Courtesy of Karim Annabi
What do you think about NYU's decision to convert computer labs into wireless lounges?
Next June, Karim Annabi will graduate with a master's degree from NYU's Stern School of Business. In July, he will face the college's lawyers in court.
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Annabi, 28, claims NYU forced him to take a class he never should have been required to take. His dispute with NYU began last fall, while he was simultaneously studying at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia and taking classes through Stern's Langone Part-time MBA Program.
In October, Annabi asked for and received permission from his Stern academic adviser to treat two courses at KFUPM as Stern electives. He later decided to drop one of the courses and instead pursued the transfer of three credits for a managerial finance class.
In November, Annabi began looking into applying to a dual-degree MBA program offered by Stern and École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris (aka HEC Paris). He realized that one of the program's required classes, corporate finance, was nearly identical to the managerial finance class he was already taking as a transfer elective for his Stern degree.
No Langone student had ever participated in the program before, but in December, Annabi received special permission to do so from Stern's MBA Academic Review Committee, which reviews petitions in unusual circumstances. As part of his preparation for entering the dual-degree program, Annabi said he spoke with Anne Cutler, his Stern adviser and associate director of the Langone Program, to ensure that the managerial finance transfer credits would fulfill his corporate finance requirement.
"She said that if it's the same class, there's no reason it shouldn't count," Annabi said.
But in court documents, Kyle Cunningham, Stern's director of MBA Academic Affairs, maintained that Stern informed Annabi that all dual-degree students are required to take 30 non-transfer credits at Stern. He stated in his affidavit, "I have no basis to believe that any representative of Stern has ever told Annabi otherwise." Cunningham declined to comment for this article, and attempts to contact Cutler were unsuccessful.
Annabi returned to Stern for the spring 2009 semester, convinced he would complete his Stern requirements by the end of the summer term.
At the time, his transcript showed that the three credits from KFUPM had transferred as corporate finance under his Langone core requirements.
Annabi first became aware that there was a problem in a May 8, 2009 letter from Stern, in which he was told that those three credits would not count toward his degree. He was surprised; in an e-mail exchange with Annabi between April 30 and May 4, Cutler referred to "processing your Corporate Finance substitution," and repeatedly mentioned that he had 1.5 credits remaining — not the 4.5 that would remain if the three corporate finance credits had not been transferred. See Annabi's updated transcript.
Annabi appealed to the Academic Review Committee, Vice Dean of MBA Programs Kim Corfman, Stern dean Thomas Cooley and finally to NYU President John Sexton. No appeal was successful. See a note allegedly from dean Cooley to Annabi regarding his credits.
His appeals exhausted, Annabi sued the school on June 12 this year in New York State Supreme Court. Annabi sought an injunction to prevent NYU from requiring him to take the corporate finance course during the summer. He sought approximately $25,000 in punitive damages, but a judge dismissed the case because Annabi had failed to properly serve Stern officials with a court summons; Annabi represented himself in the case.
According to Annabi, Cunningham admitted in a meeting held after the lawsuit was filed that Stern had made a mistake in approving the transfer of managerial finance as corporate finance.
"He said, 'We made a mistake, but you should just let it go,' " Annabi said.
Sometime after April 30, Stern officials updated Annabi's transcript, removing the corporate finance substitution. Annabi claims this is evidence Stern is attempting to cover its mistakes.
NYU spokesman John Beckman dismissed Annabi's accusations. Beckman said Annabi sued NYU because the university refused to make an exception for him about degree requirements.
"An attempt to sue one's way to a degree is unfair to students who earn their degrees through hard work, study and complying with degree requirements," Beckman said.
But one of Annabi's former advisers called his advisee a "hard worker." Jonathon White was Annabi's undergraduate academic adviser at Stern when Annabi received a bachelor's degree there in 2003.
"I always had positive interactions with him. There were never any major negative issues," White said.
White, who said he is unfamiliar with the specifics of the case, left Stern in 2004 for his current position as assistant dean of students at The New School's Eugene Lang College.
Annabi, realizing that he would need to take corporate finance in August, sued NYU in small claims for $5,000 to recoup expenses for the cost of the class. He also subpoenaed Cunningham, Corfman and Cooley.
A $15 check for transportation to court must be included as part of any subpoena; both Corfman and Cooley cashed the check, though Annabi said neither showed up.
"They had no intention of showing up. And then after the case, they deposit the checks at the NYU Bursar's Office," Annabi said. "It's like they were trying to add insult to injury."
Due to a heavy volume of cases, the court never heard Annabi's case on Aug. 4. The hearing was rescheduled for July 7, 2010, when Annabi returns from his studies at HEC Paris.
Avery Katz, a law professor at Columbia University, said universities can be held responsible for advice given to students, but is surprised this case has gone as far as it has.
"What's really unusual about this situation is that it actually came to a lawsuit, and they didn't manage to handle it within the university," Katz said. "That often happens because someone's being unreasonable."
Annabi said if he wins the small claims case, he won't pursue additional lawsuits.
"I'm not this person who just wants money from NYU," Annabi said. "I don't want a free ride. I just want what I earned."
Eric Levin
Oct 20, 2009
7:31 a.m.
Perhaps this student doesn't want his routing and account numbers from his checks posted online?
Tom
Oct 20, 2009
7:34 a.m.
This is a little more than pathetic. Guess what? It's YOUR responsibility, believe it or not, to keep track of your credits. All requirements for each department are posted publicly, usually in more than one place. Seems like this guy is just trying to cover his butt for being careless with his own business.
Karim
Oct 20, 2009
3:13 p.m.
Hey Tom. You are certainly right that all requirements should be posted publicly and it's a student responsibility to know what they are. No arguments there, but for this particular case they weren't and Stern made them up as they went along. The documents referenced show that I followed the requirements I was given to the letter, and that is why the credits in dispute were consequently approved (refer to the Advisor's email in the posted link). It was only when NYU saw the opportunity to generate more tuition money, did they reverse their previous decisions and confirmations of those decisions. It's not a question of credits that were not tracked correctly. Too bad the link to the Dean Cooley's notes is not working, but it should be soon.
But this has happened to other students in the past, in one way or another. For example, I know one student who took 6 credits then NYU cancelled his major and wouldn't accept the 6 credits towards another major. The department head was wise enough to finally approve his appeal.
anonymous
Oct 20, 2009
4:36 p.m.
This to show the frustration students has to put up with school officials sometime. Too much red tape! Too many 'in charge'...
Alicia
Oct 20, 2009
11:38 p.m.
Advisors may make mistakes. It just so happens that one nyu student took it a step further. It's time for colleges and universities to pay up. Students are left helpless when things go wrong, but the universities are never left defenseless.
John Beckman
Oct 21, 2009
9:47 a.m.
It's not clear to us why Mr. Annabi felt the need to attempt to subpoena several NYU administrators to appear in Small Claims Court; however, I do want to be clear: none of the required accompanying witness fees were cashed by the individuals named; they were deposited in the University's general funds.
In Small Claims Court, litigants customarily have to wait for extended periods before their case is called, and it has been our experience that it is quite rare for the proceedings to allow for witness testimony. Should the court ultimately deem it necessary for any of those witnesses to appear in Small Claims Court, they will. Should Mr. Annabi demonstrate a wish to withdraw his subpoenas, we would return his $45.
In the end, this summer's interaction in court lasted less than five minutes (after a wait of more than 2 hours), and the matter was calendared for July 2010 (to accommodate Mr. Annabi's schedule).
-- John Beckman, NYU Public Affairs
Karim
Oct 23, 2009
11:51 a.m.
Thank you Mr. Beckman for bringing up that point and asking for clarification on why I subpoenaed these NYU officials.
NYU's testimony in the Supreme Court Affidavits mislead the court in a material way by misquoting from Associate Director Anne Cutler's emails. She states in her emails:
“I (Anne Cutler) confirmed (with the Dual Degree Program Coordinator) that all students (regardless of part-time or full-time status) in the HEC/Stern Dual Degree Program are required to take 30 credits at Stern. As you’ll be taking Prof. Responsibility at HEC, you can add any 1.5 credit elective of your choice.” (May 4, 2009)
“I (Anne Cutler) was processing your Corporate Finance substitution and noticed that you still need an additional 1.5 credits before you leave Stern to begin HEC. I understand you’ll take Professional Responsibility at HEC to fulfill that requirement, but you still need another 1.5 credit course this summer in order to reach the required 30 credits for the dual degree program.” (April 30, 2009)
These emails are consistent with the advice I received in November 2008. However, despite these confirmations and the status quo for several months during which I finished the approved course abroad, and relied on this information to my detriment in other ways, NYU Stern officials claimed when reversing their decision that no one ever gave me the impression that I had 1.5 credits remaining. Dean Corfman and Dean Cooley both said so in our meetings even after reviewing the emails. NYU went on to maintain this position in court when presenting Director's Cunnigham's sworn testimony in which he states:
“I have personal knowledge of the facts that appear in this affidavit…”(Cunningham Aff. p.1) “Stern advised him that “all students (regardless of part-time or full-time status) in the HEC/Stern Dual Degree Program are required to take 30 credits at Stern. Email from Anne Cutler to Karim Annabi dated May 4, 2009 (OTSC Exh. E at 2)(emphasis added).” (p.2)
“I have no basis to believe that any representative of Stern has ever told Annabi otherwise. It is only after degree candidates have met the 30-credit residency requirement before leaving that Stern allows them to earn the remaining 30 credits needed for the MBA degree from HEC. Annabi is 4.5 credits short of complying with Stern’s 30-credit residency requirement.”(p.2)
Karim
Oct 23, 2009
11:53 a.m.
Anyone that compares Associate Director Cutler's email with Director Cunningham's statements will realize that it is nothing short of dishonesty. He quotes the "30 credits at Stern" sentence to imply that I have 4.5 credits remaining and thus he has no reason to believe otherwise, when in fact the next sentence goes on to state I only have 1.5 credits remaining. All the relevant information is referenced numerous times in the two emails, the Dual Degree program, the confirmation of policy with the Dual Degree program coordinator, the 30 credits at Stern and the 1.5 remaining credits. Nothing is left to the imagination.
Further proof is the formula on my transcript page written on Dean Corfman's secure printout dated the same day as our meeting (presumably written by Dean Corfman). It is linked to the article and you will see that the approved 3 Stern credits do count towards my program and also rebukes Director Cunningham's testimony.
Acting oblivious in a meeting with a student and disregarding the evidence is one thing, but presenting that as your official position in sworn statements to a judge is perjury. It really saddened me to see such unethical behavior from my school, which has an honor code and teaches business ethics and social responsibility. I even brought up the matter of accountability in my meeting with Dean Cooley, at which point he quickly said this meeting is over. Luckily for me, when handing me back the documents I presented to him, he inadvertently also gave me the internal file, which had the name of the Professor and Langone Academic Director who approved my Stern transfer class as well as the handwritten formula on Dean Corfman's printout. I returned the file to him with a letter asking for a reversal of the recent decision to not count my approved class given the supporting information in the internal file, but neither he, nor Stern ever responded.
These Deans held themselves above having to answer to a student's request for a sincere explanation and did not have the moral high ground to overrule an unfair decision that was about generate NYU nearly $5,000 in tuition money with no repercussion. They made a cold business decision given the risk/reward trade off. But given their involvement in both confirming the formula that does count the 3 Stern transfer credits and in handing me this additional proof, they are material witnesses in this matter and one would hope they would feel more accountable to reply sincerely to a judge than to a student.
Karim
Oct 23, 2009
11:54 a.m.
Lastly, the subpoena issued by the judge states, “We (The People of the State of New York) command you to lay aside all business and excuses” and appear before the court on the stated time and date. You, Mr. Beckman and NYU are making up excuses. The subpoena does not say use your experience to judge the probability that you will be called to testify and if you think you will not be called on then don’t show up and wait until the judge issues you a special meeting that works around your schedule with an exact time and date, so that your wait time is reduced to a minimum. Regardless, your excuses don’t hold water because Director Cunningham did show up.
As for the matter of the witness fees (which represent transportation costs), why would Dean Cooley and Dean Corfman sign them and ask the university to deposit them? And about two weeks after they failed to show up? Since they were signed by the Deans and the Deans represent agents of the school, it doesn’t matter in whose account they were unethically deposited. That is plain shady…unless that is that they signed them to confirm their participation in our July hearing, for which I plan on providing them with the time and date using the same type of subpoena, so tell these Stern officials not to expect a special hallmark card with a personal note from the judge.
- Karim Annabi, NYU Stern '03, MBA '10 Candidate
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