Photo: MarkRubens (Getty)
Before the internet was a thing, if you wanted to know something you would have to go out of your way to get your hands on an encyclopedia or head on over to the library. But these days all types of information is easily obtainable — which is why it’s baffling that a college professor doesn’t know that Australia is a country.
Ashley Arnold, a 27-year-old who is completing an online sociology degree with Southern New Hampshire University, recently failed an assignment because she stated that Australia is a country, and her professor disagreed.
Arnold, who paid $1,000 for for the class, had to complete an assignment in which she compared social norm in the US and another country. Arnold chose Australia, but was given zeros across the board because according to the unidentified professor, “Australia is a continent; not a country.”
“At first, I thought it was a joke,” Arnold Buzzfeed News. “This can’t be real. Then as I continued to read I realized she (the professor) was for real. With her education levels, her expertise, who wouldn’t know Australia is a country? If she’s hesitating or questioning that, why wouldn’t she just google that herself?”
And here’s what the professor responded when Arnold told her that Australia was in fact a country:
“I will gladly re-examine your project report. But before I do I want you to understand that any error in a project can invalidate the entire research project. Research is like dominoes, if you accidentally knock over one piece the entire set will also fall. Australia is a continent; it is not a country.”
Arnold eventually had her grade changed to a B+, but according to Arnold the professor didn’t even apologize.
But guess what? SNHU chimed in on this bizarre matter and of course took Arnold’s side:
We deeply regret the interaction between our professor & our student. We have apologized to Ashley, replaced the instructor, & are reimbursing her tuition for the course. To our friends in Australia, we know that you are a country & a continent, best of luck in the Olympic games!
— SNHU (@SNHU) February 9, 2018
I have no idea how someone was hired to be a college professor when they don’t even know Australia is a country. I also have no idea how the University of Phoenix wasn’t the school that hired that professor.
via BuzzFeed
