University of Oklahoma Teaching Assistant Removed from Duties Following Allegations of Religious Discrimination
A teaching assistant at the University of Oklahoma who assigned a student a zero on an essay will no longer be responsible for teaching duties at the university. The student, Samantha Fulnecky, alleged religious discrimination after receiving a failing grade in an online psychology course. Fulnecky pursued the grade appeals process and filed a formal complaint of illegal religious discrimination. The grade appeal ruled in Fulnecky's favor, removing the assignment from her overall grade. The investigation into the discrimination claim has been completed, but OU has not disclosed the findings. The Provost and academic Dean reviewed the case, examining the teaching assistant's grading history and standards. Following their assessment, it was concluded that the teaching assistant had been inconsistent in grading the specific paper, leading to the decision to relieve them of instructional duties at the University.