Monday, November 30, 2009

Student Sues University for Bad Advice

This is an interesting case.

During her freshman semester, Temple was enrolled in both a calculus course and a computer programming course. Temple said her instructors had difficulty speaking English and were hard to understand. As the semester progressed, her grades dropped, and she considered Q-dropping the two courses.

Temple visited with Sofia Fuentes, an academic adviser in the Department of General Academics, who advised her against Q-dropping. Fuentes instead said accepting a grade of an “F” or a “D” and using a First Year Grade Exclusion. According to the suit filed by Temple, Fuentes said this was the best option because using a Q-drop would put her at risk to lose her position on her parents’ healthcare plan.

“Having no reason to doubt Ms. Fuentes’ guidance, [Ms. Temple] quit attending classes, as advised, so that she would be eligible to exercise the grade exclusion policy,” the suit said.

With a First Year Grade Exclusion, courses that receive a grade of either “D” or “F” are not included in the grade point ratio calculation. However, this system is restricted to the Texas A&M University System and not universally accepted.

When Temple later applied to attend the University of Texas, she was rejected based on the lower GPR calculation that included the two freshman semester classes. With a Q-drop, record of the courses and grades would have been removed from Temple’s transcript.

The suit was filed against Texas A&M and Fuentes, as well as the associate dean for the Department of General Academics, the dean of the Department of General Academics, the associate provost for Undergraduate Programs and the interim president.

What the story doesn’t say is what the adviser actually told Temple.  Did the adviser disclose that grade exclusion policy wasn’t necessarily accepted by other universities?  What responsibility does Temple carry for her decisions - even if taken upon the advice of someone else?  What responsibility does the school and adviser have for offering advice?  It seems to me that this adviser was trying to go above and beyond by offering advice based not on just academics, but the student’s personal circumstance regarding health insurance.  Should the adviser have looked at the issue strictly on the basis of academic rules or should the adviser take a more encompassing approach to the job?  If the adviser had advised that the student drop the classes and she lost her health insurance, would/could the student sue over that?

It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.

(6) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1711 hrs
Law

  1. Or, should Temple have been advised to head straight for UT if she was interested in academics now that Gov Perry seems to have co-opted the Board of Regents of A&M?

    If an advisor did not tell me that this action or that did not have consequences beyond what we were discussing I would hold them responsible for the oversight.  That includes ramifications for healthcare or transfer.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 01, 2009 at 0531 hrs


  2. This sounds exactly like a university advisor. I had similar problems at UWM, which I was able to have remedied without suing, but it is shocking how these advisors give advise without either knowledge of system wide policy, or knowledge of the students actual goals.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 01, 2009 at 0734 hrs


  3. Throughout college and three different advisers I was told I needed to fulfill a foreign language requirement even though I had six years of Spanish from junior high and high school.  I gave German a shot my freshman year and was horrible at it, so I pushed off the second (required) semester until my senior year.  Finally, I went to the dean of the school who laughed and said I never needed to take a foreign language in the first place.

    They’re there to advise.  The advice they give should be both accurate and beneficial to the student from an academic standpoint.

    Posted by David Casper on December 01, 2009 at 0907 hrs


  4. I am shocked, shocked that one college advisor gave poor advice. IMHO, it was incumbent on the student to get a second opinion from another advisor or talk to other students. Maybe she was advised to preserve her 12th Man option!

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 01, 2009 at 1246 hrs


  5. Bigger question…why were the teacher(s)/professor(s) unable to communicate in English? I’ve been there-done that with an EE instructor who spoke only rudimentary English. She should have dropped after the first class.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 01, 2009 at 1316 hrs


  6. What do you expect from an Ag school that has an AstroTurf field.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 01, 2009 at 1351 hrs


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