The Fora: A Higher Education Community

Apologies for my drop-off. I traveled last week to spend time with family, and have done very little on my book besides having a productive phone call with the final case study contributor who has not drafted anything and sending feedback on a case to another contributor.

I am still an anxious mess waiting on my sabbatical manuscript to get a decision. The journal status is "awaiting final decision" for five weeks now. It was submitted almost 10 months ago. I asked the managing editor two weeks ago for a timeline, and learned after the final review was submitted in March, an associate editor gets 30+ days to recommend a decision to the editor-in-chief, who gets another 7 days. Well, it has been more than 37 days and I just want a R&R, please!

Absolutely true.  I was on the committee that tightened up the incomplete rules at FishProfU.  It was the wild west.

We had professors that;
1) Gave EVERYONE an incomplete, so they had more time to grade; or
2) Gave EVERYONE without an A and Incomplete until they got to an A; or
3) Gave students an incomplete who could not ever pass, and thereby blocked them from repeating; or
4) Gave incompletes and allowed them to be fixed for years...

Now it's straightforward. 
1) Must be passing at time,
2) Must have completed most of the coursework;
3) Must complete the missing work by 8 weeks into next semester (summers excepted) or the grade becomes a failing grade. 
4) Extensions to the deadline must be approved at Dean level.

There was much grumbling, but the changes seem to have made incompletes the rarity they are meant to be

"Better FAFSA" is gonna sever the thin thread that some colleges have been hanging on to. In the case of Wells, the writing was on the wall for a long time, and I don't think there was really even a thread left.

I realized that I have a policy of waiting a few days before answering student emails that start with no greeting and go straight into "How come...?"

Closure announcements today:

Wells College, NY

University of Saint Katherine, CA

I didn't qualify with the word "just."
But your point is both valid and taken.

Quote from: jimbogumbo on April 26, 2024, 12:29:53 PM

Quote from: Ruralguy on April 26, 2024, 11:50:53 AMOf course its a horrible idea. But some people will call for horrible solutions knowing that its the way to get attention.

It is in my opinion a serious mistake to think that this was just a way to get attention. The GOP has a non trivial number of supporters and elected officials that want to do this and similar things as policy. I believe he and others (see my earlier post about Governor Abbott in Texas) want to and have done exactly this.

Quote from: FishProf on Today at 09:53:58 AMSame old story.  Online course, all materials available on Day 1, all due next monday.  Final is 40% of grade.

1/3 cannot pass, 1/3 will likely not pass, and 1/3 would have to fail the final to not pass.

Every damn semester.

I just sent out the pre-emptive "no extensions, no incompletes*" email.

*technically: no incompletes if they aren't passing at the time of the request.

The bolded is actually REALLY important for faculty to know.  If the student isn't passing/it's not mathematically possible for them to pass the class, it's actually cruel* to allow an Incomplete.  Give them the failing grade they earned so they can quickly decide what to do next & not be stuck in "Incomplete limbo".
They can't re-take the class because they haven't failed it (yet, technically).
They can't register for any classes that require [Incomplete course] as a co-requisite or pre-requisite.
And the longer it takes to resolve the Incomplete, the longer they are delayed in completing their courses.

*and against university policy.

Treat people the way they want to be treated?  Outrageous!

We watched more Prime movies this past weekend.  Friday was Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles (2023).  I was googling after to see whatever happened with some of the other characters who weren't featured and found that there is quite a bit of dirt out there! I had no idea.  I guess there have been other docs as well.  Anyway, as a parent of a kid who watched them extensively, I also watched them extensively.  I really enjoyed it and felt a lot of nostalgia.  I still know all the songs! It was interesting to see how they started out in early childhood education, how they applied that theory in designing everything about the group and shows.  I am way out of date and hadn't realized they have a much more diverse cast now, which is great.  I'm sure just including a female Wiggle was a big deal at first.  Just neat to see some behind the scenes info.  Too bad they couldn't or didn't want to include the most awesome mashup that shows just how much of an impact they have made on culture: https://youtu.be/Wtxm8HdmJBw?si=M2wDX2WagIDBJFC2

Saturday was The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974).  This one has been remade a few times but is about a group of guys who take some folks hostage on the NYC subway in order to get a million dollars.  There are plenty of tense scenes, as the transit police, police, and government figure out whether to pay and how to make that happen within the timeline provided by the thugs (one hour, before the executions begin).  Most recognizable to me were Walter Matthau and Jerry Stiller.  It was pretty good, though definitely dated!

Pixar's Elemental. A story of a fire-girl, who falls in love with a water-boy in a world where the elements don't mix.  Well, the other three mix but not fire.

It was good.  I enjoyed it.  I can't see watching it again (no catchy tunes, the jokes won't be funny next time), but it was fine.

The animation was impressive.