I agree with Harry in that student will find excuses if they think this is what they need to say. I also agree that we are not in a position to determine whether they are lying or not. When a student comes to me with a story, I usually cut it quite short and ask them what it is thay want exactly. I usually allow for make-up exam, or an extension on a paper. It's quite funny to see their reactions. I had one who told me, "Wow, this was EASY!". I laughed and told him that unless I hired a Private Investigator, I could never make the truth from the lies, and thus did not want to play the game. Not interested!
But I set limits. I tell them when the make-up will be, and if they can't make it then, the mark gets added up on the final, which builds the pressure. For deadlines regarding assignments, if the students comes ahead of time, we work something out. If not, they lose a predetermined percentage each day, and that's it. As it turns out, I used to be too lenient and allowed for make-ups and extensions even after the fact and even if students had not bothered telling me ahead of time. Some actually criticised me for being to lax. I think they like structure, as long as it is not suffocating. My 2 cents! --- Harry Avis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > There was a time when I took a hard line as well. > Then one day a student > came to me and said, Can I take the exam on Monday > instead of today (Friday) > I asked in a threatening voice (which I am quite > good at)"Why?" He replied - > because I haven't had time to study. I was so taken > aback by his > truthfulness that I said yes. If we are hardasses > about makeups, students > make up plausible sounding excuses. The students who > haven't studied lie and > tell us the protypical dead grandmother story. It > works so we are > reinforcing them for lying. Another thought, it > might very well be true that > not all courses are equally important to a student. > As much as my pride > might be wounded, a student who is majoring in > computer studies might not > value my class as much as a nursing student. As > mentioned in another post, > the students almost never do as well on makeups, so > they are being punished. > We have a policy that works well. We have a testing > center in our library. > Faculty send the exam to the testing center, which > administers the exam. > When I gave makeups in the past, I would put > students in empty rooms or my > office, so I had no control over cheating. The > testing center strictly > proctors the exams. I give makeups as a matter of > routine. I am not in the > position of having to determine whether an excuse is > valid and the students > don't do as well which constitutes a built in > penalty. Do people abuse my > policy? Perhaps, but this doesn't upset me as much > as having to discriminate > valid from invalid excuses. > > > > Harry Avis PhD > Sierra College > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Anything worth doing is worth doing at all > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Get faster connections�-- switch to�MSN Internet > Access! > http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ===== Jean-Marc Perreault Arts & Sciences Yukon College Whitehorse, Yukon 867-668-8867 ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
