The notion of charging a fee for writing letters of recommendation seems questionable and could negate their legitimacy. However, as Rob states, the writing of reference letters can be a very time consuming process. Rob, you make it clear that a considerable disparity exists among the students requesting a reference relative to the quality/depth of the relationship you have with them. Why not consider using a two-tier approach BASED on your relationship with the student?
1) Tier One: Agree to write a highly supportive and personal letter for students with whom you have had a positive and close working relationship as you can authentically and accurately validate their strengths, weaknesses and potential for success. The students that would qualify for tier one would be a relatively small pool, would it not? 2) Tier Two: For students with whom you have not had a particularly close working relationship but seem to likely be suitable candidates for a reference, ask them to provide a written summary of relevant information, such as: a)over-all academic performance; b) extracurricular experience on and off campus; c) why they are interested in and would make for an exemplary candidate for the program; and, e) specific career aspirations and goals. It would seem reasonable to inform them 'up front' that whether you do write a letter will be influenced by the quality of the information they provide. And if you decide to proceed, they have provided the necessary information for you to plug into a template reference letter of sorts. This two-tier approach would make the labor investment of the student and faculty in providing a reference more equitable as well as providing more information to help determine if you even wish to serve as a reference in the first place. Joan [email protected] > Hi Rob > > I would perhaps use a sliding scale: > > $0 no letter > $10 weak letter > $20 somewhat positive letter > $40 moderately positive letter > $80 quite positive letter > $160 glowing letter > $320 extraordinarily positive letter > > I have chosen to use a logarithmic scale as a better reflection of your > "effort" in writing increasingly positive letters. > > More seriously, you can perhaps better appreciate now at least one problem > with faculty being paid for letters of recommendation. > > Take care > Jim > > > James M. Clark > Professor & Chair of Psychology > 204-786-9757 > 204-774-4134 Fax > [email protected] > >>>> Rob Weisskirch <[email protected]> 27-Nov-12 7:04 PM >>> > TIPSfolks, > > This year, I've been bombarded with students requesting letters of > recommendation. Now, most of these students are just students in my > classes, not the kind that work closely with me on projects. Normally, > I'm > okay with writing a few letters--I mean I recycle many from the past. > However, now with the advent of electronic submission, I have found myself > spending a lot of extra time submitting letters and complying with the > requesting University's guidelines (e.g., must be pdf, must have signature > and scanned, etc.). In addition, the system of submission is email > specific, so I can't hand it off to clerical staff. > > So, I thought: What if I charged students? For example, first letter is > free and then the subsequent 5 letters are $50 or $100--regardless of what > they say. At least, that would help compensate for my time. Our campus > has no policy prohibiting such action. I mean the airlines charge for > luggage--are we professors selling our time short by not doing so? > > What do you think? > > Rob > > Rob Weisskirch, MSW. Ph.D. > Professor of Human Development > Certified Family Life Educator > Liberal Studies Department > California State University, Monterey Bay > 100 Campus Center, Building 82C > Seaside, CA 93955 > (831) 582-5079 > [email protected] > > This message is intended only for the addressee and may contain > confidential, privileged information. If you are not the intended > recipient, you may not use, copy or disclose any information contained in > the message. If you have received this message in error, please notify > the > sender by reply e-mail and delete the message. > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=21933 > or send a blank email to > leave-21933-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=49240.d374d0c18780e492c3d2e63f91752d0d&n=T&l=tips&o=21934 > or send a blank email to > leave-21934-49240.d374d0c18780e492c3d2e63f91752...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=21937 or send a blank email to leave-21937-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
