The GSEIS "Problem" Continues

Inside Higher Ed continues its coverage of the controversy in a course at GSEIS involving... well, it’s not quite clear what is involved, despite the lengthy article.  It does seem like the kind of development that needs some Academic Senate review.  [Excerpt]

For the first time since graduate students staged a sit-in during a class they said exemplified what’s wrong with race relations at the University of California at [sic] Los Angeles, the course met again late last week. But in an apparent attempt at compromise between the aggrieved students and the instructor, its configuration was changed – raising concerns among faculty advocates and those students alike.  Students previously had met as a group with Val Rust, professor emeritus of education, leading the dissertation course in the Division of Social Sciences and Comparative Education. On Thursday, following a last-minute announcement, three additional professors with varying scholarly backgrounds, including race and ethnic studies in education, joined Rust on a “panel” of professors to oversee the remainder of the course. Students will attend individually at scheduled times with select, assigned classmates to defend their dissertation proposals...

Rust declined to comment on the new course format.  Douglas Kellner, the head of the academic division who sent some of the emails outlining the proposed course configurations, and who is serving on the new panel with Rust, did not return requests for comment. Louis Gomez, chair of the school’s Education Department, also did not respond.  In an emailed statement, Ricardo Vazquez, a university spokesman, said that Rust, “in consultation" with Kellner and others, including the dean of the school, “has agreed to chair the mock oral examinations for students in the [course.] ...  Greg Scholtz, head of academic freedom, governance and tenure for the American Association of University Professors, said the peer review is the “key ingredient” to a recommended resolution following students’ complaints against a professor. It's unclear exactly how much peer review there was in this case, given that some involved in discussions held leadership positions within the school...

Full article at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/12/09/ucla-adds-professors-class-had-sit

A previous post on this matter can be found at:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2013/11/sit-in-at-gseis.html

We noted in that post that the issue had been picked up in conservative websites because of a reported complaint by students that the instructor had corrected grammar, e.g.:
http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/11/23/professor-students-held-sit-after-complaining-grammar-and-punctuation-corrections-were