tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post7172619473253910483..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: This is why my syllabus is seventeen pages longUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-76542967566548789312015-05-22T19:40:13.108-04:002015-05-22T19:40:13.108-04:00At one SLAC I used to work at, our Associate Dean ...At one SLAC I used to work at, our Associate Dean told me to tell the sports-flakes that they were responsible for scheduling their class schedules AROUND their sports schedules, and if they couldn't do that then they shouldn't play sports. Not sure how much that was in line with actual school policy, or if the college prezzy would have backed me on that, but I gladly agreed to adopt Emergency Mathematical Hologramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15873569623797587860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-31652678136885194662015-05-19T08:48:49.676-04:002015-05-19T08:48:49.676-04:00I deal with this a lot. We have several thousand s...I deal with this a lot. We have several thousand students in our intro chem program. I can't cut anybody any slack without increasing the number of requests for exemptions and special treatment by ten-fold. Some students have reasonable requests that I would like to grant. <br /><br />If I didn't have to do research, I could spend my time dealing with the extra work I would create by Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-6469610069777011912015-05-18T15:30:26.471-04:002015-05-18T15:30:26.471-04:00I think the main problem was that you accepted Sca...I think the main problem was that you accepted Scammy Sammy's paper, even though you told him the last day of class. Could you have stuck to what you originally said? <br /><br />Maybe instead of a no holds barred policy (which does not account for circumstances that are truly exceptional) you can have your syllabus state that make ups, when allowed (at the sole discretion of the instructor)Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15686242633678466958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-25076091930385920802015-05-18T11:50:15.221-04:002015-05-18T11:50:15.221-04:00Ehhhh...I gotta disagree, up to a point. If a stud...Ehhhh...I gotta disagree, up to a point. If a student has to miss class because of a university obligation, then that student should have the ability to make up a missed assignment. Plus, your university probably has a policy that states you have to accommodate students who are on official travel. You can get around the problem creatively, like bceagle91 and Cassandra did, but as long as the Dr. Mindbenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16916271564719224677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-18802290489576881872015-05-18T08:59:27.808-04:002015-05-18T08:59:27.808-04:00Another option (which I'm sure you've cons...Another option (which I'm sure you've considered, and maybe are already doing, and isn't foolproof in any case) is to drop a certain number of the quiz grades (whether they're zero/incomplete or simply lower earned grades). <br /><br />I, too, ended up accepting a few too many versions of the supposed-to-be-a-prep-exercise in one class in an unorthodox fashion (emailed after the Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-14871213986615879032015-05-18T07:24:50.888-04:002015-05-18T07:24:50.888-04:00One thing I've developed for students who whin...One thing I've developed for students who whine, cry, and beg is whining, crying, and begging back, even worse, since it's louder and astonishingly undignified: "But I'VE got to chase around 100 students who can't do fractional with a pooper-scooper AND bring in external grants AND spend 80 hours per week in the lab AND I NOW HAVE TO TAKE OVER AS DEPARTMENT CHAIR EVER SINCE Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-65422656987275096662015-05-18T07:21:47.681-04:002015-05-18T07:21:47.681-04:00Yep, I had to do that, too. Look at the bright sid...Yep, I had to do that, too. Look at the bright side: your syllabus is now a little shorter.Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-63589174800390874732015-05-18T07:09:11.580-04:002015-05-18T07:09:11.580-04:00Years ago, I noticed that about 10% of my students...Years ago, I noticed that about 10% of my students were missing midterms, thus needing makeups. That seemed a bit high. I plagiarized from a colleague and put on the syllabus that there are no makeup midterm exams - if you miss an exam, the weight goes on the final. I then make running jokes through the semester about a given brutal question being a great idea for the makeup final. Now, I bceagle91https://www.blogger.com/profile/18446254913561224783noreply@blogger.com