Favorite student emails

[dismalist]

Yep. I used to get complaints from students that they didn't know what was going to be on the exam. Now I just make a list of the lecture topics and the readings and call it an exam review. Now no complaints.

In other words, you give them the syllabus?

I've been giving take-home exams since spring 2020, which students have at least a week to work on, so no need for a study guide. But I've gotten my act together a little more with exam review on the last day of class. I take my big course objectives from my introductory lecture (not "know why such-and-such thing happened" but more like "understand that big shots weren't the only people who made history") and then quiz them for arguments and examples. They did surprisingly well with it this past term and sort of riffed off each other in the Q&A. I'm not sure it helped them on their actual exams, but my hope is that it gave them some practice in how to write answers. But these were strictly essay exams.

When I started teaching, I left the last class meeting open exclusively to questions for review. Questions were frequent for: Could you go over Lecture 1? Could you go over lecture 2? And so on. So, I stopped this nonsense.

Years later, though my reviews on average were very good [with high variance], one student commented on a review: It's the next to last class meeting and we still don't know what's going to be on the final exam!

I was lucky. Such students were few enough and I could safely ignore them.

[the_geneticist]

I refuse to have review sessions. If it's outside of class hours, not everyone can go.  And the students who go don't need it.  Plus, they have lots of formative assessments - pre labs, worksheets, etc.  And a study guide.  And the point breakdown in the syllabus.  And practice questions! And office hours with me and their TAs.
They can whine all they want, I can easily see that they aren't using the resources we already provide. 

[Caracal]

Yep. I used to get complaints from students that they didn't know what was going to be on the exam. Now I just make a list of the lecture topics and the readings and call it an exam review. Now no complaints.

In other words, you give them the syllabus?

Yeah, pretty much. I mean I talk about the exam in class and before the first exam I go over the sort of questions I ask on exams and discuss how to study and write the exam. But, I give essay exams and I'm not trying to fool anyone.

[Zeus Bird]

Are any of you required by admin to respond to each grade-grubbing student email or to meet with students who want to boost their semester grades after the semester ends?  We get a lot of this in our neck-of-the-woods, and need to find a succinct response to management that justifies a distinction between substantial questions/comments on one hand, and extended begging from students who have shunned offers of previous assistance throughout a course on the other.

[Caracal]

Are any of you required by admin to respond to each grade-grubbing student email or to meet with students who want to boost their semester grades after the semester ends?  We get a lot of this in our neck-of-the-woods, and need to find a succinct response to management that justifies a distinction between substantial questions/comments on one hand, and extended begging from students who have shunned offers of previous assistance throughout a course on the other.

I respond to students, even those with annoying requests. If it's just a "is there anything I can do to improve my grade" I just respond with some version of "no, the semester is over, grades are what they are, enjoyed having you in the class" and that takes care of it. If the student is trying to argue that their grade should be higher, I just explain why they got the grade they did.  If they try to push back in another email, I usually try to cut off the discussion by saying that if they still have concerns I'd be happy to meet with them in January/June, and they can set up an appointment then. That almost always does the trick and they never actually follow up. Once or twice I've had students try to keep arguing over email and at that point I just ignore it. I've never had any pressure from admin on this stuff, but I would assume if you've done all that, you could just explain that you reviewed the complaint, determined that there were no grounds for a grade change, responded to the student and while you don't mind meeting with them at a later point, you've found that giving students a cooling off period is useful.

[FishProf]

Rough drafts were due March 30th.  Final papers are due today.

A student emailed a rough draft on Friday afternoon, and emailed this, at 7am today.

"You did put up the link for the submission of the final paper to be due by today, I wasn't sure if I could get my reviewed paper back for the final submission. Since I haven't gotten feedback, do I get an extension on the due date?  Please let me know."

[marshwiggle]

Rough drafts were due March 30th.  Final papers are due today.

A student emailed a rough draft on Friday afternoon, and emailed this, at 7am today.

"You did put up the link for the submission of the final paper to be due by today, I wasn't sure if I could get my reviewed paper back for the final submission. Since I haven't gotten feedback, do I get an extension on the due date?  Please let me know."

"The feedback you received during the first week of April was all that will be forthcoming."

[onthefringe]

Rough drafts were due March 30th.  Final papers are due today.

A student emailed a rough draft on Friday afternoon, and emailed this, at 7am today.

"You did put up the link for the submission of the final paper to be due by today, I wasn't sure if I could get my reviewed paper back for the final submission. Since I haven't gotten feedback, do I get an extension on the due date?  Please let me know."

"The feedback you received during the first week of April was all that will be forthcoming."

Or, depending on your setup, "only rough drafts received by the due date of March 30th were eligible for feedback"

[EdnaMode]

Are any of you required by admin to respond to each grade-grubbing student email or to meet with students who want to boost their semester grades after the semester ends?  We get a lot of this in our neck-of-the-woods, and need to find a succinct response to management that justifies a distinction between substantial questions/comments on one hand, and extended begging from students who have shunned offers of previous assistance throughout a course on the other.

I don't think there's any official requirement but I usually reply to grubbers with something similar to, "The grade submitted to the registrar, which is the same as the final grade posted in Canvas, is the grade you earned. Please refer to the syllabus for more information on how grades are calculated." If the grubber starts to mention a grade appeal, I make sure to get all the documentation in order then, even if they don't go through with it.

If the student has an actual, relevant question on a final project or final exam I may suggest that they refer to the rubric(s) that explain their grades (they often just look at the number, don't read the feedback) or give general info on what portions of the final exam did not go well for them. If it gets into multiple emails, I tell them they can make an appointment to meet with me when I get back to campus. They rarely do.

[history_grrrl]

This just in (for the non-Canadians in the room, a B is 70-79, and an A is 80-100):

Good morning Dr. history_grrrl,

I hope all is well, my name is [Student] I was in your [Course] class this winter semester. I am reaching out as I have received all my final grades over this past week and have come up just short of my 80 percent average mark in hopes to get my entry scholarship again. I have worked hard this year and have ended right at a 79 just on the edge but I am hoping that there is a chance for a possible mark raise with the hope that a couple percent difference could push me into that scholarship range. If there is way in which you could help even with some last-minute work, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for an awesome end of the year and semester!

Well, I figured this meant he got a 79 in my class, but in fact he got a 70 (69.83 bumped up). So apparently he's desperately contacting profs for any class without a stellar performance so he can inch up his course average.

The whole thing is so weird that I decided to express my puzzlement instead of just saying no. My reply:

Thanks for your message, and I'm glad you enjoyed the course.

But I'm a little confused. Your final grade in [Course] was slightly below a 70, so we bumped you up to 70. What would be the basis for further adjusting your grade upward? Do you have concerns about how some component of your coursework was evaluated?

If I'm lucky, he won't bother to reply.

[FishProf]

This one is a doozy.

"Hi Professor. I don't wanna make excuses for why I have not completed any of the course material. Is there any way you would consider re-opening the assignments for any amount of time? Again I don't wanna make excuses for my lack of action, but I work full time and have been battling illnesses the entire semester as I work with kids under 5 on the spectrum. I don't wanna fail this course and lose my scholarship. Let me know if there is anything I can do."

This is an online class, asynchronous, with 78 distinct items to be completed.  All the wok is available on day one, and due on the last day of the semester (which was the day BEFORE this email arrived).  The student attempted TWO items (and failed both).

[apl68]

This just in (for the non-Canadians in the room, a B is 70-79, and an A is 80-100):

Good morning Dr. history_grrrl,

I hope all is well, my name is [Student] I was in your [Course] class this winter semester. I am reaching out as I have received all my final grades over this past week and have come up just short of my 80 percent average mark in hopes to get my entry scholarship again. I have worked hard this year and have ended right at a 79 just on the edge but I am hoping that there is a chance for a possible mark raise with the hope that a couple percent difference could push me into that scholarship range. If there is way in which you could help even with some last-minute work, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for an awesome end of the year and semester!

Well, I figured this meant he got a 79 in my class, but in fact he got a 70 (69.83 bumped up). So apparently he's desperately contacting profs for any class without a stellar performance so he can inch up his course average.

The whole thing is so weird that I decided to express my puzzlement instead of just saying no. My reply:

Thanks for your message, and I'm glad you enjoyed the course.

But I'm a little confused. Your final grade in [Course] was slightly below a 70, so we bumped you up to 70. What would be the basis for further adjusting your grade upward? Do you have concerns about how some component of your coursework was evaluated?

If I'm lucky, he won't bother to reply.

Did the student made this bad of a mistake about the grade, or was it a case of brazenly trying to fool you into upping the grade by 10%?

[the_geneticist]

This one is a doozy.

"Hi Professor. I don't wanna make excuses for why I have not completed any of the course material. Is there any way you would consider re-opening the assignments for any amount of time? Again I don't wanna make excuses for my lack of action, but I work full time and have been battling illnesses the entire semester as I work with kids under 5 on the spectrum. I don't wanna fail this course and lose my scholarship. Let me know if there is anything I can do."

This is an online class, asynchronous, with 78 distinct items to be completed.  All the wok is available on day one, and due on the last day of the semester (which was the day BEFORE this email arrived).  The student attempted TWO items (and failed both).

Wow.  Kick that one to their advisor.

[FishProf]

This one is a doozy.

"Hi Professor. I don't wanna make excuses for why I have not completed any of the course material. Is there any way you would consider re-opening the assignments for any amount of time? Again I don't wanna make excuses for my lack of action, but I work full time and have been battling illnesses the entire semester as I work with kids under 5 on the spectrum. I don't wanna fail this course and lose my scholarship. Let me know if there is anything I can do."

This is an online class, asynchronous, with 78 distinct items to be completed.  All the work is available on day one, and due on the last day of the semester (which was the day BEFORE this email arrived).  The student attempted TWO items (and failed both).

Wow.  Kick that one to their advisor.

I have been wondering if I should do that.  Thanks for the encouragement.

[history_grrrl]

This just in (for the non-Canadians in the room, a B is 70-79, and an A is 80-100):

Good morning Dr. history_grrrl,

I hope all is well, my name is [Student] I was in your [Course] class this winter semester. I am reaching out as I have received all my final grades over this past week and have come up just short of my 80 percent average mark in hopes to get my entry scholarship again. I have worked hard this year and have ended right at a 79 just on the edge but I am hoping that there is a chance for a possible mark raise with the hope that a couple percent difference could push me into that scholarship range. If there is way in which you could help even with some last-minute work, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for an awesome end of the year and semester!

Well, I figured this meant he got a 79 in my class, but in fact he got a 70 (69.83 bumped up). So apparently he's desperately contacting profs for any class without a stellar performance so he can inch up his course average.

The whole thing is so weird that I decided to express my puzzlement instead of just saying no. My reply:

Thanks for your message, and I'm glad you enjoyed the course.

But I'm a little confused. Your final grade in [Course] was slightly below a 70, so we bumped you up to 70. What would be the basis for further adjusting your grade upward? Do you have concerns about how some component of your coursework was evaluated?

If I'm lucky, he won't bother to reply.

Did the student made this bad of a mistake about the grade, or was it a case of brazenly trying to fool you into upping the grade by 10%?

His reply made clearer that he wants an 80 average (averaging all his course grades for the term). He probably figured he could achieve that by getting each prof to raise their grade by a point or two. His reply was rather sheepish, to his credit. But honestly, this whole claim could be made up.