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?