Favorite student emails

[OneMoreYear]

Today's guilt trip email about a small, creative assignment due this morning that was assigned the 1st day of class (4.5 weeks ago)

Dr. Year,

I wanted to let you know that I have just submitted [assignment] after staying up all night to work on it.  I don't feel so great because I haven't been to sleep yet, but I am still going to try to make it to class [this afternoon]. But, if I can't, I'll let you know. Thank you for your understanding.

[the_geneticist]

That's a student who has a lot to learn about planning and using their time well.

Aka

The "due date isn't the date you do the work".

[AmLitHist]

Today's guilt trip email about a small, creative assignment due this morning that was assigned the 1st day of class (4.5 weeks ago)

Dr. Year,

I wanted to let you know that I have just submitted [assignment] after staying up all night to work on it.  I don't feel so great because I haven't been to sleep yet, but I am still going to try to make it to class [this afternoon]. But, if I can't, I'll let you know. Thank you for your understanding.

Fantasy reply:

"You're welcome!  It's easy to understand that you clearly don't have a clue how any of this works. Wait, that wasn't what you meant?"

[apl68]

That's a student who has a lot to learn about planning and using their time well.

Aka

The "due date isn't the date you do the work".

Maybe a teachable moment?

[Caracal]

That's a student who has a lot to learn about planning and using their time well.

Aka

The "due date isn't the date you do the work".

Meh, I wrote a lot of papers in the middle of the night in college. Not the best strategy, but it wasn't a disaster. I got a lot of A-s on papers, which looking back is what happens when you actually spend some time on research, have a worthwhile argument and some interesting ideas and don't give yourself any time to revise your work.

It was sort of unpleasant but I was 20, and would feel fine after a nap. I also knew that it was my fault, I wasn't going to whine about how tired I was to my professor...

[FishProf]

That's a student who has a lot to learn about planning and using their time well.

Aka

The "due date isn't the date you do the work".

"Due Date =/= DO date" is in my syllabus for exactly this scenario.

[OneMoreYear]

Today's guilt trip email about a small, creative assignment due this morning that was assigned the 1st day of class (4.5 weeks ago)

Dr. Year,

I wanted to let you know that I have just submitted [assignment] after staying up all night to work on it.  I don't feel so great because I haven't been to sleep yet, but I am still going to try to make it to class [this afternoon]. But, if I can't, I'll let you know. Thank you for your understanding.

To absolutely no one's surprise, student did not attend class in-person. I was somewhat surprised, however, that the student did not attend class online (although my class is scheduled in-person, I'm strongly encouraged to allow virtual attendance, and I'm gearing up to spend my very limited capital insisting that I not be forced to continue to hyflex a lab class next year). Like Caracal, I wrote a lot of papers the night before they were due during college; unlike Caracal, I can't say I got a lot of A-'s on them, but I did well enough to graduate with a degree in English (one of my double majors, not my current field). I've always been a procrastinator (I used to do my homework on the bus on the way to school in middle school), but it would never have occurred to me to admit to my poor planning to a professor as an excuse.

[KiUlv]

"Due Date =/= DO date" is in my syllabus for exactly this scenario.

Love this- might need to add it!

I could probably also use that reminder for myself sometimes, to be honest.

[FishProf]

"Due Date =/= DO date" is in my syllabus for exactly this scenario.

Love this- might need to add it!

I could probably also use that reminder for myself sometimes, to be honest.

Please do.  Spread the gospel of 'failing to plan = planning to fail'.

[the_geneticist]

Ah, it's the time of year when grades are due & the "is there anything else/extra credit/more assignments" emails are arriving.

Amazing how many folks beg for more work when they didn't finish all of the work during the quarter.

It is HARD to fail my classes, but when you fail ALL of the summative assignments that badly there just aren't enough formative assignment points to prop you up into passing.

I'm not talking about someone who earned 69.9% on the exams (those folks are passing the class), more like 35%.

Looks like I'll be seeing stu again in Summer or Fall.

[marshwiggle]

Ah, it's the time of year when grades are due & the "is there anything else/extra credit/more assignments" emails are arriving.

Amazing how many folks beg for more work when they didn't finish all of the work during the quarter.

It is HARD to fail my classes, but when you fail ALL of the summative assignments that badly there just aren't enough formative assignment points to prop you up into passing.

That's what I say about labs. If you show up and do the work and hand stuff in, it's virtually impossible to fail the lab portion of a course. In almost 40 years of doing this, no-one who handed everything in has failed. Some make a heroic effort and achieve a bare pass, but that's it.

[the_geneticist]

Grades are submitted!

I posted an announcement to my class:

[Basketweaving] grades have been submitted to the Registrar.  The letter grade you see in the grade book on [LMS] is your course grade.

Grades will not be "rounded, bumped, adjusted" or otherwise changed.  There are no additional assignments, no extra credit, and no regrading previous assignments.  Any questions about grades will get a copy of this message.

I'm guessing I'll still get at least 4 'can you please change my grade?' emails.

[the_geneticist]

I got just 3! I'll call that a success.

But now I'm getting the 'I just noticed my assignment from [weeks/months ago] grade is a 0, but I swear I did it' emails from my nonmajors class.
They all had the same, terrible TA - routinely late & unprepared, let students leave the labs a mess, late entering grades, etc.

But why didn't you say something weeks ago?  Oh, that's right, your TA was so behind you had no reason to worry. 

Ugh.  I have to see if this changes anyone's course grade.

[arcturus]

I got just 3! I'll call that a success.

But now I'm getting the 'I just noticed my assignment from [weeks/months ago] grade is a 0, but I swear I did it' emails from my nonmajors class.
They all had the same, terrible TA - routinely late & unprepared, let students leave the labs a mess, late entering grades, etc.

But why didn't you say something weeks ago?  Oh, that's right, your TA was so behind you had no reason to worry. 

Ugh.  I have to see if this changes anyone's course grade.

This is one of the reasons I prefer to have everything submitted via the LMS. Even good TAs have a bad day, so a lost paper is a possibility for anyone. With LMS submission, I no longer have to worry about whether an assignment was lost by the TA, or if the student is lying now, in hopes of improving their grade after-the-fact.

[the_geneticist]

I got just 3! I'll call that a success.

But now I'm getting the 'I just noticed my assignment from [weeks/months ago] grade is a 0, but I swear I did it' emails from my nonmajors class.
They all had the same, terrible TA - routinely late & unprepared, let students leave the labs a mess, late entering grades, etc.

But why didn't you say something weeks ago?  Oh, that's right, your TA was so behind you had no reason to worry. 

Ugh.  I have to see if this changes anyone's course grade.

This is one of the reasons I prefer to have everything submitted via the LMS. Even good TAs have a bad day, so a lost paper is a possibility for anyone. With LMS submission, I no longer have to worry about whether an assignment was lost by the TA, or if the student is lying now, in hopes of improving their grade after-the-fact.

The student sent a .pdf of their completed assignment.  The TA didn't bother to actually GRADE the assignment (no points, no comments, but did put their initials on it - why?)

Technically, I could say "too late, it's now a zero" since the syllabus does say that the students have 1 week to ask about incorrect/missing grades.  But that feels really unfair to the students since that particular TA NEVER finished their grading on time.

I just wish the student had noticed this BEFORE course grades were submitted to the Registrar.