"A University of Prince Edward Island lecturer makes no excuses for offering students a 70 to not show up for his course. But the administration gives his deal a failing grade.
David Weale said he made the offer because the class is too big and some students aren't interested in being there............Read on "
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from the Charlottetown Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=1603&sc=1
TOP ISLAND STORY
Thursday, February 23, 2006
UPEI dismisses David Weale in aftermath of class scandal
Ousted professor has no regrets over move to protest the large size of his class.
By Jim Day
The Guardian
David Weale has been fired.
Weale’s controversial move to offer a guaranteed mark of 70 per cent to students if they quit his history class at UPEI earned the professor national headlines, a suspension — and now his walking papers.
“The president’s final decision is dismissal with cause,’’ said Weale. “In other words, I was fired.’’
Weale, who has taught history at UPEI since 1973, was informed by letter last week that his career at the university is over.
He said he is reflecting on whether to grieve the firing. However, Weale suggested that he is able to live with the decision.
“I’m not at all bitter about it,’’ he said. “In fact, it is a rather interesting way to end a career.’’
Weale had planned at the outset of the semester for this to be his last year at UPEI, but his departure has proven to be far from a routine retirement.
The university replaced the popular professor last month in his only course — History of Christianity — after he tried to reduce the size of his class by offering a passing grade to students if they dropped his course.
More than 20 students took Weale up on the deal, a contentious offer that drew a strong mix of both criticism and support.
The majority of his students signed a petition urging the university to allow Weale to return to the classroom.
UPEI president Wade MacLauchlan has remained tight-lipped on what administration has been calling an internal human resources issue.
Weale said the firing comes with a small financial cost.
He will lose out on the pay he would have received for teaching the remainder of the course. He doesn’t, however, expect the firing to impact his pension.
Weale has used the controversy, which has been covered in the national media, to highlight his growing concerns about the university.
In a lengthy opinion piece that ran in The Guardian earlier this month, he wrote that universities themselves have greatly devalued the currency of a university degree by lowering standards of admission, by overcrowding the classrooms and by graduating so many students who have not learned to think critically about themselves and their culture.
He said Wednesday that he believes students at UPEI and other universities are “not getting good value for their money.’’
Weale doesn’t anticipate having difficulty occupying his time now that his teaching days at UPEI are over. He is currently working on writing several books.
“So I may be fired, but I’m not idle,’’ he said.
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