IN THE NEWS: Prof says he was fired after sounding alarm on grade inflation at women’s HBCU

A former assistant professor from Spelman College says the school fired him after he complained about the institution artificially inflating the grades of his students after he had calculated their grades for the term. 

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Kendrick Morales says he had worked at the private, women’s, Historically Black college in Atlanta for two years in a tenure-track position, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Morales says that even after he had done what he could to curve students’ grades himself, many students in his courses were set to fail. He says that after he noticed students’ grades in two of his courses were covertly altered by the college, he complained to the administration.

One email provided to Inside Higher Ed reportedly included an acknowledgment from then Faculty Council president Lisa Hibbard, who said that other faculty council members attested to similar experiences. “They all agreed that grades are at the discretion of the instructor only, no one else.”

Calculations provided to Inside Higher Ed reportedly show that for one 2021 econometrics section of juniors and seniors, 89% would have failed without Morales’ own grade scaling. After his adjustments, he says 44% still would have failed. 

Morales claims that after he raised concerns about grade scaling practices, a meeting was set between Morales and interim provost Dolores Bradley Brennan. Morales says he thought the meeting would be to discuss the grading issue, but instead it was used to fire him.

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“Meaningful and effective classroom engagement is the hallmark of a Spelman education,” the college told Inside Higher Ed. “The college, its administrators, and faculty exercise appropriate judgment in the delivery of our learning activities in order to maintain consistency across Spelman’s campus.”

Inside Higher Ed reports that the separation letter referenced “significant complaints about certain of  grading practices,” as well as complaints about Morales’ “accessibility.”