The Compliment

There is an odd dynamic that sometimes occurs between a student and a professor. As part of my role, I often travel with students to conferences and other off-campus events. This give a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other as people, outside of the traditional professor/student interaction.

For some students this interaction sparks increased academic performance, for others it creates a situation where they do not have the life experiences necessary to separate "work" from "social". For students that are not able to determine what behavior is appropriate in different situations it can lead to a real disappointment when the professor/student relationship is expected. In the "social" situations the students tend to be more likely to reveal personal information than the professor. Sometimes a student will realize this and start probing for information.

A common line of questioning I encounter is related to age. This is something I have never revealed. At first I left them wondering because I was too close to their age, and now because, well, it is not so close. I received an compliment (or at least I see it as a compliment recently) when a student realized that his questioning was not leading to a satisfactory response... "I don't know how old you are, but I do know that you can drink like a 25 year old."

Expectations

During the first class meeting the professor sets the expectations for the semester. Typically, these expectations are provided in writing on a course syllabus and verbally through a review of that same syllabus, perhaps in ever greater detail. Frequently students use the first class as the "test drive" to make sure that the class is not going to be "too hard" or require "too much work." After that first class meeting students know what to expect for the rest of the semester, and have the information needed to decide if they will remain in the class or drop it (and seek an "easier" one). Of course, if the class is required for their major, the decision keep the class has probably been made for them.

The opposite perspective is that these same students enter the classroom on the first day with their own expectations for the class, but these are not shared. This leaves the professor without knowing what is wanted (or needed) by each of the individual students in the class. So, how can a class cater to all of the needs of a diverse population of students, especially when the students do not get the opportunity to make their expectations known?

In the end, professors evaluate the students against the criteria established at the beginning of the semester. And students are left to rate the professor against their own silent expectations.

Can you change my grade?

It was the first day of the spring semester. A student from one of my fall classes appeared at my office. This was a student the spent most of the month of October somewhere other than in my class. At the end of the fall semester, when he realized failure was inevitable, he asked for a second chance. All he wanted was the opportunity to submit the seven assignments that he had neglected to complete throughout the semester. Since he had been attending class the last 4-5 weeks of the semester, I accepted the late assignments. He earned his "D."

Anytime a visit starts with "I am not here to beg...", the rest of the conversation is generally uncomfortable. As the story unfolds it turns out that "D" left him with a grade point average below 2.0, and since he was on academic probation for having an overall GPA below 2.0, he was dismissed from the university. But (there is always a but), if he were able to convince his professors from the fall to let him do more work to "earn" a higher grade, then maybe his average could reach 2.0. Reaching that number was important so that he could stay in school, get his financial aid reinstated, and not have to start repaying his loans.

At the beginning of every semester the expectations are carefully laid in front of each student. It is easy to review these expectations and compare them to the actual performance. Simply skipping six of the weekly quizzes that were based on the assigned textbook readings was enough to drop him the half letter grade he now so desperately needed to stay in school. (Well, the half letter grade from this class and the full letter grade in each of two other classes.)

It is a difficult choice. He put himself in this situation, yet because he is back to ask, but "not beg," for a change of grade, the responsibility suddenly falls to the professor. The decision has the chance to be life altering for this 22 year old. Does giving another break really help this student? For five straight semesters his GPA has been below 2.0. Is he ready for college? Is he really serious about college? Is he just wasting financial aid money and filling seats that would be appreciated by someone else? Or, is this the break that will finally change his attitude toward education and suddenly appreciate and cherish the opportunity that he is about to lose? From a course perspective, does going back to complete some assignments and quizzes that are now outside the context of the entire course experience really lead to a better understanding and increased mastery of the course materials?

How many second chances are appropriate?

Stereotypes

The fallacies of life as a professor:

• Summers off
• Only work a few hours a week
• No class = no work
• Overpaid
• An easy job...

If all of these were true it probably would be the greatest job in the world.