This afternoon, I received a request from a student hoping to add one of my courses. The Subject Line was Advanced Hamstology, but in the email itself, Mr/s Unnamed Student asked to add my 8am Woven Textiles class. I do not teach in the Basketweaving department -- not even close. Nor do I teach at 8am. Being of the curious sort, I checked, and discovered that Mr/s Student is a second year Basketweaving major, with no courses in Hamsterology, but with a cumulative GPA that is, shall we say, less than stellar.
I tried to be polite in my reply. I am not sure that I succeeded.
Sigh …..
Clara From Cleveland
Stay strong Clara! Just say no! I have never not regretted a late add. (Never..not..right, that's what I mean.)
ReplyDeleteIt does not seem like you have a compelling reason to add this student to a course that is not yours. However, in today's spirit of customer service, I think it would be a good idea for you to forward Mr/s Unnamed Student's complete email to the instructor of record for the 8am Woven Textiles class in the Basketweaving department. Since you already have it, attach the student's transcript. And CC the student, because that can be your response to the student, who can clearly see that you've saved them the effort of tracking down the correct instructor.
ReplyDeleteGot to service that customer.
I'm glad I'm not the only one.
ReplyDeleteI had a student request to add at the beginning of Week 2. I provided an add code and added the student's name to my attendance sheet. However, the student's name never appeared on my official roster, and I didn't see the student all last week or in class yesterday, so I assumed that the decision had been made not to add. I removed the name from my attendance sheet.
Then, last night, this message:
Hi Prof,
I'm sorry I haven't been in class but I've been ill. I will try and not let it happen again. Could you please tell me what I've missed for the last week? Also, I figured out that in order for me to get added to the LMS you need to invite. me. However, I am not registered under my name but under [name of opposite sex distant relative].
Student X
Hmm. Scam? I'm scratching my head over this one.
Are we sure this isn't a case of a student whose gender presentation has changed since they registered? It's often the case that a student who is waiting for college to be open about their gender identity is still registered under the name/gender they were given at birth. But if it's really a scam (how do you know they're relatives?) I agree you should report it.
DeleteKate - I did not even consider the gender presentation issue - why ever not, I do not know. It may be something that s/he does not want to discuss right now with a relative stranger. So maybe not a scam after all. Thank you for the broader perspective.
DeleteThis is slightly off topic, but only slightly, and it *just* happened, so I need to rant.
ReplyDeleteToday I've received emails from two different students who have missed every class meeting (we're in week 4) so far (and granted, it's a once-a-week class, but still). One of them "didn't see" my class on his schedule. The other was freaking out over an online quiz that she "didn't know about" because she got a zero and wanted to know what she could do to "fix" it.
I can't, as the youngbloods say, even. I'm at a new university this year and the culture shock as far as the students go is really starting to build. The level of responsibility, punctuality, and basic respect for me and fellow classmates is so much lower than what I'm used to that I have a headache at the end of every day.
It's not really that off-topic. Much of what you are experiencing comes from the same lack of attention to detail that gives rise to what Clara wrote about. The light at the end of the tunnel might be that there are a few students in your classes that will appreciate you for having standards; or it could be, as they say, a train. All you can do is try.
DeleteWow - our Registrar's office asks us to let them know about students who have never attended class by the second week. They are then automatically dropped from the class. The students all know this.
DeleteReplies:
Delete1) "I hope you retained a screenshot of your schedule so that campus IT can figure how this happened. There shouldn't be a class "missing" from your online schedule. Other than that, here's what you need to catch up on..."
2) "The only "fix" that I can think of is that there is something wrong with the LMS. Here is a screenshot of where in the LMS the quiz is available. Please send me a screenshot that indicates that this information is not visible in your student profile for the course. Otherwise, there is no "fixing" that I can help you with."
PP: The reason she didn't know about it? She's never been to class. I really don't know how these two (three, technically; I got another similar email late last night) either "missed" my class on their schedules or thought that they could just never show up.
DeleteFor Classic Dagny:
ReplyDeleteDear Phantom Late Add Student: You say you are registered under the name of an opposite-sex distant cousin. You'd like me to tell you what you missed for the last week? Sure. You missed registering for my class, and maybe also the chance to enroll here ever. CC: Admission and Records; Dean of Consequences.
@Snarky: Sigh. Repeat as needed: "don't care more about their education than they do." Hope it's not a position you were hoping to make permanent.
Oh, I absolutely don't care more than they do. Their expectations that I'll wave a magic wand and fix that they've missed four weeks of class (their own fault) is really annoying, though. And, no--while I love my colleagues, I'm really hoping this will be a jumping-off point to something bigger and better, or at least a placeholder to support another year or two on the market.
DeleteSounds like a moment to prioritize self-preservation (and, of course, doing right by the students who are holding up their end of the deal) over serving the less-cooperative "customers." Since some of them won't be pleased by anything short of your doing the work for them, and since doing that would rob them of an education, this seems like the rational and ethical choice all 'round.
DeleteHere is an update. I told the students in my Advanced Hamsterology class about the student who wanted to add. They thought that I should invite him/her to the next class, tell him/her to read the first 200 pages in the book, and that s/he would be presenting all of the readings that day. They are evil. I think this will be a good semester ...
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan. It will be interesting to hear how the student reacts. The usual reaction to my variation on this (letting the student into the LMS and saying "start working your way through the tasks on the calendar, prioritizing x, y, and z) is a hasty and silent retreat from the class.
DeleteI'm not sure we can tell whether the subject or body of the email is the correct part. I'm still not convinced the student actually wants to add Advanced Hamsterology, so I am hoping this mystery can be solved.
DeleteBut it provided the opportunity to for you to gauge your students. They sound like a fun bunch.
I never did find out which class s/he actually wanted to add. The student's reply to my email was "Oh. OK. Thank you." To be honest, I was surprised, given that I rarely receive a reply from students these days.
Delete