Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Want a 2 hour test instead of a 30 min assignment? No problem.


Dear Student in my online class:


I have already (for the entire class, not just for you)
  1. Changed the last test (on-campus, proctored, 2+ hours) to a dramatically easier case problem from the book that you can just do from home that (if you've at least glanced at the material for this chapter) will likely take you no more than 30 minutes to complete, but that will still carry the same weight as the original test;
  2. Made it clear that I will be grading this assignment VERY generously, and that as long as I can see that you made a genuine effort to complete the assignment, you'd get an easy A; and
  3. Extended the deadline from Wednesday to Saturday (the official last day of the semester).
Do you REALLY think that you're going to accomplish any more than making yourself look like a total asshole by complaining to my department chair and dean that I refuse to pass you if you don't  complete that last assignment, because I shouldn't penalize you for the fact that your PC died?  First, college policy is "mastery learning" and if you do nothing to show me that you've "mastered" the new content covered by this last assignment, then by that policy I can't pass you no matter what your average. Second, do the math: A zero for that last assignment gives you a 73.5% and you need 75% to pass. Third, you would have had to come on campus to do the test, so now you just have to come to go into the labs and do the assignment. And finally, you signed an agreement at the beginning of the semester that there will be no extensions due to technical problems (no "the dog ate my USB stick" or "my PC crashed" as excuses not to do the work), since you always had the option of doing the work on campus.


What was most laughable is that you based your complaint email on the fact that it's not fair for me to give that last assignment the same weight as a test, since it's "just" an assignment. 


As I said in my response to you, I will very gladly agree to have you take the original test - a 2+ hour long performance-based test, proctored in the testing center, which you can likely only pass if you first do the case problems from the book, including this case problem that you don't want to have to do. 


Oy.

2 comments:

  1. Professor TergusonDecember 7, 2011 at 11:52 PM

    And finally, you signed an agreement at the beginning of the semester that there will be no extensions due to technical problems (no "the dog ate my USB stick" or "my PC crashed" as excuses not to do the work), since you always had the option of doing the work on campus.

    So - is this an agreement you have your class sign or is it a school policy? I'm thinking of stealing it...what else does it entail?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Granny GeekDecember 8, 2011 at 9:00 AM

    It's an agreement that I have my online students sign - we use Blackboard, and I have it in as a "test" for which they get a few points in the first week of class -- though I also make it clear that even if they don't sign the agreement, they're obligated to adhere to those policies! It includes a general statement that they will read and abide by the class policies, but even though they're embedded in the class policies I explicitly put into the agreement about my due date policy, the failed technology policy, and (because it's an online course) that they must check their email and the course announcements at least every other day (so no "but I didn't know that..").

    Now, in the actual detailed policy I make it very clear that if they contact me in advance of the due date about some issue that might affect their being able to get their assignments done on time, that I can be all kinds of flexible, but if they put all their work off to the last possible moment and then something happens, for the most part it's too bad, so sad. It's amazing how many PCs failed on the day that an assignment or test was due before I implemented this policy. I equate it to their job -- if they need time off or some other adjustment to their schedule, they're most likely to get it if they request it well in advance. But if they just don't do their work or don't show up to work and they can't prove that they were in a car accident or that a close relative died that day (Dead Grandmother syndrome - I require students to give me funeral home info to verify), then they're likely to be fired.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)