NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The interim president of Tennessee State University said allegations of grade fixing at the university have opened dialogue for better communication between faculty and administrators.
The Senate Higher Education Subcommittee held a hearing on Monday to address allegations that university officials changed more than 100 students' grades of "incomplete" for two introductory-level courses into letter grades without instructors' permission.
Tennessee Board of Regents officials told the panel there were mistakes made and that there was a lack of communication, but they said an internal audit found no wrongdoing by university administrators.
One of the faculty members who made the allegations said she voiced her concerns outside the school because she didn't think they would be addressed by university administrators. Another faculty member said he was simply "afraid."
Interim TSU president Portia Shields told reporters after the hearing that she holds campus meetings for faculty and administrators to voice their concerns, but apparently she isn't doing enough.
"To hear several people say that they were afraid to come forward when we operate in a transparent format is very troubling and we have to find a way to address that," Shields said.
At issue were two pilot courses that were added to the TSU curriculum when the state banned remedial classes for incoming students. Students in these courses were supposed to complete college-level material, as well as additional coursework designed to bring the students up to speed.
Students who completed the college-level coursework but didn't complete the supplemental assignments were given incompletes.
But in the spring the school changed the incompletes to letter grades based on the students' performances on the college-level coursework. School officials have said they received approval from the state Board of Regents to change the grades and instructors were informed.
Regents' officials testified at the hearing and later issued a statement that the mistake was giving the "incomplete," but that "the university corrected the mistake without requiring hundreds of students to individually fill out forms and deliver them around campus for signatures."
"If the university had strictly followed its process for 'incomplete' removal in order to correct its own error, the university would have placed a burden on the students to go through that process to correct the mistake," according to the audit report.
Regents Chancellor John Morgan said the allegations were unnecessary.
"The most unfortunate aspect of this episode is that through the actions of a few individuals who decided to make this a public issue, the integrity of an outstanding university has been unfairly called into question," he said.
Shields acknowledged the allegations are a blemish, particularly as the university celebrates its 100th anniversary.
"This has gone viral all over the United States," she said.
Jane Davis, a faculty senate chair and associate professor of English at TSU, was one of the faculty members who brought the allegations. She said after the hearing she still had some concerns, and that she believes her actions were justified.
"I was very much concerned that nothing would be done," Davis said. "Because when you are dealing with people who work very closely together, administrators at the very top, then what assurance do you have that anything will be done?"