Professor Dismissed for Not Using Official Lecture Platform... Court Rules "Disciplinary Action Abused"

A private university professor who was dismissed for failing to meet the 'minimum number of class days' requirement after not using the official lecture platform designated by the school won the first trial after filing an administrative lawsuit.

Seoul Administrative Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 2 (Presiding Judge Shin Myung-hee) recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the first trial of the lawsuit filed by private university faculty member A against the Faculty Appeal Committee to cancel the committee's decision, stating that "the school's dismissal was an abuse of disciplinary discretion."

The school where A worked operated all classes online in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. The school instructed faculty to use the remote lecture platform 'Blackboard' and established guidelines requiring that if other platforms were used, lecture videos and materials must be uploaded to Blackboard.

A, who was in charge of English courses, had a number of class days and hours recorded on Blackboard during the first and second semesters of that year that fell short of the school regulations' standards. A did not submit any separate evidence proving that classes were conducted on other platforms. In August of the following year, A was dismissed on the grounds of 'neglecting duties by violating academic guidelines.'

A requested the Faculty Appeal Committee to cancel the dismissal, but the request was denied. He then turned to the administrative court.

The first trial ruled in favor of A, stating that "the school could have achieved the disciplinary purpose with a lighter penalty than dismissal."

First, the court pointed out that "Blackboard, the school's official online class platform, recorded A's number of class days and hours as insufficient," and that "it became difficult for the school to verify whether A conducted classes properly."

However, the court also explained, "A conducted classes by communicating with students using other platforms such as Zoom and Hangouts. A separately recorded his English remarks during lectures on the KakaoTalk messenger," and added, "Including the class hours conducted this way, it is highly likely that the standards set by the school regulations were met."

The court further stated, "It is difficult to assess that A infringed on the students' right to learn itself or failed to fulfill the basic duties and responsibilities as a faculty member."