Should College Professors be Pressured to Fabricate Grades for Students?

At the University of Michigan, where graduate student employees have been striking since late March and demanding higher wages and better health care, department chairs have been pressured to submit grades for students they haven’t taught.

The Current Controversy

More than 1,000 graduate student instructors have refused to issue grades for students during the strike, saying that they weren’t paid to do that work. Rather than give in to the Graduate Employee Organization’s demands, the University directed academic departments to issue grades for the students anyway, leaving those department heads in a lurch. Several of the university’s instructors even signed a letter threatening to launch a complaint with the accrediting organization.

The school, for its part, says it’s unfair that students should be punished by having their grades withheld because of the strike.

The Risks for Instructors

Rather than negotiate with the graduate student employees, the University is placing the risk squarely on the shoulders of department heads and other professors who are being pressured into fabricating grades for students. As these instructors have not taught the students, assigned them any work, or seen any completed work, they are not in a position to grade the students’ work. Students will be getting As, even if their own understanding of the subject does not merit an A.

But grades are more than just a vanity topic. Students’ grades influence their acceptance into competitive graduate programs and internships, their ability to get and maintain scholarships, and even what jobs they’re likely to be considered for after graduation. Moreover, when if the university develops a reputation for fabricating grades, the value of the degree will be diminished and the value of employment there will be diminished for instructors.

For instructors, their own professional reputation is likely to be damaged by allegations that they awarded grades to students that the students did not deserve. Being pressured to fabricate grades for students not only forces instructors to compromise their personal and professional integrity but it also puts their reputation and future options at risk.

These are Serious Issues

Educators should not be pressured to issue grades for work they did not assign or oversee or to evaluate students on subjects they did not teach. At the most basic level, the job of an instructor is to educate and evaluate their own students. Pushing educators to issue grades without evaluating the workplaces those instructors in the precarious position of choosing between their current employment and their professional integrity.

If you have been pressured to fabricate grades for a student, help is available. You need expert advice from experienced legal professionals who understand the issues at hand and know how to advocate for you. The legal team at the LLF National Law Firm know how to help you protect your job without having to compromise your professional and personal integrity. We can help. Call us at 888-535-3686 or contact us online today.