Texas A&M professor fails his entire management class because 'sometimes learning incorporates tough love'
A Texas A&M University Galveston professor has failed his entire management class this semester for lacking "the competence and/or desire to do the quality work necessary to pass the course," Inside Higher Ed reports.
TAMU management professor Irwin Horwitz told IHE that his spring 2015 students were the worst he's seen in 20 years of teaching college students. He informed the students of their failing grades in an email to the entire class.
"This class is unique. I have never failed a class, it is very rare that I fail students, sometimes learning incorporates tough love," Horwitz told Houston NBC affiliate KPRC.
You can watch the station's full feature on Horwitz below:
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player
In his email - excerpted below via IHE - Horwitz also announced that he was quiting teaching the course, in addition to failing the students:
None of you, in my opinion, given the behavior in this class, deserve to pass, or graduate to become an Aggie, as you do not in any way embody the honor that the university holds graduates should have within their personal character. It is thus for these reasons why I am officially walking away from this course. I am frankly and completely disgusted. You all lack the honor and maturity to live up to the standards that Texas A&M holds, and the competence and/or desire to do the quality work necessary to pass the course just on a grade level ... I will no longer be teaching the course, and all are being awarded a failing grade.
Horwitz seems to have a reputation as a tough teacher. The San Francisco Chronicle cites a student reviewer at Hallway.com, who calls Horwitz "One of the least empathetic people I have ever had teach a class."
A TAMU Galveston spokesperson told IHE that the university is investigating Horwitz's claims, but the failing grades will not stand.
We have reached out to both professor Irwin Horwitz and Texas A&M University Galveston for comment and will update this post if we hear back.