Favorite student emails

[marshwiggle]

Summary of an email I just received:

Dear Prof. Traductio,

I'm sorry for not coming to the exam today. My cat and dog got fight this afternoon.

That's a new one for me, but you know what? I'll take it. This semester has been rough for everyone (myself included), and I think the student is being honest and genuinely cares for her animals. So on the strength of that willingness to show compassion, I'll give her a makeup exam.

But tell her she needs to get an animal sitter for this one.

[EdnaMode]

This email was sent by a senior, in a senior level course, at 9:30 PM on Friday. Senior students know because they've all had me in class before, and it's in the syllabus, that I do not answer email on the weekends. The project was initially due at 12 noon on Friday so I could take the results of their work and start running analyses on them over the weekend, but I extended the deadline to 9 AM today (Monday) because a couple students had had verified problems with getting the software to behave, but honestly if they'd started the project on time, the couple of blips caused by server issues would not have been a big deal.

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[No salutation]
Im having an issue with the [part of project]. Im not able to [do thing that my freshmen do on a regular basis]. I heard in lab about [problem he's not having] but am not sure if thats the issue or how to fix that.
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I found his message when I arrived at 8 this morning. He'd followed it up with another "I still can't get it to work, you have to help me," message, and I replied with a few potential common fixes that I'm not sure he'll be able to do before the dropbox goes into "late submission" mode and deducts points for late work. I'm eagerly (or not) awaiting a ranting message about not being helpful. **sigh** He was complaining in class last week how the project would be SO much easier if he could just [do something totally different], which does not meet the goals of the project. I tried to explain to him that whilst doing [the different thing] was something that could be done with the technology, it was not the point of the project we were doing in class, even if he did that sort of thing at his job.

[OneMoreYear]

Dear graduate student,
Thank you for your email explaining why you can not attend class in-person and requesting to zoom in. But do consider the message you are sending when you tell me you cannot attend class because you are essentially running an errand. I know I've been sick and exhausted this semester, so I'm probably being more lenient than I want to be. But maybe just go with a generic "personal reasons" so you are not telegraphing exactly how little you care about this course.
Dr. OMY

[bacardiandlime]

Though I understand discretion, I found "personal reasons" could be literally anything, and the one that tended to be overused with me ("family crisis") too often turned out not to be "brother in ICU" or something similar, but "sister broke up with boyfriend" or some other random drama.

[Caracal]

Though I understand discretion, I found "personal reasons" could be literally anything, and the one that tended to be overused with me ("family crisis") too often turned out not to be "brother in ICU" or something similar, but "sister broke up with boyfriend" or some other random drama.

This is the way we learn how to manage these things. If we have a very clear, specific reason for why we can't fulfill some commitment, we are specific. "I have strep throat." "My kid woke up with a fever." If the explanation is more convoluted, even if missing the commitment is more or less unavoidable, we tend to be more vague. It is possible that the way this student's life is arranged, they really don't have any other options but to run the errand during class. Or maybe they could have done it during another class instead, or cancelled something else in their life, but are prioritizing the other thing. That might be a perfectly reasonable choice, it's just that nobody is really going to care about the long explanation, especially if it seems like you're telling them you think their thing is less important than your thing.

[marshwiggle]

Though I understand discretion, I found "personal reasons" could be literally anything, and the one that tended to be overused with me ("family crisis") too often turned out not to be "brother in ICU" or something similar, but "sister broke up with boyfriend" or some other random drama.

This is the reason to avoid any "excused absences"; having to vet every excuse for validity is way more bother than it's worth.

[jerseyjay]

Though I understand discretion, I found "personal reasons" could be literally anything, and the one that tended to be overused with me ("family crisis") too often turned out not to be "brother in ICU" or something similar, but "sister broke up with boyfriend" or some other random drama.

This is the reason to avoid any "excused absences"; having to vet every excuse for validity is way more bother than it's worth.

This. In my classes, students are allowed a certain number of absences. For any reason. They do not have to notify me, they do not have to send me doctor's notes. If they miss more than this, or if they miss an exam, then questions of  justification may come into play.  This has made my life much easier, and I hope theirs as well.

[the_geneticist]

The way I handle absences from lab is:

Top choice: have them attend another section that week (I don't really care WHY you missed as long as you can attend another).
Next choice: online make-up version of the assignment.  Yes, it's hard, but you have until the end of the week.  (works great for students who can't attend another section.  I'll still ask why they were gone.)
Only with documentation: excused from assignments.  This is only for students who are hospitalized, on a bus for 2 days with no wifi (yes, this happens), or other major disruptive event.

One thing I really dislike about 10-week quarters is that missing one lab = you missed 10% of the lab portion of the class.  And if the lab is a stand-alone class that earns it's own grade (looking at you physiology!), then missing one lab really hurts your grade.

[darkstarrynight]

I had a major paper assignment due last night that was assigned from day one (in fact, posted the week before the semester began in January). I sent weekly reminders about the assignment because it requires students to schedule and conduct an informational interview. I offered to help students find someone to interview, and reminded them numerous times to schedule the interview early so they have time to complete the paper. I received an email yesterday afternoon from a student asking for an extension because they had not interviewed anyone yet (no other excuse). I said no, and somehow the student submitted a paper before the deadline. This is a graduate student who has taken a class with me before, but I suppose I cannot be surprised by anything at this point.

[OneMoreYear]

Thanks, folks. It appears my annoyance may have been misplaced. I have easy-for-me absence policies typically-- miss X number of classes---no questions asked, no excuse required. These policies worked perfectly in the before-COVID times. But now, it's the zoom hy-flexing I need to get easier policies for.  I'm teaching in-person (none of my classes are designated as flex or hybrid--they are either in-person or online), but we've been strongly encouraged to flex for students who have emergencies/issues preventing them from attending in-person that day. I had 1/3 of my students online today in one of my classes, all reporting various issues. I suppose the horse has left the barn, and I should just open the link and allow students in and avoid being annoyed by the excuses. Anyone have good remote access policies for in-person classes that you are satisfied with?
I think I will save my effort for insisting my Fall grad lab class is in-person only next year----that one class needs to be nonflexed for specific logistical  and accreditation reasons.

[jerseyjay]

Anyone have good remote access policies for in-person classes that you are satisfied with? .

To be honest, my remote access policy is that I do not have remote access for in-person classes. Every week I get students who ask me if they can Zoom to one of my classes for what is probably a legitimate reason (illness, car breaking down, etc). My response is always the same: I won't penalize the student for being absent, but that there is no "Zoom option".

If a student has Covid for two weeks, they miss two weeks' class. They can get the notes, I am happy to talk to them, and they can make up the work. But I don't want to have Zoom access. Because once you start allowing somebody to Zoom, you pretty much have to allow everybody to Zoom, and then it is not an in-person class.

Of course, if the administration forces you to have a hybrid class, well, there's not much you can do. But my personal preference is to either have a session be remote, or in-person, but not both.

[onthefringe]

In classes where it makes sense, I am now zoom recording all sessions and make them available to all students.So people who need to miss class can catch up by watching the recording, and everyone can use the recordings to clarify confusions or for studying. I do enough in-class "free points" stuff that people generally don't miss unless they need to (and I have a "drop the lowest 2 or 3 in class assignments" policy to deal with real illnesses etc).

For classes where the process is as much of the point as the content, I don't record and I don't flex people in remotely. I have a section indicating that the number of drops I allow represents how many times a student can miss class and still meet the learning goals and leave it at that.

[the_geneticist]

Ugh, I'm glad that we are not being pressured to provide remote options.  I honestly think that the "old school/before Zoom was a thing/no recording" where absent students just get notes from a friend is the better option. 
I know I'll probably get jumped on for saying this, but I feel that offering the flexibility to not go to class means that the students who really ought to be in class simply will not go (or watch the videos either).  This flexibility that is meant to support their learning is actually hurting them.  And the students who go to class AND watch videos to refine their notes or whatever are the students that will do just fine with no recordings to watch.

[apl68]

While I can't say I've ever had any experience with hybrid classes, they seem like a generally bad idea for all kinds of reasons.  So I'm with jerseyjay--either in-person or online classes can be done in a way that makes sense, but they need to be one or the other.  I'd be afraid that a "Zoom option" would turn into a crutch for lazy or disorganized students.  I guess I can see recording lectures for a class that is strongly lecture-focused.

[MarathonRunner]

I graduated from my undergrad degree n 2014. I had plenty of profs who both lectured and recorded their classes. The in-person lectures were still full, and it was sometimes difficult to find a seat in class! The recordings were very handy for review, for those occasions when you needed to miss a class due to illness or other significant issue, for those with certain types of accommodations, and for those of us who were volunteer notetakers for the accessibility centre, as we would confirm our notes were complete. This is also the approach I take now as a PhD candidate. I don't want students with COVID coming to class, nor do I want to make it difficult for students with chronic diseases or disabilities to access the course content. Granted, this is easier with lecture-heavy courses, which many first and second year courses in my discipline are, simply because of having 100+ students per section. Upper years are more hands-on, but can also be delivered online or hybrid with some creative thinking and using non-traditional approaches. Students certainly appreciate the flexibility. As most undergrad students in my discipline want to become professionals in my discipline, they may be more motivated to engage online or with recordings, as placements to acquire the professional designation as very, very competitive.