At a press conference this week, grad workers announced that the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), U-M's accrediting body, will move forward with our complaint about the grade falsification scandal. Grads filed the complaint with the HLC after Provost McCauley and Dean Curzan pressured department chairs and non-instructional staff into submitting fabricated grades for the students of striking workers. The evidence that workers compiled (bit.ly/FakeGrades) was enough to raise "potential concerns regarding the institution’s compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation", according to an email from the HLC. A loss of accreditation would have severe consequences for U-M. According to GEO spokesperson Amir Fleischmann "this shows the power of our strike: the only way Admin could get grades in without us was by falsifying hundreds of grades. This risky maneuver has now jeopardized U-M's accreditation. They won't be able to do it again."
On Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 6:30pm, DPSS police officer John Buehler (#167) approached a graduate student in GEO (AFT Local 3550) at their home. Buehler knocked on the door and the student answered, and the cop proceeded to attempt to intimidate the student as they stood in the doorway. Buehler threatened to file a report with the Washtenaw County prosecutor's office regarding a previous picket action, advised the student to "reach out to Student Legal Services," and left his business card. On Monday, May 22, 2023, at 10:00am, another graduate student with GEO received an email from the same cop, John Buehler, making similar demands of this student. Both instances were in response to the April 20, 2023 picket of President Ono at a downtown restaurant at which DPSS briefly detained two graduate students. Neither student spoke to or made any statements to Buehler or to DPSS.
The Administration's decision to pressure department chairs and non-instructional staff to submit hundreds of falsified grades for striking GSIs is coming under increased scrutiny. This week, the story was picked up The Detroit News, Fox 2, Detroit Metro Times, and Inside Higher Ed. Regent Paul Brown is now calling for an investigation into the fake grade scandal — though the form this investigation will take remains unclear. What is clear is that the pressure of our grade strike forced Admin to resort to mass academic fraud to try and withstand it. The Provost took a huge risk by ordering the mass fabrication of grades, a move that appears to be unprecedented in the history of academic labor disputes. Now it's time for us hold them accountable
In a move that is unprecedented in the history of academic labor disputes, the U-M Administration has pressured department chairs and non-instructional staff into submitting falsified grades for the students of striking GSIs. In some cases, this means that students are getting As across the board. In other cases, students are getting lower grades than they deserve – with at least one reportedly getting a failing grade when otherwise they'd have passed. Several department chairs report being coerced into submitting falsified grades, with one writing that "none of us are doing this willingly." The complete scope of the academic fraud is not yet clear, but it is likely one of the largest cases of mass academic misconduct in recent memory. According to GEO president Jared Eno, "the biggest threat to academic integrity on this campus is not ChatGPT, it is President Ono and Provost McCauley."