An internal audit revealed last month that there are no "dummy courses" at the University of Houston. Something doesn't quite make sense. If dummy classes are not real, a number of grad students are lying, as well as professors Eugene Decker and Nina Tucci, both of whom confirmed the existence of these courses.
If they are lying, why? Students could face retribution for false charges. Why jeopardize the good will of the department from which they seek their advanced degrees? Why would Decker and Tucci lie, risking the wrath of the administration while appearing to gain nothing? It just doesn't make sense.
President/Chancellor Arthur K. Smith and Provost Ed Sheridan have implicitly stated that our grad students are simply too stupid to know what a dummy course is.
And though we are glad we will soon have a graduate dean to oversee all these perhaps non-existent courses, there are some questions that were not answered by the audit. Why would 30 percent of the graduate student body believe there are dummy courses when there are not? Why would professors lie?
The audit revealed (surprise!) sloppy and inconsistent record keeping, which is what Smith originally thought was the problem. And he has implied in the past that the dummy course allegations were a conspiracy created by students who wanted hour requirements reduced.
It all seems so convenient. University upper-level administrators come out looking squeaky clean, while at the departmental level there will be slaps on the wrists for everyone.
And unfortunately, if this matter really has not gotten the investigation it warrants, we all may be the real dummies.
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