I had to read through the Bloomberg article a couple of times, as I initially thought it was something right out of the Onion.
It seems that individual students, as well as online marketplaces, are making money selling class lecture notes to students who “need extra help” at 1:00 a.m. on the day of exams.
Commenting on the practice, a Florida State spokesman said that the purchase of class notes is not something they encourage, but that it “does not violate university policy.”
Well, would they consider it a violation of university policy to have courses taught by professors in such a fashion that students can elect to skip classes, cram a few notes, and survive the exams?
We are constantly told that university classrooms are arenas for debate, airing of differing points of view, and learning from the diversity of viewpoints that the schools so carefully cultivate through their recruiting. It seems that, in these courses at least, none of these wonderful things are happening, and the students are throwing tuition money down the drain.
My suggestion to Florida State and other universities is to find out which courses are supporting the growing notes-selling business, terminate the instructors for non-performance, and hire from the legions of available would-be professors who just want the opportunity to teach effectively and whose courses students will want to attend.