Promoting academic success in college, especially among less-privileged students
What is an actual problem?
What's OK, and what's not OK
CSA aims to protect and promote student academic rights. Generally, students have the right to:
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Fair grading
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Reasonable policies
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Appropriate coursework
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Competent professors
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Decent access
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Good advising
Enforcing a "bill of rights" would be too open to interpretation (e.g., what does "fair grading" mean?). Instead, we list common mistreatment areas—what some might call "academic malpractice"—to help students gauge their situation.
We defend professors' "academic freedom", and recognize that the normal imperfections inherent in teaching do not always necessarily constitute academic mistreatment. Many professors, however, would agree that the following items go beyond academic freedom and normal imperfections.
Areas of academic mistreatment
Common areas of academic mistreatment appear below, grouped into the categories of general academic rights.
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Fair grading
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Very poor specification on how grades will be determined
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Ex: No syllabus, or no info in syllabus nor stated
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Ex: Drastic change mid-term​
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Not fixing grading errors
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Ex: Ignoring or denying valid requests have substantial impact
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Ex: Built-in retaliation (lose points just by requesting)​
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Not enabling students to detect grading errors ​​
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Ex: Not letting students examine manually-graded items prone to grading mistakes
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Lengthy grade feedback delays
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Especially if needed for later assignments ​
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Grossly substandard grading
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Ex: Huge inconsistencies, scores with no indication of reasoning, non-academic criteria
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Docking grade for matters beyond student's control
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Ex: One cellphone rings, everyone's grade lowered​
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Ex: Partner doesn't turn in assignment, or secretly cheats
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Penalizing a student for cheating without following university's process​
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Reasonable policies
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Penalizing entire class for behavior of few students
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Ex: Refusing to answer questions because one student was rude​
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Heavily penalizing for late class arrival when circumstances were beyond student's control
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Ex: Previous class distant, or had exam that ran late​
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Requiring attendance outside scheduled hours, without reasonable alternatives
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Ex: Keeping students long after class' end time
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Ex: Holding class meetings not in schedule
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Gross abuse of financial conflict-of-interest
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Ex: Professor requiring own book (or friend's) that is clearly bad quality, excessively priced, or unnecessary
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Refusing to allow makeup work for serious documented illness or emergencies
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Ex: Hospitalization, death in family, car accidents​
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Refusing to adjust when there are serious technical problems
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Ex: Turn-in system down for many hours before a deadline
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Ex: Exam system repeatedly crashing during exam​
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Appropriate coursework
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Assigning work outside of a term's dates
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Ex: Before term's first day, such as over summer
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Ex: After term's last day, such as after finals week but before prof must submit grades
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Ex: After term's last day, giving everyone "Incomplete" grades and doing grade changes later
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Grossly exceeding university's own work-hours-per-unit policies
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Ex: Regularly giving 20+ hours of work/week for a 4-unit class that should be 12 hours/week ​
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Heavily relying on material/skills not in prerequisites and unreasonable to expect
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Giving insufficient time / notice needed to complete work​
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Ex: Giving 3-hour exam in 1 hour or 20-hour project in 2 days (w/o adjustments)
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Ex: Posting assignment on Sunday due Monday (w/o prior notice)
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Not providing fair ability for students to turn in work
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Ex: Distant turn-in spot, limited turn-in time windows, faulty turn-in tool
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Giving extensive class points for non-academic tasks
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Ex: Unrelated surveys
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Ex: Personal favors, like proofreading the prof's book unrelated to the course
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Excessive departure from course's catalog description
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Ex: Politics in a math class
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Ex: Going far into advanced topics
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Giving exams wildly departing from topics covered in any part of class (lecture, book, homework, etc.)
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Reasonable access
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Not providing reasonable ability to enroll into required classes
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Providing grossly insufficient teaching/grading resources
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Frequently canceling class
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Repeatedly canceling class without notifying students
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Prof often arriving very late, leaving very early, or using very poor substitute
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Holding classes in a place with insufficient ability to view or hear
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Failing to be available to students outside class when universities requires it
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Ex: No office hours or frequent cancellations​​
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Ex: Not responding to emails or forum posts or unreasonably delayed replies
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Competent professors​
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Grossly deficient communication
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Ex: Due to accent, voice level, grammar, behavioral issues, etc. ​
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Unable to manage a class
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Ex: Disorganized, doesn't follow own policies, has unreasonable policies, unable or unwilling to interact with students, etc.​
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​Repeated demonstrated incompetence with course's topics
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Repeatedly berating students
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Reasonable advising / curriculum
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Telling a student they are on track to graduate, then later saying otherwise
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Changing course numbering, prerequisites, or graduation requirements in a way that unreasonably burdens existing students
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Severe cases
Issues are not black-and-white. Ex: Some "inconsistent grading" is unavoidable.
Academic mistreatment is about extreme cases, beyond normal imperfections.
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One might liken it to medical malpractice. No doctor is perfect, and medicine is an art. Non-ideal treatment is thus normal. But a doctor's actions rise to malpractice when they do not meet accepted standards of care and cause substantial harm.
Likewise, no professor is perfect, and teaching is an art. Imperfect classes are common. But sometimes limits are breached, where most other professors would say "That's not OK". Without oversight, academic mistreatment is surprisingly common.
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Academic Freedom
What is academic freedom
A fundamental teaching principle is that of "academic freedom," which is often defined as the right of university professors to express ideas without interference. That freedom includes many aspects of how professors operate their class, determine grades, treat students, and more. Academic freedom is essential in order to retain good professors and ensure students receive a good education.
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Academic freedom is not, however, the freedom to do anything. It's important to know what items are protected by academic freedom, such as:
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Expressing any ideas related to the course
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Even if unpopular—truth may not always be popular
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Covering topics related to the course​
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Even if beyond the listed topics—courses naturally evolve​
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Determining how a class is run​​
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Even if unusual—variations may lead to innovations
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Determining grades
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Even if methods seems strict—no universal standards exist​
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Practices likely protected by academic freedom
Below are behaviors some would question but that are likely protected by academic freedom. ​
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Grading
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Entire course grade is derived from one exam
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Graded work during a term helps students learn. But when this isn't offered, ideally professors would still offer optionally-graded work and sample exams.
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Giving no grade feedback prior to drop deadline
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Feedback helps students make an informed decision.
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Accepting exam item regrade requests but regrading entire exam
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This common policy has logic, but borders on retaliation, often done to discourage regrades. Professors: Imagine you notice the IRS under-refunded you this year, but if you report it they'll audit your last 10 years. ​
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Having large grade variations among different sections/offerings of the same course
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A sign of an immature department who can't get faculty to coordinate. Unfair to students who happen to enroll in the more-harshly-graded section.​
- Sometimes departments often don't want to deal with firing someone or finding a replacement so they keep a professor with terrible evaluations​.
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Even if something is protected by academic freedom, you can still suggest improvements. Options include a polite email or conversation with a professor, sending an email to a department chair/vice-chair, and completing end-of-term course evaluations. Hopefully, your professor and/or department is open to constructive suggestions.
Proper expectations
CSA aims to address academic mistreatment, which unfortunately is common.
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To know what academic mistreatment is, students must have proper expectations about the college experience. Students sometimes misunderstand the professor/student relationship and assume they have certain rights when they don't.
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Students who enroll in a university agree to a learning experience within the university's framework. University learning is not private tutoring, nor are students customers who can demand specific service. The university framework typically includes:
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A limited amount of instruction and assistance—not unlimited
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Assessments/grades based on the professor's standards—not the student's
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Student responsibility to read policies, participate, and study—without hand-holding
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Acceptance of normal imperfections in the teaching process—no class can be perfect
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Below are areas in which students often have improper expectations.
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Not allowing the professor to control the flow of class
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Ex: Student expects to speak at any moment, on any subject, for any amount of time, or demands immediate answers to questions.
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Professors need to control the flow of class to achieve teaching goals
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Expecting replies to every email or discussion board post​​
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Profs don't have infinite time, need not reply to questions already covered in the class, syllabus, or previous posts, and may use other communication forms
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Feeling entitled to as much help as needed to understand the material​
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College is not private tutoring. Profs should provide reasonable help given the class size, units, and prerequisite knowledge. Students needing more might seek other help (classmates, tutors, etc.)​
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Expecting special accommodations​
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Except for certain school-approved disabilities, profs need not accommodate every situation (e.g., work schedules, travel plans, etc.). If they can, great, but numerous exceptions become unmanageable.​
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Objecting to reasonable changes in a syllabus​
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Ex: Adding some homework, removing a quiz, tweaking an exam's weight​
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Profs need to make adjustments based on class performance, changing resources, new ideas, illness, etc.
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Recording a professor​, or using electronics (phones, laptops), without permission
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Unless the school has an overriding policy, profs decide what happens in their class, including whether they'll be recorded (which can stifle free expression)​​, or whether electronics can be used (which can distract)
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Posting a professor's materials (slides, exams, etc.) online (e.g., to sharing sites) without permission​
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Profs usually hold the copyright on their materials, and such posting violates that copyright​
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Abusing grade appeals via excessive, minor appeals​
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Grading is imperfect; students should be reasonably confident that an error has been made, and that such error is enough to warrant a regrade​ before appealing
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Believing high effort deserves a good grade​
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Grades are usually based on demonstrated knowledge/skill, not effort​
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Objecting to a professor seeming rude or unkind​
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Being polite or kind might be desired, but isn't required, and some profs aim to toughen/mature students, preparing them for real-world success
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Believing students should contribute to determining their grade​
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In some ways, that's akin to a patient telling the doctor what to do​
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Of course, professors would do well to be open to hearing student opinions too.