Posted on 08/20/2004 8:47:22 AM PDT by Moose4
Two Benedict College science professors have been fired after they refused to assign grades that rewarded students’ effort as much as acquired knowledge.
President David Swinton dismissed Milwood Motley and Larry Williams when they defied his Success Equals Effort policy, which Swinton said provides struggling freshmen a leg up in adapting to college academics.
Swinton implemented SEE at the historically black private college in the 2003-04 school year. The formula calls for calculating freshman grades based on a 60-40 formula, with effort counting for 60 percent and academics counting for 40 percent.
In the sophomore year, the formula would be 50-50; by junior year, students would be judged strictly on academic performance.
“In my view, our kids should be expected to get better and better,” Swinton said Tuesday. “I’m interested in where they are at when they graduate, not where they are when they get here.”
But Motley said the policy compromises the integrity of Benedict, a liberal arts college in downtown Columbia with an enrollment of almost 3,000. He and other critics say students are being promoted to increase student retention and to falsely boost academic performance.
The American Association of University Professors is investigating whether the firings constitute an infringement of the professors’ academic freedom.
Motley, who came to Benedict five years ago from the Morehouse School of Medicine, said he was uncomfortable with the concept from the beginning. But he went along with it grudgingly until he was confronted with an academic dilemma: giving a passing grade to a student he believed had not learned the course material.
Awarding a C to a student whose highest exam score was less than 40 percent was more than he could tolerate.
“There comes a time when you have to say this is wrong,” he said.
This spring, he defied the SEE policy, as did department colleague Williams. Neither has tenure. Williams would not comment for this story.
“I did it (awarded grades) strictly on academic performance,” Motley said. “They told us to go back and recalculate the grades, and I just refused to do it.”
In early June, Motley and Williams were informed by letter they were fired.
Motley appealed the decision.
A faculty grievance committee, by a 4-3 vote, recommended his reinstatement. Swinton overruled the committee, dismissing Motley’s claim that his academic freedom had been violated.
“The record makes it abundantly clear that Dr. Motley has committed this infraction,” Swinton wrote in a July 13 letter to the chairwoman of the committee. “Moreover, the transcript of the hearing reveals that he admits to refusing to comply with college policy and states that he would not comply if reinstated.”
Swinton said professors have some leeway in calculating what goes into effort, factoring in attendance, completion of assignments and class participation.
The students “have to get an A in effort to guarantee that if they fail the subject matter, they can get the minimum passing grade,” Swinton said. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
He said the college plans to monitor the incoming class of sophomores, the first to be graded under the SEE policy, to determine learning outcomes.
“If anybody manages to do effort for two years, they are going to learn something and develop the study habits that they need as a junior,” he said.
The Harvard-educated Swinton acknowledged he would not implement such a policy at a more selective institution and does not know of a similar policy at any other college.
But he said Benedict is unique. Founded in 1870 to educate freed slaves, the college has been a haven for students who must overcome barriers to obtain higher education. Many are the first in their families to attend college.
With its open-admissions policy, Swinton said, many students arrive at Benedict with poor study habits and weak high school records. His job, he said, is to help them succeed.
The American Association of University Professors said Swinton might be trampling on academic freedom in the process.
In an Aug. 10 letter to Swinton, Jordan Kurland, the group’s associate general secretary, asked Swinton for more information about the matter, saying his actions might be grounds for censure.
“He (Swinton) may be doing it for the noblest reasons,” Kurland said from his Washington, D.C., office. “For him to himself come in with a new grading policy and for one or more professors to say, ‘Look, we just can’t do it, it’s against every standard we have,’ and then be fired for insubordination — that’s about as extreme as you can get.”
Swinton disputes any violation of academic freedom.
The professors “were not dismissed because they did not follow the policy,” he said. “They were dismissed for insubordination. They were openly defiant and in some cases hostile.”
Swinton said he would not tangle with the association, which promotes academic freedom and standards nationally.
“It’s a faculty union, and we don’t recognize them,” he said.
Nevertheless, some members of the Benedict faculty recently re-established a chapter on campus, installing William R. Gunn Jr. as president.
Gunn, chairman of the health, physical education and recreation department, said the chapter is preparing to survey the faculty to gauge their support for Swinton.
“When you see two people get fired like that, I think there is a fear factor out there,” said Gunn, who has taught at Benedict for 40 years.
Swinton serves at the pleasure of the board of trustees, which has backed him solidly during his 10 years at Benedict.
“His best asset is his vision,” said Milton Kimpson, a retired school administrator and former adviser to Gov. Dick Riley who has served on the Benedict board for 40 years.
“I think he makes decisions that cause you to really stretch, and I think that’s a good thing. Sometimes we sit and are afraid to take a good calculated risk.”
But Gunn wonders if SEE will be a disservice to students.
“We have always been an open-admissions institution, always taken students where they are and worked with them,” he said.
“We used to hold their feet to the fire. Now with something like this, we’re saying we’re going to give you some extra time.”
One would hope that Benedict's faculty and alumni, and the Columbia community that supports the school, would rise up and throw Dr. Swinton out for what he's done to the school. But somehow I doubt that's going to happen.
}:-)4
While I've never seen an official policy to this effect, unofficially I'm sure many faculty do this at other schools.
Did Dr. Swinton come from Jackson State?
This policy is just wrong. Achievement in the class is the thing that should be graded, not effort.
If I was one of those who handled the academics with the least amount of effort, I'd expect my A to stay an A. And I'd expect the kids struggling to do better, to well... do better or find another line of course work that is better suited for them.
If the college wants to be progressive about this, they should study how counseling and professor-student interactions can increase student achievement. Students who have professors who proactively interact and assist their students tend to do better, etc, etc.
What happened at Jackson State?
I was under the impression that people attended college to actually learn something. Guess I was wrong.
"Benedict, a liberal arts college"
Just WHAT are they good for when they graduate!!
They must go into Democratic politics!!
Hey, they signed their name to their gubment aid, isn't that enough effort to get a C?
I always said a right answer proves nothing. Take spelling for example; spelling a word in more than way takes far more intelligence than spelling it only one way. To think I could have graduated with honors had it not been for all those less than perfect test scores that I really, really tried hard to ace.
I just can't figure out why I have never met anyone with a prestigious degree from Benedict. Then again those with a degree from a well run institution such as Benedict must certainly be employed in professions far superior to mine in the engineering discipline.
Back in the 70's, we had a bunch of Iranians who were passed for less than that. I never understood then what the deal was (I do now) but all they had to do was show up to class once in a while, sit at the back, and try to keep from vomiting at the mere idea of being in America surrounded by infidels. I've been waiting to hear if some terrorist was a classmate.
Hmmmm. I never thought of that. But I would expect the 60-40 rule to only work for the benefit of the student.
Hard to believe that a professor would say, "Yes, you got a 100 on the paper, but since you're so smart and consequently made little effort, I'm going to knock that down to a 70% and give you a 'C'".
In a way, what this policy is saying is that black students 50 years ago, who had segregated schools and the bare minimum spent on them, were better prepared for college than the students of today. How sad is that?
Actually, I've been a victim of this policy in the past. The teachers are extremly liberal leaning who think effort is the basis for grades, and a lack of effort is sufficient for reducing a grade, regardless if you are otherwise doing well.
Under this system...
I would have graduated Manga Mango Sumo-Sumo Come Come Loady Loudy at least!
Nothing...but there was a Swinton there...wondering if its the same person.
"Sorry, Mrs. robertpaulsen, but I tried real good to save your husband".
Oh, I agree with that. I'm just saying that it's pretty sad that this is the case.
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