'Anyone who takes my class automatically gets an A,' former university lecturer states
'The only thing that’s required is attendance, and I have weeks of excused absences built in, so that if people are sick or they have family obligations it won’t affect their grade.'
According to one student’s RateMyProfessor statement, the class 'submitted a meme once a week for homework points.'
Chandler Puritty, a former lecturer at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), bragged about not subjecting her students to grading or homework as part of her efforts to “decolonize” higher education.
Puritty informs viewers of “how to decolonize a classroom and how [she] decolonize[s] [her] teaching,” a TikTok video shows.
“Anyone who takes my class automatically gets an A. They’re told in the first week that they’re going to get an A,” she claimed. “The only thing that’s required is attendance, and I have weeks of excused absences built in, so that if people are sick or they have family obligations it won’t affect their grade.”
Professor Puritty’s grading system is not isolated to her classroom.
Earlier this year, for example, the University of California system announced that it was exploring “more effective [grading] options for advancing achievement and educational equity” because “[t]raditional assessment and grading practices may perpetuate bias and inequities,” as Campus Reform previously reported.
Universities are also shedding standardized testing requirements, citing similar reasoning.
Following a decision by the American Bar Association, some law schools may follow suit and drop their LSAT requirements, Reuters reported.
Critics have pointed out that pivoting away from standard grading practices may worsen outcomes for students. Puritty responded to such criticisms in her video by asking a rhetorical question.
“So, since I’m not grading them, I’m just giving them A’s, like, how do I know that they’re doing anything, and how do I know that they’re learning anything,” she asked.
“I run a discussion style classroom, so my students and I have equal part when it comes to bringing information to the table. We all sit together and share what we’re talking about, and they get to use their critical thinking skills to apply the things they learned in all their other classes.”
[RELATED: University writing instructors are no longer grading students’ writing]
Though Puritty left her job at UCSD months ago, her class syllabus for “Environment & Identity” is still available online.
The syllabus shows that Puritty assigns grades for homework and group projects, but according to one student’s RateMyProfessor statement, the class had to submit ”a meme once a week for homework points.”
Puritty has granted multiple interviews in the past, but has not responded to Campus Reform’s request for comment. UCSD has also been reached for comment, but Campus Reform has yet to receive a response. This article will be updated accordingly.
