Striking graduate instructors at the University of Michigan say the university is QUOTE “fabricating” grades for students in some courses a claim the university denies. That accusation comes as the strike enters its seventh week, with no apparent resolution in sight.
The allegations center around some undergraduate courses where graduate students are usually the sole instructors. Amir Fleischmann is chair of the contracts committee for the Graduate Employees Organization. He says they’ve seen e-mails from department chairs that show how grades were entered for those courses.
“The dean's office and the provost's office had cajoled and bullied department faculty into submitting straight A's for these classes where the graduate students are the instructors of record.” said Fleischmann.
Michigan Radio has reviewed some of those emails. They appear to show administrators directing faculty to enter grades, though not necessarily A's. The university says methods for resolving grades depend on the circumstances of each class.