Carol- That's indeed a tough one. But it seems that circumstances have moved the debate to one of a single course representing the entirety of the student's efforts in the major and to graduate. Thus it has gotten into a kindness vs integrity debate. I think the only hope your student has is for someone to, if possible, reframe the discussion to one of "has the student satisfied the intent of our major"- for if it stays as a debate about the specifics of the major the question seems beyond discussion.
Yes, the department requirements are X (you detailed them well). As department head I have to face at least one of these difficult decisions every year - mostly they are decisions about course conflicts occurring when students have a double major so the ethical and accreditation issues aren't quite so densely packed. When faced with decisions more similar to this one, I try to view the student's file and request as a whole. In other words, not is there some way to cut them some slack on, in your case, the course they made a D in. But have they essentially satisfied the requirements for your major (that might be a department head decision- it is here- I have the whole decision laid in my lap- but I discuss it with the department and get their good input as to each of their thoughts about the student having satisfied the major). Perhaps in your case other work could be brought in or another course in some sense substituted for the deficiency. Not every case is clear and not every case results in a favorable decision. I don't know what I'd do in this case not knowing the culture of your institution and department. Generally though I try to include the hand the student has been dealt and how they've played it over the four years. (Truth is, I think my decisions more often than not are favorable for the student- mainly because they generally do succeed at satisfying our intent for the major even if sometimes they fail to meet the letter of it- no pun intended toward the course grade!). :) Best Tim _______________________________ Timothy O. Shearon, PhD Professor and Chair Department of Psychology The College of Idaho Caldwell, ID 83605 email: [email protected] teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; history and systems "You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." Dorothy Parker -----Original Message----- From: DeVolder Carol L [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sat 1/10/2009 10:08 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Weighty problem 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. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
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