A screenshot of an online conversation between senior lecturers at Massey University crudely discussing students’ work has been sent to 1News.
The academics work at the institution’s Wellington campus and teach on the Ngā Pae Māhutonga Wellington School of Design course.
One senior lecturer places a “vote” on a particular student as least likely to succeed in their final assessment, referring to the person’s project as having “more holes in it than Saddam Hussein”.
In response to that comment, another senior lecturer says the same student came to them for a “whinge”.
The screenshot of this conversation was anonymously sent to Massey at Wellington Students’ Association (MAWSA).
In the letter, the anonymous person said they saw the lecturers’ discussion on a Zoom call while a teacher shared their screen with the class.
The anonymous student told MAWSA they are “disgusted by what it shows about how my tutors talk about students,” and that “it is not appropriate to play games with who is going to fail.”
They also said they wanted to complain directly to the university, however they had advice from parents suggesting they switch universities to study instead as the complaint could be held against them.
The source questioned how staff mark assessments fairly, if this is how student work is discussed in private.
The student association is now asking students at the Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts (which the design course falls under) to come forward, anonymously if they wish, to share their experiences of the school.
This includes whether or not they’ve been advised not to take a certain paper by other peers, if they’ve witnessed or experienced unpleasant interactions with staff, and if they feel lecturers have ‘favourites’.
In a statement, MAWSA told 1News it “regrets that the student who witnessed this conversation felt afraid to come to us directly, however we understand the culture that created this fear”.
“This was a devastating violation of students’ trust by university staff and the individual comments captured were hideously inappropriate.”
The student support organisation said the College of Creative Arts had asked it to support efforts to build a culture of trust and respectful behaviour towards students.
Pro Vice-Chancellor for College of Creative Arts, Professor Clare Robinson, told 1News in a statement Massey University is aware of the screenshot being leaked to media. She said it shows “a selected portion of an online discussion amongst School of Design lecturers.. [the comments made] form part of a much fuller conversation designed to support student progress”.
Robinson said while discussing student work amongst colleagues is a normal part of the moderation process, “the comments as presented are inappropriate and disrespectful”.
She confirmed the staff involved in the screenshotted conversation have had meetings with the school’s senior leadership “to remind them of their duty of care”.
“All students have a right to expect their mana is upheld, even in a private Teams chat. We are looking at taking positive steps to ensure that such behaviour is not repeated, and to give our students confidence that their work is being objectively evaluated,” she said.
An independent moderator has been called upon to mark the work of the students involved in this situation.
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