University lectures aren’t open to the public, and UW shouting match shows why

WATERLOO - University lectures are not open to the public.

If someone wants to take a course but not be graded, there is a mechanism for both students and members of the public to attend lectures, but it requires registration, professor approval and tuition costs.

It's called auditing, and while each institution may have slightly different registration processes, it's a common practice in universities across the country.

Outside of just payment considerations for the university, there's a reason lectures are closed to the public, and it played out at the University of Waterloo at the end of last semester.

A student who wasn't enrolled in a second-year communications course ended up getting into a shouting match with a communications professor before he was kicked out of the lecture.

After an ensuing town hall where some students discussed anxieties about attending future lectures, communications professor Robert Danisch cancelled all remaining classes and gave students the option of opting out of any final assignments.

The story, shared extensively on social media, has drawn the ire of young and old, with some casting blame on the professor for inappropriate behaviour, and others suggesting the students need to toughen up. The situation appears to have touched on a generational divide on the state of education, and the response has been immense.

But one element of the story has drawn continued questions: the student wasn't enrolled in the class, so can anyone attend university lectures?

No, it turns out they can't.

The altercation at Waterloo started after the professor took exception to the student reading a book in the class. The student was there with a friend and chose to read when the class wasn't what they expected.

It certainly isn't uncommon for students not to pay attention during a class - some fall asleep, some watch videos on their phones, others play games on their computers. But a university is set up so that students pay to learn, and a grading system that tests their knowledge ensures they show up to class and pay attention.

A student who isn't enrolled in a class does not need to pay attention, and won't face any academic consequences if they disrupt a lecture.

UW guidelines spell out that the only way a student can attend a course without officially enrolling into it is to apply to audit it, said Waterloo spokesperson Rebecca Elming. This is when you enrol in a course, attend the lectures, but don't get a credit. This requires a request to the registrar's office and approval from the professor.

Members from the community can also apply to audit a course, thought it is a different process. First, they must apply to the university through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre, then register in the course as an auditor, and then get approval from the professor.

Both students and community members must pay tuition to audit a course.

The student who ended up in the argument with the Waterloo professor did not apply to audit the course, did not pay to attend the lecture, and was not allowed to sit in on the class.

However, the reality is that large university lectures can regularly be attended by people who are not enrolled. Without any formal sign-in, the professor has no way of knowing whether someone is enrolled or not. If the person doesn't draw attention to themselves - by reading a book, for example - there is often no way of spotting any sit-ins.

Anderson Tai was in the lecture on the day of the altercation. He uploaded a video of the argument between the professor and the student to YouTube along with his own reaction. Waterloo has since asked him to remove all footage of the lecture due to privacy issues.

I didn't even know that the student wasn't from the class," he said in an interview on Monday. I was always under the impression that he was."

Based on the video of the altercation, Danisch also appeared to be unaware the student wasn't enrolled during the altercation.

I want to know his name," he says in the video. I'm serious, people. Answer me: is that normal? Do you people roll into class and read books in front of someone?"

Because of the nature of the class - Leadership, Teams and Communication - Tai said he originally thought it was a planned performance to try and show how to deal with conflict resolution.

As the situation escalated, he said, it became clear it wasn't planned.

You could feel the shock in the room," he said. You just felt the silence because we were all so shocked it had actually happened and we just weren't sure if it was actually an exercise."

Regardless of whether the student was enrolled or not, he said, Danisch could have handled the situation differently, and it didn't need to escalate to the point of vulgarity and insults.

In the end, Danisch did apologize and gave students a variety of options on how to finish the semester, which included an option to opt out of final assignments.

With a full set of courses and four other classes with major assignments, Tai said he just tried to move on from the lecture and focus on finishing up the semester.

Honestly, I think (the university) handled it pretty well and the professor apologized to us students for what he did," said Tai. So, for me, I just tried to put it behind me and move on."

Robert Williams is a Waterloo Region-based reporter for The Record. Reach him via email: robertwilliams@torstar.ca