Alabama A&M is dealing with a pay to pass scandal.

An Alabama A&M University instructor’s offer of extra points on a test to students who gave her money to help victims of the Virginia Tech killings has prompted an investigation into possible “grade selling” by school officials.

In a statement released today, the university said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beverly Edmond has stopped the posting of grades for students in the instructor’s classes until the outcome of an investigation.  The instructor’s name was not released.

“Students will be awarded grades only based on an assessment of their actual performance,” Edmond said.

WHNT broke the story and has more details:

Here’s what our 19 Taking Action Investigation uncovered: for every three dollars students paid their professor, their grade went up five points. Another three bucks and it jumped an entire letter grade. And it goes on and on.

That’s pretty cheap!  Is that the market price for grades?  Did the students balk at paying four dollars for a half letter grade boost?  One student provided this quote (anonymously, of course):

“I don’t think it’s wrong,” he said. “But, that’s just my opinion.”

At the risk of prematurely sounding curmudgeonly, I don’t know about the future of this country if that is the caliber of students matriculating at our institutions of (supposedly) higher learning.  Fortunately other A&M students are vested with a finer degree of moral clarity.

“Why should you have to pay for your grade?” freshman Samantha Drake wants to know. “Just like I’m an A-B student, and somebody I know who doesn’t do their work and they’re giving the teacher money. That’s going to make me very angry.”

“I don’t think it should be allowed because you shouldn’t have to pay for your grade,” freshman Stevon Walker said. “You should just earn it as everyone else does.”

I’m at a loss for words that anyone would ever have to pose the question, “Do you think it is acceptable for a teacher to accept compensation in return for a higher grade?” 

Hold on, the story gets better!

As a direct result of our 19 Taking Action Investigation, Professor Darlene Williams has decided to return the money. She tells us each student who paid her will get their cash back. Willliams tells us, though, she has not decided whether or not to return students’ grades to what they actually earned academically.

As for any punishment, Alabama A&M University insists no disciplinary is necessary, calling it “A done deal.”

No disciplinary action!  They have got to be kidding.  A professor single handedly devalues the degree of all Alabama A&M graduates and the school doesn’t even see fit to punish her?  I would consider her actions grounds for dismissal without so much as a second thought.

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This entry was posted by Brian on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Education, Ethics Scandals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.