tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post3002270222097897141..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: 'Tis the season. . .Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-49862170606556899362016-04-01T11:03:41.386-04:002016-04-01T11:03:41.386-04:00This is an excellent point. The more I include due...This is an excellent point. The more I include due dates in multiple places (course calendar/syllabus, assignment, prompt for discussion board post), the more opportunities I give myself to screw up (usually by forgetting to change a date). And I more than occasionally take such opportunities (usually once or twice a semester, usually -- thank goodness -- on something minor). But questions suchContingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-65187286927561981452016-04-01T11:00:56.389-04:002016-04-01T11:00:56.389-04:00I really should do this. It's a very smart wa...I really should do this. It's a very smart way to approach the problem. The only problem is that it would require me to locate the appropriate file, cut, and paste, and I can be pretty lazy, too, especially at this time of year. Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-63723205125680468732016-04-01T08:13:01.252-04:002016-04-01T08:13:01.252-04:00Yeah, similar things have happened to me. And to m...Yeah, similar things have happened to me. And to my greater disgust, I've sometimes been part of the problem. In my defense, at least I could explain why I was unable to complete the assignment and what I would do to make it up.<br /><br />At my joint, we have a metric fuck-ton of ad-hoc committees on top of the "regular" ones, and our Dear Leaders believe that as long as we are notOgre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-5657806062088436452016-03-31T20:06:54.723-04:002016-03-31T20:06:54.723-04:00Ben, that's a good question. I teach in a man...Ben, that's a good question. I teach in a management school where the culture can be competitive so I think they'd hang the kid out to dry. I could be wrong, though.Fulton Frednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-15048488259124743152016-03-31T17:54:29.359-04:002016-03-31T17:54:29.359-04:00I just came from a meeting where several tenured f...I just came from a meeting where several tenured faculty pulled something similar. We were meeting to assess grant proposals, and the other co-chair and I had sent an e-mail asking everyone to categorize each proposal by whether they thought it was a high, medium, or low priority for funding (ranked 1, 2 and 3, respectively). And could they please, please send us their rankings at least ten Prof Snugglebunnynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-86079287306533830742016-03-31T15:14:20.917-04:002016-03-31T15:14:20.917-04:00My department has decided that to avoid a lot of &...My department has decided that to avoid a lot of 'but Prof X let me...' arguments, and to reduce the stress for students who have had something genuinely bad happen that requires some sort of special treatment, one (un)lucky academic will be the only person permitted to award extensions and that sort of thing. So we can express sympathy and say it's not in our power, then hand the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34116575501684076502016-03-31T12:59:23.508-04:002016-03-31T12:59:23.508-04:00For routine questions (when is the exam?), I tell ...For routine questions (when is the exam?), I tell the student to look it up in the syllabus. This saves me time, informs the student that they need to read the syllabus more often/more closely, and avoids the chance of me making a mistake in my reply. If I take the time to tell the student when the exam is, but I accidentally type the wrong date, I'm responsible for the ensuing problems. Ain&Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-86690737756760883052016-03-31T12:56:48.587-04:002016-03-31T12:56:48.587-04:00I tell the student to put is request in writing (u...I tell the student to put is request in writing (usually, they stop by my office to beg). This scares them away because they don't like to write. I like your idea too. What happens if he calls your bluff and asks the class? Maybe they won't care and you'll have to give him special treatment, or they'll all want special treatment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-16428206905760269302016-03-31T08:29:08.968-04:002016-03-31T08:29:08.968-04:00For questions that are already answered in the syl...For questions that are already answered in the syllabus or handbook, sometimes I just tell them which page. Situation depending, sometimes I copy/paste the relevant passage. Either way, I seldom go on to paraphrase, and I almost always include something along the lines of:<br /><br />"If that information is unclear or if you have further questions, just let me know."<br /><br />The Ogre Proctor Hephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17428431147495287413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-43496650182976921252016-03-31T08:20:16.233-04:002016-03-31T08:20:16.233-04:00I'm finding the email part of that more and mo...I'm finding the email part of that more and more common. I used to think the laziest man in the world married a pregnant woman. Now, I realize that my students don't even bother to read a very brief email from me regarding an assignment. <br /><br />The other thing is when they want special treatment (an extension or whatever) and they say "I know you said in class/it says in the Fulton Frednoreply@blogger.com