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What Are Students Learning? Make Syllabi Public
James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | July 12, 2021 | Jenna A. Robinson

Posted on 07/12/2021 6:52:20 AM PDT by karpov

Online education, especially as it has been implemented in the past year, isn’t for everyone. But it has had one unexpected benefit: transparency. Across the country, parents have had a chance to see for themselves what their children are learning. At the K-12 level, it’s been eye-opening.

But college students need less supervision. So, even though many of them have been learning from home, parents haven’t been hovering over their shoulders during class. But the same transparency is sorely needed. Parents—and taxpayers—should know what their hard-earned money is paying for.

But it’s not always easy to find out what students are actually learning. The Martin Center recently received this response to a public records request for education school curricula at NC State:

NC State University faculty own the copyright to their course syllabi, not the university (see Copyright regulation, as a Traditional Work: https://policies.ncsu.edu/regulation/reg-01-25-03/). These faculty have declined the opportunity to provide their syllabi in response to your request. Therefore, NC State University has no public records responsive to your request.

Despite NC State’s claim, it’s not at all clear that professors’ syllabi are protected from examination and transparency. Indeed, a review of Federal law and UNC system policy suggests that NC State incorrectly cites copyright as a way to shield professors from scrutiny. (It’s also worth noting that syllabi are not included in the university’s list of generally accepted “traditional works.”)

According to the federal law on “fair use,” some copyrighted material can be used for nonprofit and educational purposes, including news reporting.

(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: college

1 posted on 07/12/2021 6:52:20 AM PDT by karpov
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To: karpov

This would harm conservative educators and curriculums more than anyone I would think.


2 posted on 07/12/2021 6:55:51 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: karpov

Better yet, stop sending your kids to the commie indoctrination centers.


3 posted on 07/12/2021 7:08:34 AM PDT by King_Corey (Buy SILVER and GOLD to hedge against the coming market destruction of FIAT currency)
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To: karpov

If public dollars are paying for it, it all should be public...including cameras in every classroom!!


4 posted on 07/12/2021 7:21:54 AM PDT by goodnesswins (The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution." -- Saul Alinksy)
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To: karpov

Education not Indoctrination


5 posted on 07/12/2021 7:28:53 AM PDT by Lurkus Maximus
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To: karpov

A syllabus isn’t the problem. The problem is what’s being discussed and tested.


6 posted on 07/12/2021 8:37:47 AM PDT by bgill
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To: karpov

Go to the school’s web site and bring up the course and syllabus-it ought to be there


7 posted on 07/12/2021 9:28:48 AM PDT by SMARTY (Republics decline into democracies & democracies degenerate into despotisms. Aristotle)
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To: karpov

There are already reports of teachers creating abbreviated or fake syllabi to give to “concerned parents”.


8 posted on 07/12/2021 6:36:53 PM PDT by tbw2
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