OK -- I'd say that extra credit would be a reasonable substitute.
I don't see the student doing anything with an undergraduate degree
where this would be a fatal flaw; the extra credit work might be more
applications oriented.
If the student WERE to become a professional psychologist she would
have to do graduate work which would have its own theory requirement.
On Jan 10, 2009, at 11:19 AM, DeVolder Carol L wrote:
It's an upper-level theories course. The student is nearly complete
with respect to coursework and was hoping to graduate in May.
Carol L. DeVolder, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Chair, Department of Psychology
St. Ambrose University
518 West Locust Street
Davenport, Iowa 52803
Phone: 563-333-6482
e-mail: [email protected]
web: http://web.sau.edu/psychology/psychfaculty/cdevolder.htm
The contents of this message are confidential and may not be shared
with anyone without permission of the sender.
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Brandon [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sat 1/10/2009 11:15 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: Re: [tips] Weighty problem
First question:
Is this a basic skills course (such as Stat) where extra credit is no
substitute for acquiring a skill necessary to function as a
psychologist?
I assume that it's too late in the student's career to suggest
transferring into a less demanding field that might be more suited to
this student's academic capabilities.
On Jan 10, 2009, at 11:08 AM, DeVolder Carol L wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
I need to weigh this one carefully and would appreciate input; I'll
try to be brief. There is a student who has been struggling through
classes for several years. This student has managed to earn As and
Bs, mostly through luck, a bit through hard work, and somewhat
because some faculty members have given "sympathy grades." In other
words, this student is marginal at best. The student comes from an
environment where the mother was a hard drug user-crack, coke, you
name it-and the mother is paying a heavy price (currently dying of
hepatitis and cirrhosis). The student wants to graduate, and
actually to be the first in the family to attend college and
subsequently graduate before the mother dies. There have been other
issues that have cropped up from time to time (i.e. an incomplete
in three courses because the student was unable to attend classes
due to a broken leg from an assault). Eventually the student
finished the courses, but it took a great deal of time (and energy
from the faculty). Here's thecurrent problem: This student recently
received a D in a course that is required for the major, and must
have Cs or better in all major coursework. The professor who
assigned the D is a fair and compassionate individual, and he has
worked with this student a great deal over the course of the
semester (which the student acknowledges). Now that the student has
been informed that, in order to graduate as expected, all grades in
the major must be of a certain level, the student wants another
exception made and is willing to write papers or do any type of
extra credit to have the grade raised to a C. There have been many
exceptions made for this student in the past. On the other hand,
retaking the course is problematic because of limited financial
resources (financial aid won't cover it and the student has little
income). How much should be done to facilitate this student's
graduation? At what point does the integrity of the degree take
precedence over the efforts of a student whom life has dealt a raw
deal? At this point, I'm not the one who will make the decision,
but I have been asked for my advice. I plan on thinking about this
at length, but I really want to hear what others have to say.
Although this isn't a typical scenario, there have been relatively
similar cases in the past. Morally and ethically, what would you
advise?
Carol L. DeVolder, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Chair, Department of Psychology
St. Ambrose University
518 West Locust Street
Davenport, Iowa 52803
Phone: 563-333-6482
e-mail: [email protected]
web: http://web.sau.edu/psychology/psychfaculty/cdevolder.htm
The contents of this message are confidential and may not be shared
with anyone without permission of the sender.
Paul Brandon
10 Crown Hill Lane
Mankato, MN 56001
[email protected]
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Paul Brandon
Emeritus Professor of Psychology
Minnesota State University, Mankato
[email protected]
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To make changes to your subscription contact:
Bill Southerly ([email protected])
