tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post1917212395575793396..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: I'm not Dropping!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-37081109413380411152011-04-01T08:15:12.947-04:002011-04-01T08:15:12.947-04:00@EnglishDoc: "Federal law says that money mus...@EnglishDoc: "Federal law says that money must be used specifically for tuition, books, supplies, and transportation costs."<br /><br />??? The orientation at the community college I go to left me with the impression that the Pell refund--the excess of the grant over the tuition costs--can legally be spent on anything except a motor vehicle.<br /><br />Let's hope I got the right SchmittyRKDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06813236338090309452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-9837570929204281942011-03-31T23:15:11.199-04:002011-03-31T23:15:11.199-04:00At my college, since I teach in a poor urban area,...At my college, since I teach in a poor urban area, Pell is the most common type of financial aid. It does not have to be paid back unless the student drops before a set date or fails to make adequate progress in his or her educational program. Federal law says that money must be used specifically for tuition, books, supplies, and transportation costs. For any kind of student loan program that&#EnglishDochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12046114978214062491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-61917999555018411562011-03-31T22:22:28.079-04:002011-03-31T22:22:28.079-04:00I think where your ideas go wrong is the point whe...I think where your ideas go wrong is the point where you equate "<i>have to</i> pay them back" with "<i>will</i> pay them back". <br /><br />The kids who game the system will not pay back their loans. Quote me, save it in a safe deposit back and remember that I bet you the equivalent <a href="http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm" rel="nofollow">$5 USD in Wombat of the Copierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14847183793780076028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-23418413324684964052011-03-31T22:12:08.665-04:002011-03-31T22:12:08.665-04:00Merely Academic, I think very highly of you, but I...Merely Academic, I think very highly of you, but I can't wrap my head around what you're saying. Why shouldn't poor people be able to afford things? Because they're poor - that's what that means. It's financial aid. It's given to college students. If it should be used for Brazilian hair straightening, why don't such amenities get covered by food stamps? Why Wombat of the Copierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14847183793780076028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-59824517772832225352011-03-31T21:13:02.296-04:002011-03-31T21:13:02.296-04:00@Merely Academic: "It's not our business ...@Merely Academic: "It's not our business what students use financial aid for....They're going to have to pay it back anyway."<br /><br />Pell Grant refunds have to be paid back? I should probably begin panicking now.SchmittyRKDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06813236338090309452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-73926383038299576182011-03-31T17:53:47.971-04:002011-03-31T17:53:47.971-04:00It's not our business what students use financ...It's not our business what students use financial aid for. What does it matter if they spend it on a cell phone? Why on earth shouldn't they? They're going to have to pay it back anyway. Where does it say "financial aid can only be spent on things we don't think are frivolous, and by the way, you should be looking more grateful for it"? This puritanical attitude, Merely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-89926439995910321532011-03-31T01:44:31.576-04:002011-03-31T01:44:31.576-04:00@Cassandra: Yes, I do say it. A lot. I am a bridg...@Cassandra: Yes, I do say it. A lot. I am a bridge troll, teaching Snowflakian as a Second Language. The department's failure rate is around 50%. If you're not ready for Snowflakian 101, I will stop you. My students may complain on the evaluations, but it's barely cogent.schnitzelbankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16353695238159527112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-78638902014526387212011-03-31T00:55:58.711-04:002011-03-31T00:55:58.711-04:00"Freedom to fail." = brilliant. I am def..."Freedom to fail." = brilliant. I am definitely going to steal that.Lexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08353211383898810500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-90055790497563780802011-03-30T21:10:04.591-04:002011-03-30T21:10:04.591-04:00About a decade ago a few students figured somethin...About a decade ago a few students figured something out. Probably innocently at first. And now it's the most cleverly abused loophole going. The FA students register for 20 credits [hear the rest of this in your head being narrated by Ray Liota, and instead of torching bars, picture a raid on the cellphone and keratin treatment kiosks at the mall] and at the drop deadline, they drop their Wombat of the Copierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14847183793780076028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-36613404983431840512011-03-30T19:42:51.305-04:002011-03-30T19:42:51.305-04:00You've got this covered - just let the grade h...You've got this covered - just let the grade happen naturally. But give the final, and score it. This will give the student a transparently, syllabus-compliant course score that leads to a properly documented F.cerberushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815215612313814929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-67957607202694159662011-03-30T18:45:11.604-04:002011-03-30T18:45:11.604-04:00Apropos of staying enrolled for the sake of the Pe...Apropos of staying enrolled for the sake of the Pell grant: my school asks me to record a "stopped attending" date for students who have remained registered but haven't actually shown up for class. My understanding is that that date is used to pro-rate various kinds of financial aid for those students. Of course, if they show up sporadically, even if they don't hand in any Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-44194331402506290782011-03-30T18:40:47.572-04:002011-03-30T18:40:47.572-04:00"You don't have to pass to grow."
Y..."You don't have to pass to grow."<br /><br />Yikes, Julie! That's what I told my grade-grubbing students yesterday (but I think I added a "theoretically," as in "theoretically, you could fail all your classes but still learn a lot.") And I immediately had visions of it being cited, on my student evaluations and/or on The Site Which Shall Not Be Named, as Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-27850948169543217222011-03-30T17:34:41.836-04:002011-03-30T17:34:41.836-04:00The snowflake can still learn a lot during the sec...The snowflake can still learn a lot during the second half of the class, even in failing. I often tell my students, "You don't have to pass to grow."<br /><br />And I don't know about you, but I've had to pay every single cent of my student loans back, whether it helped pay for books or pizza... the problem with dropping to less than (12?) credits, is that your loans drop schnitzelbankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16353695238159527112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-58092900381867417022011-03-30T15:28:11.389-04:002011-03-30T15:28:11.389-04:00What EnglishDoc said: let 'em fail.What EnglishDoc said: let 'em fail.prof_xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709690064539890016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12639942545428837342011-03-30T14:48:39.164-04:002011-03-30T14:48:39.164-04:00In this situation I tell students they have only t...In this situation I tell students they have only two choices - W or F - period. It is up to them whether they want their GPA to be impacted with the F.sethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11369370141483141731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12554605912251832622011-03-30T14:24:16.160-04:002011-03-30T14:24:16.160-04:00I'm not sure how it works elsewhere, but in Ca...I'm not sure how it works elsewhere, but in Canada financial aid (student loans and grants) is generally meant to be used to cover the costs of being a student, whether those are tuition and books, or rent and food. Having access to a phone, having a steady supply of caffeine, and covering essential expenses for any nonhuman dependents all strike me as reasonable things.<br /><br />As for a CouldBeBetterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17494567309967997639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-27116876446054003112011-03-30T12:00:59.569-04:002011-03-30T12:00:59.569-04:00I also agree with the above. I've had students...I also agree with the above. I've had students do this for financial-aid reasons. (Another reason, apparently, is to maintain student-visa status -- sometimes such students never show up to a single class or submit any work at all.)CouldBeBetterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17494567309967997639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-50350206618683043622011-03-30T11:41:01.542-04:002011-03-30T11:41:01.542-04:00Yes, this one is easy, I agree with EnglishDoc. O...Yes, this one is easy, I agree with EnglishDoc. One less final exam to grade.abysshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07262945566870649768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-81645282519031065562011-03-30T10:41:08.347-04:002011-03-30T10:41:08.347-04:00If your college doesn't allow you to drop stud...If your college doesn't allow you to drop students, then you just proceed as if everything is normal. Your snowflake is playing the financial aid game. If the student drops a class before a certain percentage of the semester is done, then he or she is on the hook to pay it back. It's also possible, depending on previous behavior, that the student might not be eligible for future aid EnglishDochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12046114978214062491noreply@blogger.com