By Natasha Elkington
TORONTO (Reuters) -
A Canadian university has instilled a
culture of fear by threatening to expel a student for cheating
because he set up an online study group on Facebook, critics
said this week.
Toronto's Ryerson University threatened to expel first-year
computer engineering student Chris Avenir last week, arguing
that his study group on the Facebook networking site might
encourage cheating.
Ryerson decided to lift the expulsion threat on Tuesday,
but Avenir will get zero credits for the course work discussed
on the Facebook forum last autumn, and the university has put a
disciplinary notice on his record.
Canadian media analyst Jesse Hirsh said Ryerson's actions
send the wrong message to students, most of whom spend a lot of
their time on the Internet.
"It sends a clear signal to all the kids that innovation is
not only frowned upon but will be punished and that if you use
emerging technologies in innovative ways, you risk being
expelled from the school," he said.
But James Norrie, director of the School of Information
Technology Management at Ryerson, said on Thursday the issue
was one of accountability, whether online or offline.
"This is nothing to do with technology, how can it
possibility create a climate of fear?" he said.
Ryerson, however, said the group offered the potential for
cheating on a large scale.
In an interview, University of Toronto philosophy and media
studies professor Megan Boler said that all universities
encourage collegiality and discussion and that meeting online
is actually very transparent because there are traces and
records of everything discussed.
"Of course we want to ensure academic integrity, but I
think academic freedom and civil rights are equally important,
unless we expect students to study in total isolation," she
said.
(Reporting by Natasha Elkington; Editing by Peter Galloway)
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