Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Everyone assumes universities have a duty of care towards students – our campaign would establish one

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

While I think the first part of the headline is more or less true, this article breaks down when it comes to the second, as it is not exactly clear precisely what they mean by 'duty of care', despite the effort they take to define it. The argument is presented in the context of a judge's ruling that a "university had not made reasonable adjustments to the way she was assessed as part of her course," and suggests "'Care' in this context is about giving serious attention, or proper consideration, to doing something correctly and in such a way that causing damage or creating a risk is avoided." But later the same article suggests 'care' means something like "the phrase 'in loco parentis' – or the 'prudent parent' standard of responsibility." That, though, is a much more stringent standard, and seems to go well beyond the common understanding.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 2:45 p.m.

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