Imagine being charged with plagiarism by a computer program and failing the course, then having the teacher refuse to read the paper in question over in person to make sure the computer made no mistake.
That is just what four students are claiming happened in Dr. Curtis Naser’s Global Healthcare Policy class last semester.
Naser told The Mirror that he would like to tell his side of the story, but now is not the right time.
“Since the case is still under investigation, it would not be appropriate to talk about it,” he said. “But once it is all over, I would be glad to speak.”
A parent of one of the students involved, who asked not to be identified, is upset about the situation, and added that the administration has not helped much.
“Naser used a computer program to grade his papers which ignores citations that students make if they quote them a certain way,” said the parent. “He’s trying to make a point about there not being a written writing standard at Fairfield and used these kids as an example.”
After complaining, the students had a meeting with Naser and Dr. Timothy Law Snyder, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“The administration didn’t investigate at all,” the parent said. “Naser told the students during the meeting that he could have failed them for just the paper, but he decided to fail them for the course to make his point.”
As of Tuesday, the students were waiting on the results from a meeting with Academic Vice President Dr. Orin Grossman.
One of the students accused, who asked not to be named, felt the meeting would help move along the process.
“Dr. Grossman has done a great job so far,” the student said. “He’s willing to listen to both sides of the issue and is looking out for the best interest of the student.”
Though Grossman has yet to issue his final ruling, he has already overruled one of Naser’s decisions.
“The grades were changed by Dr. Grossman from failing to incomplete,” the student said.
In addition to his grading, those involved feel the case was not handled the way it should have been by the administration, denying the students the right to meet with Snyder and Naser at the same time.
“Students are always welcome to meet with me or other deans with or without their parents present,” Snyder said. “In many cases, we are legally barred, for privacy reasons, from discussing academic matters with parents. In plagiarism cases and for that matter virtually all cases involving students and their work, we do not invite the parents to meetings. The meetings are about the students, their actions, or their work.”
The parents in this case disagree.
“I have dealt with Father [Aloysius P.] Kelley several times by email and gotten nowhere, now they’re just trying to blow us right off,” the parent said. “This has been dragging on since the middle of December.”
According to the students, Naser said there is no clear record of a writing standard at Fairfield and is using them to make an example.
They insist they followed a plagiarism guideline which the library posts on its Web site which states, “A student who attempts (even if clumsily) to identify and credit his or her source, but who misuses a specific citation format or incorrectly uses quotation marks or other forms of identifying material taken from other sources, has not plagiarized. Instead, such a student should be considered to have failed to cite and document sources appropriately.”
The plagiarism charge is not the only reason the parents want to meet with the administration regarding Naser.
“In addition to the trouble with this paper, Naser also does not follow the student-athlete release forms,” the parent said.
Fairfield’s Journal of Record states, “A student participating in a university sponsored event has the right to be excused without penalty or grade jeopardy from exams, student presentations, attendance and other classroom events during that time, provided the student makes up the required work in the fashion mutually agreed upon by the professor and the student.”
“Naser did not allow some students in the class to make up quizzes they missed on game days,” said the parent.
The administration said release forms should be honored.
“I can say that, as a rule, we expect professors to honor the rules set forth in our Journal of Record,” said Snyder. “The policy has requirements that students and faculty each have to follow.”
Both the students and parents involved hope the matter can be resolved soon.
“It’s a mess,” the parent said. “The school doesn’t understand that they just can’t do what they’ve done.”
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