“We’re teaching ourselves the entire course, and he hasn’t taught us anything,” says student
Tamara Khandaker
Staff writer
Late November is usually a difficult time for students as they prepare for their midterms, final exams, and touch up their late-night essays.
However, for the students in professor Luiz Marcio Cysneiros’ class, this is coupled with frustration and anxiety as the professor himself has consistently failed to show up to class.
“We taught ourselves—that’s our [biggest] complaint,” says Michael (name changed), a student in Cysneiros’ class. He says the largest problem with the professor’s absence has been that the lack of in-class instruction, which has forced him to rely solely on textbooks to prepare for exams.
“We’re teaching ourselves the entire course, and he hasn’t taught us anything. I feel like if we’re paying for the education, then he’s supposed to be teaching us.”
Angie, a fellow classmate of Michael’s, echoes this concern.
“Even for the midterm we studied from our textbooks,” she says. “We’re just getting by on that.”
Cysneiros, who is teaching a 3000-level information technology course titled “Systems Analysis and Design 1” has—according to his own students—come to the class no more than four times this term, and taught for approximately an hour of what is scheduled to be a three-hour class.
With midterm and final exams respectively worth 45 and 55 per cent, students say they were only notified by the department through email that their classes were cancelled beforehand.
The emails, sent from the School of Information Technology’s interim secretary, alerted the students that there would be no class because the professor was ill, and directed them to email Cysneiros with any questions.
However, according to Lisa—another student dissatisfied with the class—there were several incidents where there would simply be a note on the door.
Students have complained that it is extremely difficult to get in touch with Cysneiros during this time.
“We’ve emailed him but he doesn’t reply to anything,” says Michael. He went on to say Cysneiros did not come to the midterm exam.
With only a few weeks to the end of the semester, the administration has found a replacement for Cysneiros.
At the November 16 class, teaching assistant Mariam Daoud informed students that she would be replacing the professor for the remainder of the semester, as he has taken a sick leave for the rest of the term.
However, Kim Michasiw, the Associate Dean of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LA&PS), curriculum and enrolment, notes that students failed to bring up their concerns earlier.
“Seven classes had gone by—you would think that people would complain earlier, but not much we can do,” he says. “I can’t comment on his personal issues because it is a personal matter, but people in his class will notice that he has been replaced.”
Michasiw says as soon as someone informed the faculty of the issue, the faculty rushed to find a replacement instructor to teach the 3000-level course and two other 4000-level courses taught by Cysneiros.
“There are over 1,800 courses going on in LA&PS this term,” says Michasiw. “I have no idea what’s going on inside those classrooms until someone tells me what’s going on.”
“If there’s something seriously wrong in your program, go talk to your undergraduate program director,” he urges. “Talk to the unit chair, and if it’s seriously wrong it will come up here.”
