A former head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics emailed students last week threatening that they would fail a significant component of the module if they had used electronic devices in his class. Sent by Dr. Patrick Murphy, the email claimed that he had warned students repeatedly not to use such devices during his lectures for the module STAT10010.
During a lecture last Wednesday, 21 October 2015, the email claimed that there had been “observers” in the class noting which students were using electronic devices. They determined that there were 73 students who were “ignoring my repeated urgings”, according to the email.
Allegedly photos were taken of the students in class which were then used in conjunction with a UCard list to identify students. Dr. Murphy sent out an email of apology the following day to all students, claiming that there had been no observers in the class and that the comment had been “borne out of frustration and a regrettable attempt to get students to put away their phones.” The initial email claimed that observers would be in attendance until the end of the semester and would continue to identify students who use mobile phones during class.
Speaking to students in the class, Education Officer Dannii Curtis stated that there were accounts of observers being present and taking photos of the offending students. “From what I’m aware from students’ accounts…photos were being taken of students who were using their electronic devices within classes,” she says.
The initial email explained that students would face a zero grade for the continuous assessment part of the module unless they present a sealed letter of apology to Dr. Murphy for “using mobile phones today to check Facebook or look at sharks or whatever else.” They would then have had to rely on 65 per cent for an end of semester exam. Dr. Murphy claimed that he would offer these students “one last opportunity to avoid losing 35 per cent.” If the 73 students were to present a letter of apology in person to the lecturer then they could still receive the marks for continuous assessment.
Since the original message was sent to students, UCD Students’ Union and Registry were made aware of it and have intervened. The issue is now being dealt with at a school level. Dr. Murphy, the Registry and Curtis have confirmed that there will be no reduction in student grades. In his letter of apology, Dr. Murphy stated: “No student will lose any marks for lack of participation or for using mobile phones in class.” He went on to say “I apologise unreservedly for the email which I sent…and for any and all distress caused.”
In the first email sent, which contained the logo of the school of Mathematics and Statistics, it stated that the students in the class “are all supposed to be adults and should not need to have any of this said even once. But for some reason this class has repeatedly displayed a lack of manners and common decency.” Dr. Murphy has since apologised for this comment and confirmed that the email was not endorsed by the School.
Curtis has condemned the action saying that the “thing that struck me most about the module itself is that it’s a first year module, so you have first year students who, it would be disgraceful across the board whether it was a first year or a third year module, but these are students that are only in the UCD system for seven weeks so far and it’s quite a horrible thing to have to deal with seven weeks in.”
Curtis also noted that there was a potential data protection breach. If there were observers there, it is unclear whether they would have access to the class list of students. While all lecturers will have access to this, depending on who the alleged observers were, they may not have been permitted.
Curtis states she is going to look into the potential data protection breach further, though she reiterates that there will be no impact on students’ grades.
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