Grade changes not fair to others

Marshall University administrators were recently investigated under concerns that a professor was asked to falsify the grades of an elected state official’s daughter.
No matter the circumstances, the fact of the situation is someone messed up. Somewhere down the line of parties involved, someone made a big mistake, which possibly spun the situation out of control.
It doesn’t take much to get in over your head. A little change here, a little fix there, and before you know it you are swimming in controversy. Those involved in this case definitely got in over their heads.
Fixing a student’s grade, whether he or she is the child of a state official, is unethical. It is obviously immoral, but also completely unfair to everyone else.
Thousands of other students are staying up all night studying, writing, designing, reading and memorizing. So, what does it say to all the rest of us who are working so hard to do well when someone is given an A? What kind of message does that send? That all it takes to succeed in college is a high-profile parent? That’s not right.
Everyone should have standards and boundaries, and obviously someone let their guard down and compromised morals for success.
Through everything, it is being said this is simply a “clerical” error, when in all reality someone needs to step up and take the blame for this, because we all know better. Someone needs to take responsibility for his or her actions.

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2 comments

Home cooking

Sun Oct 18 2009 17:46

It is amazing how layout and color can make a little story desperately try to look bigger. Pretty clear that someone (possibly plural) wants this to be more than it is. Wonder why?

patricia

Fri Oct 16 2009 11:27

Based on everything published about this matter, this editorial seems irresponsible. There is no evidence of "grade fixing." There is evidence of a personality conflict between a professor and a student; there is also evidence that the student finished the coursework after the Dean took over supervision of her in an independent study. The student brought her work and showed it to an interviewer. This appears to be a case of an innocent student caught in a political battle between a malcontent college professor and her dean. The behavior of those who have made it into an issue about the student has been inexcusable.

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