UD‘s always hearing about how low standards are in the humanities classroom, because the field is so vague… So it’s refreshing to see truly low standards in math, of all places.
The University of Manitoba just gave some person a math PhD even though said person, claiming a diagnosis of extreme exam anxiety, not only failed his comp exam (twice), but did not complete “the required graduate courses.”
This outcome so pissed off one of the math professors at Manitoba that he went after “a court injunction in September against the awarding of the PhD.”
This outcome so pissed off the university that they have suspended the math professor for the rest of the year, without pay.
Manitoba says it’s upset about his having compromised the student’s privacy. You and I know the school’s upset because the professor made their degradation of their own degree public, and thereby deeply embarrassed the University of Manitoba.
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:17AM
I’ve heard rumors for a while about the slipping standards at the U of Manitoba. Had no idea things were that bad, though.
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:21AM
One of my favorite jokes:
Did you hear about the Soviet soldier who got 25 years in gulag for calling his general an idiot?
Isn’t that a bit harsh?
No. He got six months for insubordination and the rest for revealing a state secret.
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:24AM
Hope they don’t teach Civil Enginering at that school…
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:43AM
They have both a law program and a medical school. I wonder how many of those students got their certificates without completing the required courses. In fact, I’ll admit to being a bit anxious to learn the answer to that…
November 3rd, 2010 at 12:44PM
It’s odd that there’s no mention of the student’s dissertation. He repeatedly failed his comps, he hadn’t completed the required courses– but still (apparently) had a thesis advisor, a completed dissertation and a thesis defense? Or am I just babbling about ancient and irrelevant academic lore?
November 3rd, 2010 at 12:48PM
There are low standards in math classes. I teach at a community college and there is pressure to pass more students. Tests I gave 10 years ago would be failed by 75% of my students today. College has become one giant scam in my opinion.
November 3rd, 2010 at 3:03PM
As an ABD, I applied for a 1-year position there over 25 years ago. It was the most extraordinary conference interview I ever had. The Manitoba guy apologized for the ghastliness of the weather there, the low salary, the teaching load, the mediocrity of the students, etc., etc; by the end, he had essentially apologized for the institution’s very existence. I did not get the job and have no idea who did, but I think it is safe to say that none of the applicants spent much time mourning over a rejection letter.
November 3rd, 2010 at 4:09PM
Hmm…
Perhaps this is tangential, but…
In some ways I am pleased that accommodations are being made for people. About 35 year ago, at a good place that will be unnamed, I had a student who would work 50% of his exams 100% correct. He claimed, and I believe correctly, that if he had more time he could do better. Unfortunately, at that time, there was nothing that could be done about the situation.
Maybe that was my fault, but I was a rookie.
I did switch to a policy of oral exams upon request, but not too many students took me up on it. Here it is pretty easy to discover what a student does, and doesn’t, know. One might think that the grading of an oral exam might be a problem, but very rarely was there ever disagreement and most of the time my grade was higher than the student’s self-assessment.
I am happy to give students, who have good reasons, accommodations. I am also happy when the great majority of my students leave exams a little early.
I am also a leetle curious about this one. My mantra is that a PhD is a research degree. “Did this person have a thesis and how good was it?” would be the first thing I’d like to know.
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:10PM
tp: LOL.
November 4th, 2010 at 10:42AM
[…] H/T: University Diaries. […]
November 5th, 2010 at 2:03AM
Mmmh. Maybe this person truly has panic/anxiety attacks when in a stressful situation (e.g. an exam), but did a good PhD thesis.
It’s difficult to know where to draw the line. This is not a binary issue : what to with do with a person whose anxiety is not diagnosed as warranting exemption from exams, but is almost there?