Threats of blocking, rude behaviour: 132 Indian students of Canadian university struggle to get academic feedback

Threats of blocking, rude behaviour: 132 Indian students of Canadian university struggle to get academic feedback

Nearly 132 students, mostly of Indian origin, took to the streets last week when all of them failed in one subject of IT graduation course — Techniques of a system analyst — at the Algoma University, Canada. Why? Unfair exam assessment, the students alleged.

This is not the first time that Indian students have received a failing grade in one specific subject taught by one specific professor, Algoma University students have alleged. “This is a money-making technique. They know that students will get scared and will have to reappear for that subject, which means they will have to pay an additional exam or semester fee. They are generating money by such petty tricks,” Mandeep, convenor of Montreal Youth Students Organisation (MYSO), told indianexpress.com.

The MYSO has been supporting the students over the alleged unfair exam assessment. It’s now been nearly 10 days since Indian students in Ontario have been protesting against the university.

However, the university has denied that 132 students had received a failing grade. “In a class of 230 students, 32 have a failing grade. Those students have been offered an opportunity to write an aptitude competency exam at no cost to them, composed and graded by a different faculty member. The University will also continue its review, which will include reviewing students’ previous tests and assignments. We will continue to communicate with the impacted students,” Algoma University told indianexpress.com in a written statement.

When asked for a year-on-year data of the total number of international students who have received a failing grade in the specific subject in the past five years, the university did not reply.

The protesting students, however, claim that after the university issued a statement, nearly 100 students were marked ‘pass’ out of the blue. Students are claiming that the professor had applied a normalised grading system and that the University will submit the final grades for this course section due to which they have been graded as pass now.

“But even now we are not sure if we really have been marked as pass or not because we do not have any confirmation. We will not be able to be sure about it until we get the transcripts,” said Sandeep, a first-year student at Algoma University, who has now been given a passing grade after being marked as ‘fail’ initially.

Students are also demanding action against professor Klaus Peltsch, who is the subject tutor. An Adjunct Professor at the Algoma University, Peltsch has a reputation among international students about being strict, not taking offline lectures, having strict grading policies and failing students on purpose.

“Our professor was very rude. We were getting pre-recorded lectures in which we weren’t able to understand a lot of things. And when we asked for feedback, we got no reply or a negative revert,” a second semester student added.

Indian students have also alleged that when they reached out to their professor demanding he show the transcripts and reveal the correct answers, in case of students who have received a passing grade, Peltsch threatened to block the students.

“Please do not send me additional and repeating emails – i will answer the emails one at a time but this will take some time. Your grade will show once the registrar has finalized their work. And do not send me repetitive emails – i have already blocked one student for sending me hundreds of emails,” one of his emails accessed by indianexpress.com reads.

Students claim they have been mailing the college authorities to ensure they have a clear picture of their situation, especially since all of them are on a student visa.

“In the event of subject failures or academic challenges, students are advised to proactively engage with college authorities, professors, senior students and mentors. Open and transparent communication is key to addressing concerns and exploring viable solutions. Initiating a conversation with relevant stakeholders can provide insights into the next course of action. For students encountering setbacks in their final semester, seeking a visa extension is an option. However, it’s important to note that this might lead to a part-time student status, consequently limiting work opportunities as per Canadian regulations,” explains Saurabh Arora, CEO of University Living.

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