Letter to Dean of Student Affairs (10 July 2003)

Letter to Dean of Student Affairs
Date:
Thu, 10 Jul 2003 10:22:37 -0700
To:
Huei-chen Ko
CC:
moe , Kao Chiang


Professor Ko Heui-chen
Office of the Dean of Student Affairs
National Cheng Kung University
Tainan, Taiwan

cc: Ministry of Education
Department of Higher Education
Professor Kao Chiang, President, NCKU

10 July 2003

Dear Dean Ko,

I am puzzled why it's taking your office so long to resolve the case
of the student, Chen An-chuen, who submitted a
secret letter of accusation contesting a grade she received eight years
earlier. The case has already gone on for years now.
If the Office of Student Affairs is unable to request the attendance of
a student at an office meeting with the person she
accused, then there are serious questions to be raised about that
administration.
I am enclosing the email I sent yesterday. Your response to that
email was not satisfactory. In fact, you elected not to
respond. Instead, your vice-dean sent me a message, which hinted of
more delays.
I am not interested in more delays. I am interested in resolving
this case now so we can all get on with our lives.
I repeat: There are no complex legal issues involved here. A
professor has the right to face a student accuser. This is
known as due process. The Office of Student Affairs has the right to
call in any student any time to resolve problems at the
university. If you don't have that right, or are reluctant to exercise
that right, then it seems to me there is no purpose to an
Office of Student Affairs at our university.
Regarding this student, don't you think it odd that she eagerly
responded to a request to write a secret letter, and did so
within 24 hours. Yet now that she must discuss this issue publicly,
before the Dean and the professor she accused and who
can contest her accusation, she is trying everything possible to avoid
doing so?
Enclosed is the letter I sent yesterday. Please understand, I
expect you to set up a meeting, in your office, between me
and this student, including as many other people as you think necessary
to be present. This is your right as Dean. It is also
your responsibility as Dean.
I expect to hear from your office very soon regarding the
appointment date and time. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Professor Richard de Canio
(06) 237 8626