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Premise

My department recently finalized the faculty teaching assignments for the Fall 2019 semester (starts at the end of August 2019). As these assignments were being discussed a few weeks ago, my department chair approached me and asked my "interest" (her word) in teaching an "explorations" (again her word) class that students could take to learn more about our department and our discipline.

She had a pre-written syllabus that she had composed. The proposed work load for the class essentially consisted of having 80% attendance at a weekly 50-minute class period and filling out a course review at the end of the semester (10% of the grade was to come from a nebulous "class participation" score). This class would be worth three (3) credits, which would be the typical credit given for a class that met for three 50-minute periods a week and had several exams, weekly homework, etc. Some examples of classes in my college (STEM) worth 3 credits:

All names and course numbers are effectively fake. These are all real classes at my university, but I have completely made up the numbers to mask the real classes.

• Math 3340 Differential Equations.


• Math 3870 Algebraic Number Theory.


• Phys 2200 Electromagnetism.


• CoSc 3130 Compilers and Interpreters.


• Stat 4650 Bayesian Inference.


• CoSc 3270 Intro to Machine Learning.


• CoSc 4270 Advanced Machine Learning.


• Chem 3510 Organic Chemistry I.


• Chem 3520 Organic Chemistry II.

(CoSc is Computer Science. This is not what my university calls it. I did this literally just so that every class only had a 4 letter abbreviation).

I told the department chair that I was not interested in teaching the class and made the passing observation that it seemed like the class was rather simple for a three credit class. She told me that, yes, it is a rather simple class, but that this was okay, since it was "targeted at the athletes from our university." The class is open to any student at the university, but it requires departmental signature to add the class.

I feel that this may be treading a fine line that borders on academic fraud, such as this scandal at the University of North Carolina. This is exacerbated by the fact that I have now discovered that there is not only one version of this class, but three (XXXX 3910 Explorations I, XXXX 3920 Explorations II, XXXX 3930 Explorations III) versions of the class.

The classes meet concurrently in "different" rooms, however it is really just one big room that can be subdivided into three classrooms with accordion curtains. (Each section of the room has a separate door to the hallway and a separate room number). So the "Explorations" classes can effectively be taken all at once by signing up for all three classes and then just sitting in the big room and "participating."

The Issue

Despite my declining having any interest in teaching one of these classes, I have been named as the instructor of one of the classes. The department chair and a new adjunct hire have been listed as the professors over the other two classes. Students have registered for the class and it looks like out of 21 students on my class list, 19 are student athletes.

I spoke (informally) with our associate dean about this class soon after my department chair first approached me about the class. At that point I had not yet been assigned to teach the class. He informed me that the dean had signed off on these classes in order to "engender interest in the college." Most student athletes at my school do not major in STEM fields.

I'm not sure how high this goes. I do not want to lose my job over being unwilling to get up in front of some student athletes and talk about interesting things in my field. If the class was worth fewer credits, I would feel better about participating. But as it is, I feel uncomfortable being associated with the course. If it were worth fewer credits, I might be more favorable to the thought of teaching the class.

Should I blow the whistle here?

Addendum

I do not have tenure. I am relatively new to the department. I think this is why the department chair is asking me and an adjunct professor (new hire) to cover these classes.

I mentioned that I had been assigned to teach this class to one of my senior faculty. His assessment was essentially "Oh yeah, sounds fishy. But if [Dept. Chair] got it approved, must be on the up and up, right? Ha ha ha...."

Grade break down for the class is as follows:

• 10% Participation (On an integer scale from 0-10).


• 10% Course Evaluation (Filled out = full marks, not completed = zero).


• 80% Attendance:
  
  
  • There are 10 total class meetings (we do not meet every week)
  
  
  • You get 1 point for each class period you attend up to and including your eighth class period attended. (Max score of 8/8).
  
  

The class is not pass fail. ABC grades are assigned.

So, if you participated at a level 9 (whatever that will mean), filled out the course evaluation, and attended 5 class periods total, your score would be:

9% + 10% + (5/8)*80% = 69% in the course.

If you participated at a level 3, did not fill out the course evaluation, and attended 7 class periods total, your score would be:

3% + 0% + (7/8)*80% = 73% in the course.

Short Answer: I cannot see where you would blow a whistle in short order and have any good arise from such an action. I do see a possible case for someone (not you) to blow a whistle.

Here are some thoughts to consider when you would want to make a decision to blow a whistle.

--> I want to blow a whistle on a case of potential Academic Fraud.

First, you have no stand to make this specific judgement. This judgement is made at a higher level, such as an accreditation board. Secondly, this is absolutely NOT your battle to start or to engage as a non-tenured faculty member. This is a battle for tenured faculty members to handle. So, engage some at that level in the department to start the process to blow this whistle (see below).

--> I want to blow a whistle on a case of being assigned to teach a course that is beneath my dignity (this is a translation from you saying that you do not "feel" willing to teach).

This is not a battle that you will likely win. Your teaching load is likely assigned in consultation with you BY the department Chair, the college Dean, and perhaps even the Provost/President. Your Faculty Handbook is the place to go to find the documentation for this policy. You have been consulted. Any alarm bells that you sound about loss of dignity will fall on deaf ears. Perhaps worse, raising such alarms too loudly will brand you as a complainer. Raise your concerns in private with trusted mentors (see below).

To be fair, no one appreciates being assigned to teach a course that seems to be beneath their dignity. The proper reflection is however not to blow a whistle or worry because you believe that your colleagues will think less of you to take on such a seemingly low-level course. The proper approach is to define the standards you can live with to teach the course to the best level permitted, to present your standards clearly to the students, and to hold to them as you teach. You might by inverse consider this a challenge in your own learning process -- how well can you teach something worthy about your field to students who are not at a level that you normally would want to teach and who are likely as not at all interested in learning the material in the first place.

--> I want to blow a whistle on a case of being assigned to teach a course that is outside of my area of expertise.

You do not say this directly and indeed might suggest this is irrelevant to your situation. However, let's consider even this option because someone else might state your same case with this as their reason for being unwilling to teach a course.

First … really?? You want to say that a course that you already acknowledge to be at such a low level in effort is outside of your expertise? I doubt anyone will believe anything about this type of argument. Otherwise, keep again in mind the above statement of how your teaching load is assigned and remember that you have been already duly consulted. You have already had a chance to say … “I am not trained in or versed to teach this topic”. For all intents then, this avenue to blow a whistle is also closed.

What about the first concern? Is this truly a case of Academic Fraud? In truth, you do not have either the full evidence nor the full qualifications to judge. However, based on your details, perhaps someone higher up should take a look to see whether it is. Also, your initiative to find a comparable case from UNC is praiseworthy. However, that is where your effort should end.

How should you proceed?

For the immediate term (summer), do nothing major. At best, contact a trusted, tenured faculty member in your department and discuss their views on whether the course is worthy as a case to raise for Academic Fraud. Your Faculty Senator may also have insights. Use this time also to gather information about what other faculty in the department feel about the course. You may learn why the best course of action in some cases is to devote your energy to productive activities toward your own goals rather than sinking them in pit-holes. You may also learn about your allies and enemies for future worthy battles that you would want to fight to improve the integrity of courses in the department.

For the Fall term, teach the course. Establish what it requires and strive to meet its standards to the fullest degree possible. As you desire and as the course description permits, allow yourself the liberty to inject some degree of your own academic integrity. However, be clear at the outset about what this means in your grading rubrics, especially when they differ from your colleagues who are teaching EXACTLY the same course. Finally, when you do make changes, be prepared that you will have students who will either jump ship right away or who will complain loudly about you during and after the course, and they will likely do so to the highest level possible. In other words, tread lightly about this path.

Also, during the Fall term, grant yourself the liberty of having an easy course to teach and do something productive entirely for you.

After the Fall term, write a course assessment report. When this would be an engineering course in an accredited college, this report would be called an ABET course assessment report. Document the course requirements, what you did during the course to meet them, and what the outcomes were from your efforts. Bind these documents in a folder and post them to the department.

Looking ahead from that point ... Keep yourself productive in your own way and trust that, as the case may require, you have done what was demanded of you with the fullest integrity allowed. As the saying goes, you cannot be blamed after that point for anything falsely done by those above your pay grade (or tenure level in this case) and for something that you are in a position only to seek to correct by seeking further advice.

You're either a professor at

(1) UNC Chapel Hill

(2) UNLV

(3) Fresno State

(4) Louisville

or

(5) Kentucky

Don't do it, man. You'll be just another Rick Pitino, Jerry Tarkanian ("the shark") or Jerry Sandusky / Joe Paterno / Larry Nassar.

Have some dignity.

(I can guarantee you're not at Duke; Coach K would never allow this to happen. Ditto for Georgetown.)