Former UW-Parkside Flex CBE Instructor Gave A's for Little or No Work: Newspaper

[Jonathan Whatley]

Students work at their own pace and take as many courses they want during a 12-week subscription period for a flat $2,250 fee. Instead of letter grades, they can pass the course (the equivalent of a B grade), pass with high distinction (the equivalent of an A grade), or fail with the option to retake.

UW-Parkside data show nearly half of Flex students fail on their first try, requiring them to re-take in another subscription period. Instructors are paid based on the number of students enrolled in the course per month. 

Just 18 students have graduated from 2019 through 2022, including at least one student who took [former instructor Sahar] Bahmani’s course without submitting all required assignments, the complaint said.

Bahmani painted a chaotic picture of the Flex program, with few faculty covering too many courses and students learning by watching YouTube videos. The UW System denied this. […]

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the accrediting body for UW-Parkside's business school, received a complaint about Bahmani and sent a "letter of concern" in June.

In an Aug. 1 report to accreditors, UW-Parkside admitted there was little oversight of the program but outlined corrective measures, such as more individuals involved in course assignments and quarterly report reviews.

A professor gave perfect grades to students who didn't deserve them, then landed a job at another UW campus (Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 26, 2023)