Editorial

On May 18, 2008, more than 1,200 proud graduates received their degrees at Fairfield commencement with a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and, most important, a clear conscience. Well, perhaps not everyone.

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Upwards of a week before graduation, a male student ‘- still unknown by name to the majority of Fairfield ‘- was involved in a grade-changing incident. The student used his access as a Fairfield employee ‘- an RA ‘- to obtain the StagWeb identification numbers of six of his professors. Though the event was reported to the Academic Vice President Orin Grossman, the student was still allowed to receive a University College General Studies degree.

Didn’t know about this incident until now? Without a friendly tip-off from a faculty member in August, neither would the staff members of The Mirror. Furthermore, those professors who were essentially victims of identity theft were only made aware that their identities were stolen through StagWeb eight weeks after the incident occurred.

The delay was due in part to a lack of precedence in the University student handbook. Grade tampering was not explicitly stated as an offense by students, nor is the punishment for such. In response to the offense, computer fraud has been added to the handbook for the 2008-2009 academic year, along with more stringent log-in capacities on StagWeb and a committee that will oversee future policies of this nature.

When asked if charges were pressed or if legal action was taken against the student in question, Grossman responded that this matter was an ‘internal matter.’ Yet, if such policy changes are now in effect, why were students uninformed of what is and still remains a huge issue? Ideally, students read the entire handbook; realistically, they don’t.

Beyond the lapse in time, perhaps the most questionable aspect of the grade-changing incident remains the student himself. As an RA, he was meant to be a model of student behavior. Perhaps a conspiracy theory, but would another student, not of RA status, been allowed to receive his or her degree at all?

In Grossman’s defense, such an instance had not occurred before. Grossman says his one regret handling the situation was that he had not kept the involved faculty abreast of the situation. If this is an ‘internal affair,’ then the community should be informed of the issue before everyone underplays the issue.
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