18 August 2020
Mr Johnny Brebner
By email: [FYI request #13352 email]
Dear Mr Brebner
Official information request for correspondence and complaints regarding
LAWS211 2020
I refer to your request for information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act)
dated 20 July 2020:
1. “I am emailing to request the contents of all complaints made by students
regarding LAWS211 (The Law of Contract) since the beginning of trimester 1
(2nd March 2020) up to the date this OIA request is received.
2. Additionally, I request the contents of correspondence which indicates a
complaint or concern about the teaching and administration of the same course
regarding the online period of teaching (trimester 1, weeks 4 through 12). Note
that this is correspondence regarding that period of teaching, not just
correspondence had during that period. I seek the contents of the relevant
correspondence from the beginning of trimester 1 up to the date that this OIA
request is received.”
Please see the attached documentation relevant to your request. In the interest of fairness
and completeness, positive comments have also been included.
Please note names and contact details of students and other individuals have been
withheld under section 9(2)(a) of the Act in order to protect their privacy.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact me at
[VUW request email]. Yours sincerely
Simon Johnson
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
From:
Pam Thorburn
To:
Mark Hickford
Subject:
FW: Reputational risk to university
Date:
Friday, 26 June 2020 5:05:24 PM
Attachments:
Contract Test Feedback.m4a
Importance:
High
Sensitivity:
Confidential
Hi Mark
I have just received this as an FYI from VUWSA in case this becomes an issue over the weekend.
They just wanted to alert us to the issue. I assume that you are aware or the matter. Happy to
discuss. Pam
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From:
Sent: Friday, 26 June 2020 4:43 PM
To: Pam Thorburn <[email address]>
Cc:
Subject: Reputational risk to university
Importance: High
Sensitivity: Confidential
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Kia ora Pam
We have been getting numerous emails from students today about this podcast. It was posted at
9.30pm last night to the LAWS 211 students. It is feedback on a 10% test, which
only 56%
percent of them passed (after what the lecturer calls “heroic” scaling.
A major issue is that students do not have individual results back yet – only a podcast telling
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them how many of them failed. As today is the final day for withdrawals this is doubly cruel. I
haven’t listened to the whole recording but I understand at some point he mentions
withdrawing.
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As one student wrote to us:
“I've got major concerns about the fact that in a voice message he stated that 30% of students
should consider dropping out of the course if their circumstances are going to continue to be
challenging for the rest of the year. He advised these students should avoid a fail and come back
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and resit the course next year (as it is a compulsory full year paper in an LLB)).
I believe he mentioned the deadline to pull out was either today or tomorrow (in the feedback
recording). This is a huge amount of pressure to put on students in the final days of the trimester
and this is completely unacceptable especially after all the stress of the past few months. Many
of these students have multiple assignments due, with other compulsory papers LAWS301 and
LAWS312 both having large assessments due today.”
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One of the quotes from students summarises as follows:
“During online learning, we were provided with only online 'podcasts', I.e. voice recordings with
no visual content except for some word documents with minimal text. Is also worth noting that
the documents provided did not meet the requirements for my disability,
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which I had discussed with David McLaughlin at the beginning of the year. Many of the students
in our class, including our class rep, complained to our lecturer multiple times about the format
of the lectures with no success. The length of the podcasts also varied greatly, from over an hour
to half an hour, which made it incredibly hard to plan study.
The test itself was also confusingly worded, using double negatives and roundabout language, in
my opinion, to purposefully mislead students. I believe from the marking guide that I got two
questions wrong due to this alone.
David McLaughlin also claimed in his exam feedback (which was 47 minutes long) that our grades
were scaled up by 7% to get it down to only 46% failure. It is worth noting that law courses I
have been in before have been scaled by nearly 20% if necessary.
I do not believe that this situation is fair to us as students, particularly given the circumstances
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around online learning, and the failure of our lecturer to take into account our needs or requests
regarding the style of lectures. The fact that the blame has been placed on us by the lecturer is
unacceptable, as a failure by 46% of the class is not an individual mistake, it is clearly a failure by
the lecturer.
We have not yet received our individual grades back, which I regard as cruel and unneccessary.
We should not have to wait 12 hours for the coin flip to see if we are 'lucky enough' to be in the
top half.
A lot of these comments reflect the comments of my peers and classmates, so I hope that you
may be able to take some kind of action on this matter.”
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VUWLSS has contacted us as well, and we have a suggested that we meet with them on Monday.
They have also escalated the matter to Mark Bennett (Associate Dean). That said, there are lots
and lots of comments on twitter/ social media, and it may be that any individual student might
seek to go to the media. As such, I felt it prudent to make you aware of this risk.
Ngā mihi,
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Student Advocacy Manager (she/her)
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From:
Sent: Friday, 26 June 2020 10:59 AM
To: Mark Hickford <[email address]>
Subject: Concerns regard LAWS 211
Morena, Professor Hickford.
I am emailing to you to express my concerns regarding recent announcements by the
LAWS 211 course co-ordinator.
As you may know, the course co-ordinator posted on Blackboard late last night
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regarding the recent test we undertook. In his recording, he informed the class that 44%
of the students failed and 50+ students received E's and this was after serious scaling - so
he stated. He also said 90% of the class got 0% for an entire question. While this in itself
is worrying from a number of perspectives, perhaps the most frustrating part was the fact
that he posted this late at night and the grades of which he was referring are still not up.
I just want to take some time to express some concerns - which I'm sure you have heard
from countless people over the years.
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1. How is it acceptable that a lecturer who fails 50% of his class year on year is still able
to teach? While the Professor is clearly an eminent scholar in the area of contract law,
the fact that 50% of his class fails each year seems troubling and surely indicative of his
ability to actually provide an education to his students.
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2. How is it acceptable for a faculty member of this university to post at 10:30pm a
message which so many students will find distressing, especially given the unique
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position we are all in. Also, how is it acceptable that that recording would be so utterly
disrespectful and lacking empathy, not only in regard to the circumstances under which
it was posted but its actual content.
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3. It seems truly hard to believe that 90% of a class of nearly 300 students all in their
2nd, 3rd or even 4th year of studying at the law school could fail to achieve even a single
mark in a question.
4. Simply failing people who do not write verbatim what the lecturer writes in his model
answers cannot surely be grounds for failure. As you would know from your many years
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in practice the very nature of the legal profession is that one will attempt to justify their
position and interpretation of the law against another, and inevitably one must lose. That
losing side is not laughed out of the courtroom or sacked from their job so long as they
make a reasonable argument justifying their position.
These are just a few of my concerns regarding the academic integrity of this course. I
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From:
Date: 26 June 2020 at 11:04:09 PM NZST
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: Re. I agree with you
Hi David
I just wanted to pass on my thanks for all the effort you have put in over this
year. I am disappointed in the responses of my classmates to course related
work and am saddened to hear of your interactions with the faculty who its
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seems to me are bowing to socio/political pressure. That's just my opinion.
I know we've been in covid world and all the different challenges it may bring
to students but it also highlights what little resilience there is amongst the
students. That is a shame given how much emphasis there is now about well
being. To me, it seems this emphasis has also, as a side effect, engendered a
sense of entitlement.
Anyway, keep teaching as you do. It's part of the reason we study Law at Vic
and get out the otherside feeling like we have achieved something!
Take care
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From:
Date: 27 June 2020 at 10:06:32 AM NZST
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: Message of support
Hi David
I just wanted to pass that I really appreciated your recorded feedback – I
thought you fair and honest, and I am very sorry your comments have been
misconstrued by so many of my cohort.
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I’ve really enjoyed your recordings and that I’ve been able to listen as I can
spare has been fantastic as I’ve juggled the demands of this new kind of life.
I’m part of your 8.30 stream and likely not of the original 46% not to meet the
mark. And I understand why – I simply haven’t dedicated the time essential to
have a thorough understanding and I have to take ownership of that.
Your recorded guidance is motivating me to be a better student – I do hope I
get there!
Above all, thank you.
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From:
Date: 27 June 2020 at 10:39:13 AM NZST
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: LAWS211 - 2018 Student - Positive Feedback
Greetings Professor McLauchlan,
I hope this email finds you well.
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I have seen the recent news concerning the LAWS211 test and the overwhelmingly
negative response that followed. I cannot speak personally about that test as my time
in LAWS211 has long passed. However, I am apt to write about my experience of
LAWS211 from 2018.
In my opinion, LAWS211 was the most competently taught paper at 200-level. If it was
not for LAWS211 I would have probably ended my degree in 2018. That is not to say
that I did not think that there were issues with the course. No course is completely
perfect, but by no means did I think that the course was unfair in any sense.
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I expressed these favourable opinions during the VUWLSS investigation last year. The
report found that a significant portion of students (30%) had positive experiences with
LAWS211. This finding highlights that there is a significant portion of students that
enjoyed the course.
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I feel that the negative comments/personal attacks have gone a little far concerning
recent events. I just wanted to let you know that there are students that loved
LAWS211. I had no doubts that you cared about our best interests and welfare in 2018
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and see no reason why that would change.
I was looking forward to taking LAWS303 Advanced Contract this year and was
wholeheartedly disappointed to discover its cancellation.
Please take care in these difficult times.
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Kind regards,
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From:
Date: 27 June 2020 at 10:46:00 AM NZST
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: 211 feedback
Good morning sir
I just wanted to let you know I thought the way the test was done (double
chance) was more than fair, (generous) and your feedback was really good and
helpful.
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I believe the students complaining are in for a shock when they enter the real
world and get jobs especially in prestigious law firms. There is no double
chances there.
There is no space for 'constructive feedback back there either ' and 'do better
next time' as the clients are paying mega bucks. If your work isn't up to
standard you will get told, and told pretty bluntly. You deal with it and move
on. You don't throw your toys around.
In addition, the judge won't be happy if you ask for an extension because you
have multiple submissions all due in the same week. Life gets busy
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sometimes. Pandemics hit. Clients call you names. Develop good time
management skills and resilience.
Perhaps some students also need to understand it is also okay to fail
sometimes. I did and I'm redoing the whole contract 211 course. I didn't go
whining to the faculty that the course was too difficult. Law is hard, people
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pay lawyers alot of money for a reason. I accepted that my work wasn't good
enough and that I had to do better.
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Anyway just wanted to let you know my thoughts and that not all of your
students are so entitled, and do appreciate the teaching you do.
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yourself and the other lecturers and co-ordinators of the course. The majority
of students I have spoken to have had nothing but praise for your teaching
style of the course and treatment of students. Although it is undoubtedly
more difficult to deliver lectures over VStream and Panopto, I do not doubt
that your attitudes towards students and their learning has remained at the
same level of care as it was in 2018.
Best Regards,
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From:
Date: 28 June 2020 at 12:22:47 PM NZST
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: contract test thank you
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Good Afternoon Professor,
I wanted to thank you for the feedback you have given us in relation to the
Laws 211 test. I really appreciated the detail that you went into, regardless of
the grade that I will get, it has been incredibly helpful in conjunction with the
model answer you put out, to help refine what kind of answers you were
looking for. Since contract law is such a fundamental part of law, I genuinely
appreciate the care that you have taken in teaching this subject, and making
yourself available when we have questions.
Thank you again.
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Sincerely,
P.S. I'm being genuine, not (as one might think) a teacher's pet. I know that
while this semester has been stressful for the students, it has also been
incredibly stressful for the teachers, and I thought you might appreciate the
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feedback.
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From:
Date: 27 June 2020 at 9:49:03 AM NZST
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: LAWS211 - Not a Complaint
Dear Mr McLauchlan,
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On reading your most recent post I thought I would write this to
let you know that the views that appear to have been shared by
some students are not those of all students. While I must admit I
have been unhappy with the way the course has been taught, I
would rather receive a mark that is reflective of the work
produced rather than something adjusted to make me feel
better. I cannot address my failings if I do not know what they
are.
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Even if I have found it difficult to engage with the university in an
online format, I do wish to convey that I have found the material
interesting and it has helped me to distract myself during
isolation.
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Covid will of course end and I would rather do this course twice
than leave it with a substandard knowledge of the material. What
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would be worse than this would be to receive a mark giving me
false confidence, leading to poorly informed, but confidently
made, decisions in the future.
I look forward to in person lectures resuming.
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All the Best,
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From:
Sent: Monday, 20 July 2020 8:21 PM
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: Contract Law Criticisms
Dear Prof McLauchlan,
In light of Monday's class where you addressed the number of criticisms advanced at you
following the double chance test in trimester one it seemed you were somewhat frustrated
with criticisms from certain students.
I just wanted to acknowledge that the feelings of what I would call a silent majority of the ACT
class have seemingly been usurped by a very vocal minority.
Talking to a number of classmates, many of whom didn't do as well as they would have
hoped in the test, much of our discussions have been around how we appreciate the
difficulty of online teaching and are thankful the amount of feedback we were given
following the test.
I just wanted to thank you for the continued work you are doing and hope you continue to
teach in a way that you deem the most beneficial for us.
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From:
Sent: Sunday, 19 July 2020 8:40 PM
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: Laws212
Hi David,
I just wanted to send you an email regarding the hysteria that resulted in the aftermath of the take
home test and the statement you made in todays lectures.
Firstly, I just wanted to thank you for the time and effort you have put in to teaching through the
online period. I think students forget that it is not just us who have found the switch to online
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learning difficult, but many of the staff would have too.
While, I much prefer in-person lectures I thought your podcasts were very informative and as
clear as they could be in an online format. In fact, I got far more information and much better
notes from your podcasts than I did from your previous in-person lectures.
In regards to the test, I thought you couldn’t have given us a fairer chance if you had tried. I have
never sat a law test that has not had some kind of time pressure. I think many students have
complained about online learning, but this shows that you did take the difficulties, and concerns
we had into account and allowed for ample time to sit the test. Something I very much
appreciated.
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I would also like to point out that this isn’t coming from a A grade student, in fact I didn’t do so
well in that test but this was no fault of yours. I simply did not understand the content as well as I
thought I had, which is something I hope to improve on in the coming weeks.
Lastly, in regards to your personal statement you made this morning (I was in your 8:30 stream,
but also have listened back to the recording) it absolutely did not deserve a complaint being
made. Seems people get offended at anything these days! I thought it was very professional and
fair.
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While, I appreciate the faculty have taken the students complaints seriously, I think some of
them have been very unfair. This is not an accurate representation of the experience I had.
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I just wanted to send you an email of support, so you know that this isn’t the way all students are
feeling. I for one, really appreciate your lectures and look forward to coming.
I hope the rest of the 2020 year runs a lot smoother!
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From:
Sent: Sunday, 19 July 2020 4:16 PM
To: David McLauchlan <[email address]>
Subject: Thank You
David,
For the record, I think you are a very good lecturer and believe the comments some
students have made to you were very unfair. In lockdown, I found you were the only one
of my lecturers who had any cohesive structure to online learning. Your lectures were
eloquent and well-paced, where you went over the difficult topics to ensure
comprehension. Additionally, your test was, in my opinion, very fair, and I'm not saying
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this as if I got a high mark as I only got a C+. Though I was disappointed with the mark, I
realised where I went wrong when comparing my answers to the model answer. I do agree
with the message you are instilling in us, in that words matter, and you must say write the
answer in the correct way to get the marks.
This is a hard course with many complicated issues and I feel students are using you as a
scapegoat to blame their poor comprehension of the subject. So, I would like you to know
that I thoroughly disagree with the allegations made against you and I am sorry you had to
go through this distress in addition to the uncertain times of COVID-19. I thank you for
caring so much about this course and your students, and I hope you do not get
disenchanted with this course because I am thoroughly enjoying it so far.
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Keep it up,
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Document Outline
