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> I've never heard of allowances for alternate types of examination being made for this before... Most (maybe all?) US universities will make similar allowance

by adbge 16y ago

> I've never heard of allowances for alternate types of examination being made for this before... Most (maybe all?) US universities will make similar allowances for students with mental illness. The student and teacher usually work out alternatives for assignments if necessary. > Seems like it would be something that's hard to draw the line between a legitimate psychological issue and normal behavior. I'd venture that nearly everyone experiences some sort of "exam anxiety". This is exactly the problem with a number of different psychiatric disorders. The bad cases, those are easy to diagnose. The closer you get to the "average" end of the spectrum is where it gets harder to distinguish. In these cases, I think it's always a good idea to get a second opinion. Personally, I think this is just some kind of university political coup. It's my impression that (in the States) getting a PhD isn't really about exams. Instead, one focuses on doing research and choosing something to specialize on in their field. Research stuff, publish stuff, pass classes, propose thesis, write thesis. Unless it's different in Canada, who cares if this kid didn't take an exam? If he has done some research, published something, and written a thesis, I'm pretty okay with him having earned a PhD. I'm sure there's about a million different things I don't know about this particular incident, though. It does seem really weird that this professor would take the issue to the legal system. Wouldn't that jeopardize his future in academia? Doesn't seem worth it.

dfj225 16y ago
> Most (maybe all?) US universities will make similar allowances for students with mental illness. The student and teacher usually work out alternatives for assignments if necessary. Sure, I'd expect this when the student has been diagnosed with an illness. I'm mostly curious if exam anxiety is an illness that most US universities would recognize. I suppose I should really be asking if this is something that is commonly diagnosed in the US. I've never heard of it until today. > Unless it's different in Canada, who cares if this kid didn't take an exam? If he has done some research, published something, and written a thesis, I'm pretty okay with him having earned a PhD. I thought the same thing. My impression is that most US math PhD programs would require original research of some magnitude in order to be awarded the degree. If the student in this case did research of significant merit, then I think the university was right in awarding the degree.

by adbge 16y ago

dfj225 16y ago

> Most (maybe all?) US universities will make similar allowances for students with mental illness. The student and teacher usually work out alternatives for assignments if necessary. Sure, I'd expect this when the student has been diagnosed with an illness. I'm mostly curious if exam anxiety is an illness that most US universities would recognize. I suppose I should really be asking if this is something that is commonly diagnosed in the US. I've never heard of it until today. > Unless it's different in Canada, who cares if this kid didn't take an exam? If he has done some research, published something, and written a thesis, I'm pretty okay with him having earned a PhD. I thought the same thing. My impression is that most US math PhD programs would require original research of some magnitude in order to be awarded the degree. If the student in this case did research of significant merit, then I think the university was right in awarding the degree.