UGA prof drops ‘stress reduction policy’ after backlash

The University of Georgia has made Professor Richard Watson remove a “stress reduction policy” from two of his course syllabi after facing national backlash for the practice.

As Campus Reform reported Monday, Watson had adopted a policy that would allow students who felt “unduly stressed by a grade for any assessable material or the overall course” to “email the instructor indicating what grade [they] think is appropriate, and it will be so changed” with “no explanation” required.

“If in a group meeting, you feel stressed by your group’s dynamics, you should leave the meeting immediately and need offer no explanation to the group members,” the policy added, saying such students could “discontinue all further group work” with their remaining grade being “based totally on non-group work.”

The policy was later scrubbed from both syllabi, though an archived version remains, and the university has since confirmed with Campus Reform that Watson did in fact remove the policy after media coverage.

“The professor has removed this language from the syllabus,” Executive Director of Media Communications Greg Trevor told Campus Reform. “In addition, the University of Georgia applies very high standards in its curricular delivery, including a university-wide policy that mandates all faculty employ a grading system based on transparent and pre-defined coursework.”

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