AN online adjunct professor incorrectly told a student that Australia isn’t a country and gave her a borderline failing grade, prompting Southern New Hampshire University to replace the instructor.

Buzzfeed News reported that the 27-year-old student in Idaho was assigned to compare American social norms to that of another country.

The student, Ashley Arnold, chose to study social media use in Australia, but the professor gave her a zero on that portion of the assignment, saying Australia is only a continent, and not a country.

Ms Arnold wrote back to her professor explaining that Australia is actually both a country and a continent.

But the professor insisted she had been right, replying, “Australia is a continent; it is not a country. That error made it nearly impossible for you to accurately complete your week 2 research outline correctly”, she replied.

“I want you to understand that any error in a project can invalidate the entire research project,” the professor told Arnold in her email. “Research is like dominoes, if you accidentally knock over one piece the entire set will also fall.”

Ms Arnold even sent her professor a link to the Australian Government’s “about Australia” page.

Finally, the professor re-marked the paper giving Ms Arnold a B+, and acknowledging the misunderstanding.

But university officials told local station WMUR-TV that the instructor has since been replaced following an investigation into the matter.

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

In a statement released on Twitter, the university said it deeply regrets the interaction between the professor and the student, confirms that the supposed educational institution understands Australian geography, and wishes athletes from Australia good luck in the Olympic Games.