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Graduate instructor who gave failing grade to Samantha Fulnecky no longer teaching at OU koco
NORMAN, Okla. —
A graduate teaching assistant who gave a University of Oklahoma student a failing grade on a psychology essay will no longer be teaching at the university.
The school released a statement Monday, saying the graduate instructor's prior grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant's own statements relating to the matter, were "arbitrary" in grading OU junior Samantha Fulnecky's essay.
"The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the University," according to the statement from OU.
The decision came after Fulnecky filed a claim of religious discrimination after she received a zero on an essay, where she referenced the Bible. The university said that the claim for discrimination has been investigated, but OU does not release finding for investigations like these.
Fulnecky referenced the Bible throughout a 650-word assignment, asking her to react to an article on gender roles for a psychology class. The graduate teaching instructor gave Fulnecky a zero on the assignment, saying she did not follow the guidelines. The instructor also called the article "at times offensive."
A second instructor for the course agreed with the grade, saying the assignment was not followed.
Fulnecky appealed her grade, and the assignment was removed from her final grade. No academic harm was done to the student due to the grade, according to the university.
As stated previously, the student followed two available processes at the University: the grade appeals process in the college and she made a formal claim of illegal religious discrimination. As already announced, the grade appeal was decided in favor of the student, removing the assignment completely from the student’s total point value of the class, resulting in no academic harm to the student.
OU said it has been engaged in detailed conversations with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to ensure there is an understanding of the facts and actions being taken.
"The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in both its faculty’s rights to teach with academic freedom and integrity and its students’ right to receive an education that is free from a lecturer’s impermissible evaluative standards," OU said in a statement. "We are committed to teaching students how to think, not what to think. The University will continue to review best practices to ensure that its instructors have the comprehensive training necessary to objectively assess their students’ work without limiting their ability to teach, inspire, and elevate our next generation."
NORMAN, Okla. —
A graduate teaching assistant who gave a University of Oklahoma student a failing grade on a psychology essay will no longer be teaching at the university.
The school released a statement Monday, saying the graduate instructor's prior grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant's own statements relating to the matter, were "arbitrary" in grading OU junior Samantha Fulnecky's essay.
"The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the University," according to the statement from OU.
The decision came after Fulnecky filed a claim of religious discrimination after she received a zero on an essay, where she referenced the Bible. The university said that the claim for discrimination has been investigated, but OU does not release finding for investigations like these.
Fulnecky referenced the Bible throughout a 650-word assignment, asking her to react to an article on gender roles for a psychology class. The graduate teaching instructor gave Fulnecky a zero on the assignment, saying she did not follow the guidelines. The instructor also called the article "at times offensive."
A second instructor for the course agreed with the grade, saying the assignment was not followed.
Fulnecky appealed her grade, and the assignment was removed from her final grade. No academic harm was done to the student due to the grade, according to the university.
As stated previously, the student followed two available processes at the University: the grade appeals process in the college and she made a formal claim of illegal religious discrimination. As already announced, the grade appeal was decided in favor of the student, removing the assignment completely from the student’s total point value of the class, resulting in no academic harm to the student.
OU said it has been engaged in detailed conversations with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to ensure there is an understanding of the facts and actions being taken.
"The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in both its faculty’s rights to teach with academic freedom and integrity and its students’ right to receive an education that is free from a lecturer’s impermissible evaluative standards," OU said in a statement. "We are committed to teaching students how to think, not what to think. The University will continue to review best practices to ensure that its instructors have the comprehensive training necessary to objectively assess their students’ work without limiting their ability to teach, inspire, and elevate our next generation."
