This, of course, raises the question of what it means to be 'college material'. I would hazard a guess that most of the students at most of the schools that list members are teaching at would not have been admitted to a four year college a generation or two ago. Admission standards have changed as enrollments have increased, and college students are no longer exclusively in the top ten percent of the population academically. If I had applied last year the grading standards that were applied to me back in the bone age, I would have flunked the majority of my students.
On Jan 10, 2009, at 8:00 PM, Michael Smith wrote: > I think the main problem has been bending over backwards and > bending the rules all along for this student. The person is > obviously not college material (at least not in the chosen area). > > Everyone would have done this person a favor by letting them know > that early on. A certain amount of accomodation is ok but this > sounds extreme. > > So, what to do? > > I would suggest passing the person. Give the person some extra > work, allow them to hand in other assignments, re-grade > subjectively given grades, anything at all to get the person out > with a "C". > > Why? > Because all the kind-hearted professors and the school were not > doing this person a favor. The school has made its bed---time to > lie in it. > > It may sound harsh on the profs etc., but I think we really need to > get this 'student centered' teaching stuff under control. If they > can't cut the grade, then they should be weeded out early and let > them go make a fortune being a plumber. > > --Mike > > --- On Sat, 1/10/09, DeVolder Carol L <[email protected]> wrote: > From: DeVolder Carol L <[email protected]> > Subject: [tips] Weighty problem > To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" > <[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, January 10, 2009, 9:08 AM > > 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? Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
