Most University of Massachusetts students have suffered some sort of self-described “injustice” at the hands of an unruly professor or teaching assistant. We’re college students – we couldn’t fathom chalking up a poor grade to a lack of understanding of the material, or the fact that perhaps we should’ve been studying Thursday night instead of partying. But few make a federal case out of it.
Enter Brian Marquis. Marquis, a 51-year-old sociology and legal studies major, made headlines in The Massachusetts Daily Collegian in February when he filed suit against the University for what he considered not only a poor grading policy, but manipulation of empirical data.
Marquis received a C in Philosophy 161: Problems in Social Thought, though he claims that the sum of his tests, quizzes and assignments earn him an A-, or at least a solid B. He brought 15 different charges against UMass, among them intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of civil and contractual rights.
In Marquis’ defense, he did not just run to the district courts to settle his dispute right off the bat. He first approached the teaching assistant, and when that proved to be of no avail he went to Catherine Porter, the UMass ombudsman, and filed complaint. Porter urged Marquis “to accept this grade and continue on with your course work as there were no grounds for an academic grievance,” she told The Collegian in February.
There is also a legitimate difference between this case and other “academic grievances,” to borrow Porter’s term. While a student may have a complaint about a grade he or she got on a paper or project – which are evaluated in a largely subjective matter, at the discretion of the evaluator – Marquis’ case is one in which the empirical data was quite clear, but the grade was altered after it was gathered.
But while it is disappointing that a student who earned a numerical B should ultimately find a C on his transcript, it is not the job of the courts to tie the hands of class instructors. With the No Child Left Behind Act forcing primary education institutions to “teach to the test,” state and federal over-legislation has done enough harm to the learning process.
It is the job of TAs and professors to use their better judgment – which has been honed by years of education and certification – to evaluate a student’s progress. And by and large, we students trust them to do the job – until it doesn’t go our way. Brian Marquis might have gotten a numerical B, or even an A-. But for one reason or another, his TA didn’t think he deserved any higher than a C, and that’s his call, not the court’s.
And the District Court agreed; they dismissed the case two weeks ago. Unfortunately for the University, Marquis is appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. It might be good practice for Marquis, who intends on apply to law school. But we doubt that the federal courts will – or should – see things any differently.
Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Daily Collegian editorial board.
