on which to vote and is open to any other ideas you may have. Most likely a CERE poll will be up next week and a voting will close no later than Wednesday. If you have other suggestions please email them to Dan or I ASAP. We will alert you to the opening of voting. Below are listed the options that Dr. Feldman has suggested. Please reserve comment on these options and provide us your opinion on them by voting when the time comes. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
a) automatic A final grade
b) automatic B final grade
c) automatic C final grade
d) graded the same as everyone else: best 6 quiz scores out of a possible 7 quiz scores (each quiz only given only once in class with no repeats)
e) just take a % of quiz scores (for example: your classmate takes 4 quizzes, averages 9/10 points = 90% = A)
f) give that student a single final exam at the end of the quarter (however this option is only available to this one student, all others are graded on the best 6 quiz scores and the % that results)
Please let us know if you have other thoughts on how to handle this situation and please keep your eye out for the upcoming vote.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Your Presidents
This excerpt is from http://wst201.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-not-to-deal-with-student-mother.html which reproduces an article from Inside Higher Ed that – at the moment – cannot be reached, probably due to internet overload.
The same site contains the following:
“I take very seriously any allegations that a student’s welfare, dignity or academic rights have in any way been compromised. And as a woman, who has experienced firsthand the challenges of melding academic and family life and has experienced discrimination, I am especially sensitive to this issue,” said an e-mail message that Linda P.B. Katehi, chancellor at Davis, provided to Inside Higher Ed last night and that she planned to send to all the students who complained to her on Thursday.
Update: The Inside Higher Ed site is now working again and the article is at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/14/california_davis_investigates_e_mail_about_student_who_gave_birth