Why one university thinks Facebook study groups are grounds for expulsion.

College students' transition into the Web 2.0 world has been seamless. Professors' and school administrators' transition has been anything but.

Chris Avenir, a freshman at Ryerson University in Toronto has been a hot topic of conversation recently after school officials determined that his Facebook study group was in violation of the school's academic policies.

Avenir is now facing 147 cases of academic misconduct - the number of students in the online study group.

The worst-case scenario is expulsion. The best case is an F in his chemistry class.

Doesn't seem fair to a kid who simply found a way to recreate live study sessions – an activity as frequent as attending class – over the Internet.

It raises questions over how well professors and school administrations actually understand the new face of the Web. Facebook is now home to over 100 legitimate educational applications that function as anything from schedule builders to study group facilitators.

What was so wrong about Avenir's actions?

It's not like his classmates and he had access to test answers. Just as students do every day on Cramster, Avenir was fostering a collaborative environment designed to better grasp the concepts at hand.

Perhaps professors fear change. Perhaps the Web 2.0 world is just too new to accept as a valid classroom resource.

Whatever the case, Avenir's unfortunate situation should serve as a wake-up call to universities around the world that the Web is here to stay, and it's better to embrace it lest an entire student body view the policies of those above them as antiquated and non-progressive.

At Cramster, it is our goal to weave professors into our web, to prove that the Internet is a resource, not a danger.

Here's to hoping you and your classmates can find a way to ease your professors' fears.

What's your take on Avenir's predicament? Was the punishment warranted? What would you do if you were in his shoes?