NORFOLK
At the end of this semester, Steven Aird will lose his job as an associate professor of biology at Norfolk State University for giving out too many F's.
He is not going quietly.
Aird says his termination is part of a dumbing-down of academic standards at NSU - a move by administrators to intimidate faculty members into passing undeserving students and rewarding inferior work.
Other faculty members in NSU's School of Science and Technology say they, too, have experienced pressure to bend their standards to pass more students, and more than a dozen current and former students in the school back up Aird's claim.
Because it is a personnel issue, NSU administrators declined to comment directly about Aird's case. But Sharon Hoggard, a university spokeswoman, flatly rejected Aird's accusation that the school has dumbed down its standards.
"It goes against our very mission, which is to provide an affordable high-quality education for an ethnically and culturally diverse student population," Hoggard said in an e-mail response. She pointed out that NSU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, for which it must meet stringent standards.
Aird says he understands, and believes in, NSU's mission. But he insists that too many of the university's students are ill-prepared for college-level work. "I really care about my students," he said. "That's why I refuse to lower the bar. The objective should be competence, not grades."
For more than four years, Aird has carried on a running battle in which NSU administrators repeatedly pressed him to raise his pass rate and he steadfastly refused.
Twice, he was denied tenure and issued a one-year terminal contract, meaning he would have to leave at the end of the year. After the first denial, he filed a grievance. A faculty grievance committee found in his favor, ruling that the tenure decision was flawed by procedural violations and retaliatory actions by administrators.
He reapplied and was turned down again, despite a favorable recommendation by a departmental tenure review committee. Citing seven classes in which 83 to 95 percent of his students got a D or F, Sandra DeLoatch, dean of the School of Science and Technology, wrote that Aird's "core problem" was "the overwhelming failure of the vast majority of the students he teaches."
His bosses say it's the teacher's responsibility to make sure the lessons are getting through. Carol Simpson, provost at Old Dominion University, agreed that a professor's high failure rate would be an appropriate matter for some type of intervention.
"It would send a flag that something is amiss," she said. "What that something is - it could be all kinds of things, depending on the class and the students and the professor. But it does say that all is not well. You would expect a reasonable bell-shaped curve where the top part of the bell is maybe a middle C. You wouldn't expect to have huge numbers failing."
The problem could be the difficulty of the material, the students' level of preparation or the way the material is being presented, Simpson said.
"Not every professor is an expert in the classroom," she said, "although they may be terrific researchers or scholars."
Hoggard, the NSU spokeswoman, said the university uses a multifaceted assessment of teaching effectiveness based on faculty portfolios, student ratings, peer evaluations and comments from the department chair and dean.
This semester, his last, Aird has been removed from the classroom. He spends his time doing research and job-hunting. At 55, he faces the possible end of his academic career.
Aird grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington and earned a doctorate in zoology from Colorado State University. A published researcher, he specializes in the chemistry of poisonous snake venoms.
After four years as a university teacher and researcher in Brazil, he came to NSU in 2002 and was assigned to the chemistry department. His first semester, 22 of the 24 students in his biochemistry course got Ds, Fs or dropped the class. In a November 2003 memo, Associate Dean Larry Mattix warned him: "This low level of student success is unacceptable."
In 2004, Aird was reassigned to the biology department.
The issue surfaced again quickly. In a December 2004 memo, Camellia Okpodu, the biology department chair, expressed alarm about the grades in lab sections of the freshman-level biology course. Dean DeLoatch, in rejecting Aird's application for tenure in March 2007, reiterated the theme again.
Each time, Aird's response was unbending. "I believe that we serve our students and our country best when we help our students to discover and develop their abilities, and when we help them develop the intellectual tools and the strength of character to overcome the obstacles they will encounter in life," he wrote in reply to Okpodu. "That cannot be accomplished, as so many at NSU have tried, by pandering to them and to their parents with inflated grades and pass rates."
To support his allegations of grade inflation, Aird performed a statistical analysis of two common exams that were given to all students taking the freshman-level biology course in the fall of 2005. The median grade in all sections on both exams - taught by five different professors - was F.
His final grades were an accurate reflection of students' performance on those two exams, Aird wrote the dean.
Hoggard said attributing the discrepancy between exam results and final grades to grade inflation is too simplistic.
"Every student doesn't learn in the same way," she said. "It becomes the duty of the faculty member to find ways to ensure that his or her students are understanding the material."
Student testimonials to Aird cite his passion for biology, his enthusiasm in the classroom and his willingness to help students who are struggling.
Natalie James, a senior biology major, took Aird's zoology class in 2006. "He told us at the beginning of the semester, 'It's going to hurt, and I'm going to really push you.'
"I was up at 2 o'clock many mornings e-mailing him with questions. It was a challenge the whole time."
James said Aird had a pleasant attitude and she learned more than she could have imagined in one semester. At the end of the course, she said, "I came out with an A by the skin of my teeth."
In contrast, James said, she easily received an A in another class. "Yes, it looks nice when you get out with a 4.0 GPA, but then you go to medical school and you know nothing."
Tiana Stephenson, a junior journalism major, took Aird's freshman biology class in 2005 and found it difficult, despite Aird's out-of-class assistance.
"I got a D - the only one I've ever gotten," she said. "If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have taken his course. I was still in a high-school mindset, and he's not a high-school teacher."
Some of Aird's colleagues agree that professors feel pressure to pass more students.
At the School of Science and Technology, said Joseph Hall, a chemistry professor and president of the Faculty Senate, "faculty are - I'll use a nice word - encouraged to try and pass 70 percent of their students." If the rate drops below 70 percent, he said, "faculty are called in and asked to explain what they're going to do about it."
Aird thinks the phenomenon is due in part to the evolution of a "consumer culture" in higher education. He argues that administrators are tempted to placate students and parents with good grades to keep the tuition dollars flowing.
The financial pressure is particularly acute at NSU. Alone among Virginia state schools, most of which are experiencing significant growth, NSU's enrollment has declined by more than one-third over the past 15 years.
Hall echoed Aird's view that many NSU students come poorly prepared for college work.
Because so many have deficient study habits and poor writing skills, he said, "if you adhere to a certain standard, you would flunk a significant number of them, and you have to do something to try to get them to catch up." For instance, Hall said, he gives optional bonus quizzes to help students pull up their grades.
Hall said he counseled Aird to be more flexible, to no avail.
"I think what Steve decided was that the university should put programs in place to build up the background of the students, or admit better students. And he stuck to those guns."
Cassandra Newby-Alexander, an NSU history professor and vice president of the Faculty Senate, chaired the faculty committee that upheld Aird's grievance. She said there's always room for improving one's teaching technique, but she felt Aird deserved a chance to be mentored. "He didn't get the fair shake he should have had an opportunity to get."
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
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I have had the pleasure of
I have had the pleasure of being a student in Dr. Aird's Spring 2005 Biology 100 class. I found this class to be challenging and rewarding. Dr. Aird is certainly not one to curve grades to maintain a certain percentage of passing students, he is however a professor who will tuitor and assit those who have the willingness to learn. Through my observations, many students expected to receive more than they put into their learning experience. By mid semester more than half of the students no longer bothered to attend class. Dr. Aird always maintained an open door policy. He also formed a weekly tuitoring session for those who desired extra assistance. I was one of the few students who took full advantage of all that Dr. Aird had to offer to ensure that I mastered the material. I earned a B- in the class, the lowest grade I received since re enrolling at Norfolk State University, yet I learned the most i
It's a messed up situation but...........
After reading the article and the comments posted below, I am at a loss for words. I am an NSU alumna (Class of '07) with a BS in Biology. To those who think NSU is a "degree mill", it is not. I worked hard for every grade I received during my 4 years at NSU. I studied, talked to my professors, and sought tutoring when necessary. My work was apparently good enough to get me accepted to a summer research internship at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). I never expected any grade to be handed to me therefore, I do not consider my degree to be worthless. To me, it is representative of the many nights I spent studying, trying to earn the grade I knew I was capable of earning. Ultimately,it paid off. I am currently in my 2nd year of my graduate studies at the University of Alabama-Birmingham ( I am working on getting a PhD in Neuroscience) and have worked my butt off at this level. Contrary to what peo
Freshman that took Dr. Airds course in the fall of 2007.
Dr. Airds biolgy class that I took in the fall was w/o a doubt the most difficult class that I have taken. My classmates and I would constantly complain, and we felt as though Dr. Aird was trying to teach us as biology majors. Over time I realized how much Dr. Aird cares for his students, and just wanted us to actually learn. I can honestly say that I learned in Dr. Airds class, which is not something I can say about all my classes.
Dr.Aird put a lot on us because he knew that we could do it. His class was realistic and ACTUALLY prepared us for college. Dr. Aird didn't ask of us anything that a college student shouldn't be able to do. So what if we had to read an extra 2 hours a day to really grasp the information. So what if we had to answer 20-30 homework questions every WEEK..not day but WEEK, and so what if we had a quiz every Monday. Aren't these things that all teachers should be doing to make sure that their stu
Dr. Aird
All of those individual who believe Dr. Steven Aird is an incompetent professor are sadly mistaken.Yes, Nsu admits some students who would not have an oppurtunity to be educated at other institutions; for some of those students the barrier is academic performance in highschool. For other students the barrier is of a financial nature. However, "excuses are the tools of the incompetent".
When I first attended Norfolk State University, I took the class that the article refers to. I took the freshman level biology course. It made me want to be a Bilogy major.
I had taken four Math courses, AP and Honors English courses, Fives sciences as well as boat load of electives. I had 1260 on my SAT (660 MATH and 600 English), for all of those who assume students at NSU are not on par with other college students.
yes, I found it dificult to adjust to the high standards that Dr. Aird set forth. Nonetheless, I am
I am currently a student at
I am currently a student at Norfolk State University and I strongly disagree with some of these comments that are being made. I am a matriculating senior who has worked long and hard to make it here. I currently have an internship at a prestigious newspaper where they know that I am a student from NSU. IT IS ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO! I am very knowledgeable and I excel at what I do and my major very WELL. NSU has taught me to be a well-rounded PERSON and I do not believe that I could have learned these experiences from anywhere else. I actually did get accepted to other universities; while in high school I took multiple AP courses and did well in them. I am extermely able to do well in the "real world". Some of my fellow co-workers were students from JMU, Va Tech, Mary Washington and the University of Virginia. I AM FROM NSU. I am capable and able to compete with these "top" schools. So, I advise you to do your own research rather then JUDGE. Thank You.
Ethics at Norfolk State
Fair is fair. The teacher should have the right to grade the way they see fit, and run their class rooms the way they want. Too much attention is paid in the wrong places over here. The President should look at the moral and ehthics taught to students. Like the way some of the staff dress in an unprofessional way, I was shocked to see the short skirts and low-cut tops on " professionals" and the "extra activities" going on right in front of students and visiting parents. I was embarrested to look over at a restaurant and see two staff members from Admissions office together and acting like a married couple ( no to each other)! More attention needs to be paid to the morals and professionalism at NSU.
Isn't Norfolk a minority city
NSU failure to attract minority students in a minority city is simply not acceptable. Perhaps this is because the quality of the instruction at this minority institution is not acceptable to the majority population in this city?
response to prophelicious
Submitted by prophelicious
"If my boss wants me to read a technical manual, he doesn't want to hear that it would be better for me if he posted a video about it on Youtube."
I agree that those who want to learn will learn regardless. However,it is still the job of the teacher to work with the styles he/she has in the classroom. When I mentioned "visual" learners and how to accomodate them the intention of the word "visual" is NOT to mean "video". Being a visual learner does not mean learning from watching videos on YouTube. Accomodating "Visual" learners here means that as one presents the facts in textual form, one can also present them in some sort of graph, block diagram, etc. Scientists are normally "visual learners" in that respect.
A culture that nurtures ignornace is
a culture that will never get the respect it screams for. IMO this is a self-induced cancer that affects a very large part of our community. I'm sure I am not the only professional who has worked with "educated" imbeciles and this story just reinforces my negative feeling towards forced diversity and that scam called the EOC.
If the NSU administration is protecting their "peeps" by propping up underachievers then they have brought suspicion on all their past degree programs and brought shame to their institution. Ignorant, self-gratuitous behavior is nothing new and it is not isolated to just the ethnic colleges.
Perhaps Norfolk SHOULD buy the NSU Presidential House and convert it into a day-care for free. Is that what's coming next? Sure sounds like it...
Profit and has trumped all that truly matters in our society.
could someone please define "studuent" for me?
Someone asks what is, I presume, supposed to be a rhetorical question. I shall answer it anyway. Who’s uneducated here? Well, one of us doesn’t know how to make a verb agree with its subject. Hint: “Students and alumni” is a plural subject. “Is,” despite former President Clinton’s apparent befuddlement, is the singular conjugation of the verb “to be.” And, yes, they are 3rd and 4th grade errors, meaning that most of us mastered the material in elementary school. And you call me an idiot? Whether you like it or not (and I’m guessing not), you are judged by your ability to speak English properly. The fact that you seem honestly to believe that proper grammar is so trivial says a lot more about your education than mine. Not that it’s relevant to this discussion, but I’m working on an MA at a university I don’t feel obligated to defend as “not that bad.”
NSU is not that bad
I don’t understand why everyone is quick to dismiss NSU as a good university. I graduated from NSU with a degree in chemistry and I am now in a dual degree program (MD/Phd) at a major university. I also know of plenty of other students who graduated from this university and have gone on to get masters, PhDs, MDs, etc. I know at least one student who failed one of Dr. Aird’s classes and has gone on to get his medical degree, so obviously it is not all the students’ fault. If you have a vast majority of students failing than you don’t just blame the students or the university, you must look at your teaching skills and whether or not the students understand the information. I fault the university because they should institute a better development/mentoring opportunities for the faculty.
Don't confuse Institution with its administrators
I am Steve’s wife. I just received my US citizenship in February, after having lived in this country for 7 years. I was born in Japan.
After having read the blogs, I think that some readers have confused Norfolk State University, the institution, with some of the corrupt administrators who run it. This article and the blogs written in response make it clear that NSU and its students are suffering from incompetent and self-serving leadership. NSU’s students deserve better education than they are receiving and the tax payers deserve more for their money.
Virginia tax payers should demand that the state government begin to exercise appropriate oversight. The tree can be judged by the fruit it produces, and if the tree is sick, then we have to cure it to make it healthy. It is obvious that the NSU tree is dying a slow death. So what we can do as citizens of the world’s leading Democratic country? We need to write our representatives and demand that academic standards be raised in all state educational institutions, from the elementary schools to the universities. If we do not do it soon, every child will be left behind, as so many NSU graduates are now.
Yayoi T.
Who's Uneducated here!!!!
I find it extremely sad that some of you can't find anything better to do with your time than to sling mud at these students and alumni who, as any one would be, is extremely proud of what they have and are trying to accomplish. You have students at the doctorate level of education who will not make a perfect score due to grammatical errors. And like cs and his supporter said, they are 3rd and 4th grade errors, nothing more. For you all to still remember something as small and to harp on it to try to make it bigger than what it is says a lot about the education that you have. By the way, what is your level of education? Can't be anything more than high school because anyone who has gone through college and experienced the diversity and learning that comes along with an education, could find something better to do with their time rather than finding everything to be negative about. Give it a rest, get a life!!!!! This is not about the studuents IDIOTS, this is about an administation that has wronged a good professor for the sake of meeting a quota that should not even exist.
It won't fly in the business world.
One writer commented that "the professor is responsible for the success of his students."
No, no, no! The STUDENTS are responsible for their own success, or failure. I went to a large northern state University for my graduate degree. In one marketing class, we shoehorned 70 students into an undersized room. The professor, an Asian, barely spoke English. In my world, he was a lousy, uninspiring teacher. I brought a recorder to class, took lots of notes, studied hard, and passed with an "A".
Believe this: some of your profs will be excellent, most will be average, and a few will be horrible. Irregardless, it's up to the student to pass or fail. The student has full responsibility. To say otherwise allows our kids, once again, to play the game of victim-hood. That might fly for some in college, but it won't in the business world.
Agree with cs
Right on, cs. If the below writings are examples of the quality of students today's colleges are producing, this country is in trouble. If we have graduate degrees, why are we still making mistakes which are 3rd and 4th grade level English skills. How in the world do they get out of high school with writing skills like that? Even the one who thinks he's a "tremendous writer" had spelling errors. On-line dictionaries are free. Regardless of what your teachers have told you, in the real world, spelling and grammar count, especially on your resume (DUHHH!). Good communication skills keep you from looking like a moron.
ware did you learn to right at?
Those of you who proclaim the excellence of your education and writing abilities should take a quick refresher on spelling (focus on synonyms), capitalization (only proper nouns), use of apostrophes and the proper placement of prepositions. A posting rife with spelling, syntactical and punctuation errors tends to undermine your argument.
Its About Time
NSU is a good school. Many of the professors have work experience in the fields that they teach. This professors may have had a PHD but I guess he felt like he was doing NSU a favor by working there. I have seen black professors work their buts off at Norfolk State passionately teaching the students that are there. Then I have seen other professor not even care especially white teachers. One teacher I had for a class who was a caucasian professor from out of state only held class three times. Was the professor lazy and just trying to get a check. Or was he passionate about teaching. Its hard to graduate from NSU. Its no cake walk....
Proud Spartan (Quick and to the point)!
BEHOLD THE GREEN AND GOLD!
Good day to all! My name is Brandon Brown and I am a junior, electronics engineering major matriculating through my coursework at Norfolk State University. I am saddened by the comments below. I am grateful, however, that they were made in a public manner. I will do my job, as NSU SGA President for the 2008-2009 school year, to make students aware of you all's motivational thoughts towards The Norfolk State University. Thank you once again!
I graduated from East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, NC with a 4.25 weighted grade point average. I received tuition scholarships to NC State, Morehouse College, Tuskegee University, and Howard. I LOVE NSU and will succeed as many of our other graduates will. God bless!
WILLFUL IGNORANCE AND PLACEMENT TESTS
PREVIOUS COMMENT'For example, I started at TCC (later graduated from ODU), and on the entrance test, simply because of the level I chose to be tested at, I was placed in Math 03. Suffice it to say, I spent the semester sleeping through every class' - YOU NEED TO TAKE THAT TO THE WAILING SECTION BUDDY. 'That was the level I choose to be tested at?' NO, that's the level you performed at. You took a math placement test and after having the results analyzed by college staff you were placed in Math 03. You then took Math 03, 04, and then a latter college-level math class. You took these remedial math classes because you had to, (IN ORDER TO PASS FUTURE COLLEGE LEVEL MATH CLASSES) not because you were forced to. YOU ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEST OUT OF BOTH OF THOSE (03,04) REMEDIAL MATH CLASSES, BUT YOU CHOSE NOT TO. WHY SO? TCC did not rip you off, you ripped yourself off, and those of us here who you are trying to pull the wool over our eyes with your willful ignorance and denial.
mikem67778
To be fair, Mike, I read your comments on the 000 courses, and I have to say, the fact that a college forces you into 000 courses often has little to do with your skill level, especially with subjective tests such as writing. For example, I started at TCC (later graduated from ODU), and on the entrance test, simply because of the level I chose to be tested at, I was placed in Math 03. Suffice it to say, I spent the semester sleeping through every class, and finished with a 99 average. I then was forced to complete Math 04, which I slept through and finished with a 90+ average, and so forth. The first mathematics class I actually could not sleep through was Applied Business Calculus. As far as Im concerned, every remedial Math I was forced into was a waste of my money, and was a ploy by the college to generate more revenue. Thankfully, I have always been a tremendous writer, and I had no problem with the writing test, however, I've seen very intellegent, very articulate individuals, learning about tenses and periods in English 03.