"I need to pass this class."

[Aster]

I have never really thought much about this statement before. But today a student sent me another one, *all by itself*, like it was some sort of magical talisman, so I thought about it seriously for maybe the first time in a decade.

"I need to pass this class." Huh. Yeah, that's kind of like saying I need to eat this food I cooked.

Isn't everyone's' goal when taking a college class to pass it? Who *isn't* taking a class to pass it?

What do you folks think when students say this to you? Do you have an "duh, doesn't everyone..." thought?

[downer]

I don't get much of this these days. But my response is to tell them what they need to do to pass. This may be something like: you need to get an A on all subsequent assignments. Since the student hasn't done much work up to this point, it soon becomes clear that they are not going to pass.

If it is too late, then I say there is no way for them to pass.

[the_geneticist]

Well, some students are in a crunch and have realized that if they do not pass a particular class it will have important consequences:
delay in graduation
lose financial aid
can't stay in the major
benched on the sports team
etc.

We only allow 1 repeat of core classes in the Basketweaving for Basketweavers majors.  Fail twice and you have to find a new major.  Or take the course elsewhere & transfer in the credits.

[Ruralguy]

If they ask you before finals and such, give them an estimate of their grade and the most they could improve. Give them pointers for doing well on the exam.

If they say it after grades are in or while you are determining  them, shut down the conversation .

[arcturus]

Said to a colleague not me: "This is the third astrology course I have taken. I really need to pass it this time so that I can graduate."

[AmLitHist]

"Build a time machine.  Go back xx weeks. . . . "

[dismalist]

I need want to pass this class.

There, fixed that.

[clean]

There, fixed that.

It wasnt broken. As indicated by the_geneticist, there are reasons that they NEED to pass. 

Passing is usually a function of time, effort and energy.  AS many places offer classes in the summer in 5 weeks (or even 3!), then it is likely POSSIBLE that the student can pass IF they devote sufficient time, effort and energy - to the exclusion of the other classes, work, entertainment, or distractions.  IF they NEED to pass, and WANT to pass bad enough, then likely it can be done.

However, there was a phrase by Jerry Clower that went something like, "Madam, you have been educated beyond your abilities".  It is possible that the material is beyond the student's abilities, though and all of the high hopes, best intentions and efforts will not put humpty dumpty back together again and allow them to pass.

[nonsensical]

When students say this to me, I try to respond with sympathy. They usually mention something about what's going on in their lives, and I try to start by responding to that. For instance, they say they need to pass the class so they can graduate on time, and I acknowledge that yes, graduating with one's class can feel like a very big deal. Or they say they need to pass so that they can get a good GPA to get a job/get into grad school/keep a scholarship, and I commiserate that keeping up a high GPA can be stressful sometimes and yes, not doing so can have some pretty negative consequences.

I then try to brainstorm solutions with them, which is easier the earlier in the semester it is. If there are still major grading opportunities left, I point that out and ask them what they can do to do better on those assignments. I let them know that they can always e-mail me or stop by office hours if they're working on something and have questions. If possible, I try to be encouraging. I've also sometimes talked with students about how it's fine for other goals to take priority over academic ones and how it's okay to drop a class or take a leave.

I've had some students respond with anger that I won't just change their grade, but other students have thanked me for taking the time to talk with them, and some actually went on to do the things we discussed to raise their grade. In general when students say they need to pass a class I try to hear the underlying emotion - they're basically saying that they are very stressed out - and respond to that.

[polly_mer]

Isn't everyone's' goal when taking a college class to pass it? Who *isn't* taking a class to pass it?

Not everyone has the goal of passing college classes.

Some people are in college as a way to make others happy and get some living expenses paid while having a good time.  Those folks hope that the gravy train lasts long enough to graduate, but if it doesn't, then that's Future Stu Dent's problem.

Some people are in college for the financial aid now while hoping their personal situation improves.  It would be good to pass enough courses to keep the financial aid flowing as long as possible, but passing each individual course is far from the goal.

Some people are in college majoring in something specific because someone else with influence over them has insisted on that college major.  Often, those students see failing enough prerequisites or major courses to be forced to leave the program/college as a convenient way out.  Those folks didn't decide to leave and make their parents/grandparents/community unhappy; instead, those folks will use that failure to try to convince the influencer that the student should be on a different life path.

Some people simply don't care about a specific course because the goal was to hit the full enrollment level for financial aid and those folks couldn't get enough of the courses they need for their major.  This is actually how I ended up taking my first polymer course in college.  I needed another credit to be full time and there were literally only two courses that would fit into my schedule that I was eligible to take: intro to polymer science (which had ungraded homework) and advanced beam analysis (which had graded homework every week).  I was in labs/design/recitations/courses for forty hours clock hours per week that term (only 14 credit hours because labs count for 1 credit each while being a lot of time and recitation did count for nothing), so ungraded homework was very appealing to me.

[lightning]

I don't get much of this these days. But my response is to tell them what they need to do to pass. This may be something like: you need to get an A on all subsequent assignments. Since the student hasn't done much work up to this point, it soon becomes clear that they are not going to pass.

If it is too late, then I say there is no way for them to pass.

I got an "I need to pass this class" email, yesterday. The student wanted to meet in Zoom to find out how she can pass the class. I cut-and-pasted all my feedback from all their crappy assignments, my stock tips "how to succeed in this class" that I give out at the beginning of the semester (which I'm sure she never read), and a rough outline of her paths to passing the class. My response was about 2-3 pages long. I'm almost sure she won't read it, because it's obvious that she hasn't read anything else in the course. There is no way that I'm going to waste my time with meeting her in Zoom. My email response to her only serves as a document that I responded, I cared enough to write out a thoughtful response, shows that she can/could have passed the class if she only did ______, and most importantly, saves me from listening to her whine for an hour.

[polly_mer]

Said to a colleague not me: "This is the third astrology course I have taken. I really need to pass it this time so that I can graduate."

I see a problem right away, unless you teach at an unusual place where astrology is taught and counts for a general education requirement.

[onehappyunicorn]

"I don't give grades, I record what happened" is how I usually reply. I also offer that I am willing to work as hard as my students to help them, just not harder.

[Caracal]

There, fixed that.

It wasnt broken. As indicated by the_geneticist, there are reasons that they NEED to pass. 

Passing is usually a function of time, effort and energy.  AS many places offer classes in the summer in 5 weeks (or even 3!), then it is likely POSSIBLE that the student can pass IF they devote sufficient time, effort and energy - to the exclusion of the other classes, work, entertainment, or distractions.  IF they NEED to pass, and WANT to pass bad enough, then likely it can be done.

However, there was a phrase by Jerry Clower that went something like, "Madam, you have been educated beyond your abilities".  It is possible that the material is beyond the student's abilities, though and all of the high hopes, best intentions and efforts will not put humpty dumpty back together again and allow them to pass.

I only get this from students at the very end. Sometimes it is I need a B. I have students who work hard and don't get As. Some people just aren't that good at thinking in the ways my discipline requires. However, almost everyone can get a B and to fail you really have to mostly live your life like my class doesn't exist. I understand. I often wish past me had been more responsible and diligent.

[Aster]

Got another "I need to pass" email today.

No, you cannot pass if you "get an A on the final". You missed two out of every three questions on the midterm exam and currently have a 40% in the course.