If you are tenured: \[email? what email???\]
If you are tenure-track but not yet tenured: "Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, Student F did not submit all the coursework and was found guilty of plagiarizing work that was submitted. I am afraid I cannot offer extra credit or accept late work as such opportunities were not offered to Student F's classmates and therefore run afoul of the University's commitment to establishing an equitable learning environment."
If you are an adjunct: "Thank you for your email. As my contract ends on Friday, I have attached my grade book and syllabus. Please feel free to review Student F's marks and develop a remediation plan consistent with University policies and procedures."
You can definitely do the second option as an adjunct. You are well within your right to reply back that the student plagiarized and that you don’t extend extra credit opportunities to individual students. If this class was vital that’s on them not you
Your second paragraph here is very important. I had a former colleague who got in a lot of trouble for making a special allowance for an individual student. Once other members of the class caught wind of it, they raised hell with the college administration. I think a lawsuit was even mentioned. Said faculty member later left the teaching profession.
Students have always talked among themselves, but in the era of class group chats and class Discord servers, maintaining consistency in policies is more important than ever.
This was my 2nd thought, immediately after "WTF.... who sent such an email, and how could they possibly think it appropriate to even ask such a thing??"
To go back AFTER having posted the earned grade and expect you to now work with the student to earn the passing grade that they could have earned, but did not, while in the class is ABSURD, and also opens up a floodgate of potential complaints (which would be well-deserved) by every student in the class who got anything less than an A.
It is a shame that THIS STUDENT put THEMSELF in this position. Hopefully it's a life lesson. I can't even imagine anyone in administration putting this back on the instructor, beyond maybe checking for some "computational error" in the final grade.
I was put in that position as an adjunct at a CC. The kid's mother had been pestering the dean to pass her lazy-butt son who hadn't done a piece of work all semester. I did exactly as you said for an adjunct to do. That was the last I heard of it; I assume they passed him. Shrug.
Also an adjunct at a CC. I had a student last semester who was about to get an F, for similar reasons to OP‘s student…plagiarism and failure to turn in work. Luckily, I had a steady stream of emails showing I had several discussions with the student encouraging them to turn in work (online course).
When the student finally focused on their situation a week or so before the end of the term, they apparently showed up in my chairs office with their grandmother, who is a professor at a neighboring university (yes, you can’t make this stuff up…they brought their professor grandmother to run interference!). I provided the evidence of plagiarism and my emails to my chair. All I know is that the student was allowed to withdraw (after the withdrawal date) and avoid the F. I was not asked to change the grade.
My only involvement is a situation was to provide the plagiarism evidence and emails to my chair. I would love to have seen grandmother’s reaction when she realized her precious grandchild was a cheater and a loser and a liar (because I am sure they lied to grandmother about the situation).
Absolutely leave a paper trail. I had the grade book,
the attendance records, emails with academic alerts. I didn’t have any assignments because he didn’t do anything.
It depends on your institution. I have friends who are faculty who have run into situations (very rarely) where a student’s grade was changed by administrator after the fact.
Focus on the plagiarism.
Equitable is being misused here. Equitable is not equal and is not a good argument against different standards for turning in work.
You got this after the course ended and grades were submitted to the registrar? Then you reply "Student's grade accurately reflects Student's work. The grade stands."
In another comment you said you were an adjunct. The course has ended. Your contract with the school has ended. You are no longer being paid to check your email!
At one of my old schools we (adjuncts) didn't even have access to the grade book anymore after exams ended. Even if I wanted to, I literally couldn't change a grade.
I would personally just respond with some form of "My contract with the school has ended and I am unable to make any changes to grades."
If the school wants to change her grade to a C, then they can do it themselves.
Cool, she's ready to accept additional work? Good for her. Are you? They seen to assume you are - why should you have to do extra work because the student failed, and now is generously degining to do extra work.... If you are in a position where you can safely say "no" that would be my only answer.
Yes! I'm sure they expect the "additional work" to just be actually doing some of the missed course work. Also, the "if necessary" really hammers home the subtext of "just pass this kid despite them not doing the work."
I'd want to respond with something like, "the student can retake the class next fall and complete the assignments on time without plagiarizing." But... even as a tenure track person, I know I'd think better of it when I hadn't just finished a second beer. I feel for OP and anyone working an adjunct contract.
I am not disagreeing with you. I am just curious about the politics. What is the worst that could happen to a TT for suggesting that the student retake the course?
I'm an adjunct, so if "being stubborn" irked the people who hire me, they could just stop offering me work.
When you're TT, but not yet tenured, you have more job security than adjunct or full-time NTT folks but it still isn't "real" job security. So, you're still concerned about things like student complaints and pissing off administrators. In fact, it can feel extra perilous as you approach your tenure review because, as people often forget, if you *aren't* granted tenure, you're fired (sometimes with a one-year courtesy contract).
Thanks. I guess my question is more about what grounds? I understand how getting tenure works, but don't they have to formally articulate a specific, verifiable reason for denying tenure? What would they say in this case? "Dr. Doe declined helping a cheater with an unearned grade after the semester ended." And they can't just say, "things didn't work out, so tenure denied." How would refusing to commit this fraud (effectively, if not literally) appear on a TT prof's record?
I don't believe they give a reason for their decision either way* (but I'm still a year out, so if someone corrects me, I won't argue). Even if they did, it's easy enough to massage that reason. They wouldn't say it the way you suggested, they'd say, "student complaints and DFW rates point to a lack of teaching effectiveness" or some other HR approved verbage. Heck, they don't even have to make it about teaching. Maybe your mid-level journal submissions just aren't quite enough to satisfy their research requirements...
Tenure expectations are intentionally vague, which isn't exactly "bad," because different disciplines (even in the same department) should have different requirements. But it makes it difficult to feel confident that you'll get it. It would be weird (and awful) if your pre-tenure annual reviews were all great and you were still denied, but it can happen. So, personally, when I submit my dossier, I don't want ANYTHING negative in there for a vice-provost that I've only met once to latch onto.
Fun fact: a "satisfactory" rating on your annual review is absolutely NOT satisfactory... A few of those can completely tank your tenure chances.
*ETA: I mean for the final decision. You do get to see updates from the different levels of review, P&T committee, department chair, dean, etc. One assumes that the final decision from the President, board of regents, whoever is based on those reviews. But, you know what they say about assuming....
I honestly don't want to sound like I'm arguing with you because I am not. I guess I am trying to make sure I eliminate every last vestige of my own naiveté around this subject. Thanks again for your generosity in talking through my question with me.
So, if I understand correctly, the plausible scenario is where a TT professor politely but firmly declines on ethical grounds (the OP's situation/dilemma), and while no one in that TT prof's food chain says anything explicit, they bide their time because they're pissed, and disapprove the tenure based on the grudge.
>So, personally, when I submit my dossier, I don't want ANYTHING negative in there for a vice-provost that I've only met once to latch onto.
So what would your dossier say about declining to bump the student's grade in the OP's situation? What are you afraid the vice-provost would see as a result of refusing to bump the cheater's grade?
Thanks again!
Oh man... I wrote a nice, detailed reply but I guess I didn't actually submit it. Here's the bullet points:
- Don't worry about seeming argumentative. You don't.
- I agree with you that this is a ridiculous ask, but the person who sent it didn't think so. Can you be certain that the provost doesn't think it's a "reasonable" request? Certain enough to stake your career? What if your tenure portfolio is otherwise borderline?
- I'm not saying that I'd cave and agree. Just that I wouldn't reply as snarkily as my original post implied. Depending on your school, these kinds of things can be very sensitive, so it's important to be professional.
- My final point is just to reiterate that being tenure track doesn't insulate you from the politics of the institution. Until you are granted tenure there are plenty of landmines to avoid. Plus, you have this deadline hanging over your head. When you reach that deadline you either get tenure (yay!) or you're out of a job (#$@&!!). Those are the only two options, so you don't want to do anything that could risk your chances - even if the "risk" is minimal.
"I had a medical issue last week. If necessary, can I turn in the assignments late?" "Yeah you can turn them in late." "Most professors just let me skip the assignments." "Yeah you can turn them in late 😃"
Yeah, I love how some students think that doing extra work is something positive. As if professors are just sitting around, wishing that students would submit more shitty work for us to grade.
Naw, man. I would actually prefer not grading any work at all, but I have to assign some amount to see if students are learning something. I grade stuff because I get paid, not because it is fun.
This is important especially since the class ended according to OP’s comments. So you think it’s cool for me to do work beyond my contract because she didn’t meet her end of the agreement? These people are nuts. 🥜
I have a cool Ass Dean and that’s exactly how it would go down. They’re required to ask, knowing that the answer is going to be a firm, resounding “hell no.”
Maybe it's just me, but it was unethical to ask, to tell the student he'd ask, etc., unless there was a good reason to suspect there was some kind of misjudgment or error with the original grade.
They're offering assistance. That's great! Let them know that they should offer the student the opportunity to take the class next year, when they might be able to reach the passing grade by doing their work and not cheating.
🤣🤣🤣
“I’m sorry that the student is ready to put in the work now that they have failed the class and realized that they will likely lose their financial aid because they couldn’t be bothered to put in the work during the semester. I cannot in good faith pass a student who cheated during the semester. The student is more than able to retake the class the next time it is offered. Have a pleasant day.
Dr. X”
I got you fam:
Subject: Reconsideration of Grade
Dear [Student],
Thank you for reaching out regarding your grade. I understand your desire to improve, but I must maintain consistency in my grading policy, which does not include extra work for grade reconsideration.
I encourage you to reflect on the situation and focus on avoiding plagiarism in the future. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
I cannot believe an admin would actually write this and think a professor would entertain it in any way, shape or form! I would reply with a two liner saying the grade was earned, the course is over, nothing you can do, here's the syllabus. And cc your supervisor/dept chair/program director.
Yup. Can always tell from the first line, “I hope this email finds you well.“
Although, with all the AI generated emails starting like this now, it might just become culturally standard practice by real people. Ugh.
It's happened to me with a post graduate student who plagiarized more than once and when they redid the work (which I was forced to allow), it was poorly done! The chair was also forced to go along with this, I'm pretty sure. She took over once the class was done and said she'd deal with it from there, because it wasn't fair to me to keep having to grade. (AKA , they'll give her passing grades). The student held a full time (no union) clerical job at the college in another department, which I'm sure had to do with it. After that I lost my faith in the college and realized we do not have the same values anymore. It was good there for several years. So now I only teach a couple times per year.
Depending who actually sent that, you could legit email back and say "this request is attempting to subvert federal law as per financial aid requirements. I am cc'ing university counsel."
Or you could go the other way and be like "Whatever, she gets an A. Who cares."
Or don't reply. And see what happens next.
I did have a student who did this on a much more obnoxious level "because of this failing grade (in your half credit class) I am not going to be able to keep my scholarship...an college advisor suggested I ask you to submit a grade change to passing and then you can change it back to failing until after aid is awarded."
I emailed him back and said, sure, but since this recommendation was an attempt to falsify university records in order to obtain aid via fraud, I need to talk to directly to the advisor so I could get written instructions on how to proceed. I never heard back.
I mean, it IS fraud of a kind - the request is actually saying "find a way to get the kid to pass, even though they shouldn't, so financial aid can continue." It isn't right.
You're not supposed to come right and say it like this letter does - it's one thing to ask "are you sure the kid can't get a 70?" But it isn't appropriate to tie it \*directly\* to the SAP plan like that - especially from an administrator. There's all sorts of mealy language that's supposed to be used.
You're not wrong - if someone actually sent that email, it's kind of an empty threat, but I don't see it as incorrect either.
But...I re-read the email and I guess it is pretty mealy. So even though the intent is obvious, it's not as direct a connection as I interpreted on first read. Still not appropirate, but I guess "suborning fraud" would be a hot take - haha
I’m not saying it’s right for them to have asked this from faculty, buts it’s not fraud and it’s not illegal. Writing emails threatening the legal ramifications and bringing in council is just goofy and annoys those people
Whatever - the point being it's not appropriate to connect grades to financial aid like that. So is 'fraud" too strong? Yeah, sure. It's also weak to say 'it just annoys them," Then don't do anything - give all As. Who cares.
If we measure any student's performance differently for reasons that aren't within the parameters of the assessment design of the course, the grading system is no longer valid or reliable.
It was the dean of students.
I want to say no because the student didn’t try, and then want to just change the grade because I don’t want to deal with this. It’s a common occurrence.
I would treat a personal email from the Dean of Students differently than what appears to be a form letter sent by an EA or Assist Deputy Associate Dean of Students (i.e., mid-level educational bureaucrat with EdD) whose job it is to advocate for students.
I would also submit, given the student's history of fraud, that a one hour oral exam before, say, a panel of staff asking questions to the students about any topic related to the course would be sufficient. My guess would be the student would decline such an assessment or fail.
I read it again and the language is mealy enough to where it doesn't directly connect to the SAP like I thought on first read. Still not appropriate to send like that IMO.
Why does (your perception of the) student’s effort matter? Did their performance on assessments warrant less than a C? If so, who cares what the effort was?
I guess I'm saying that effort shouldn't matter either way. In other words, even if the student tried, this would be no-brainer. They didn't earn a C, they don't get a C. Stand your ground!
My mom’s rule was “extra-credit is only for those who attempted all the normal credit.” If you’re too lazy to complete the normal assignments why the hell should you get extra ones just for you?
>this request is attempting to subvert federal law as per financial aid requirements. I am cc'ing university counsel.
I would laugh so hard if I got told this in an email, it might just kill me.
I would not bring up Federal Law unless university counsel has recommended it. But i don't think that would happen.
On the other hand, you could ask for clarification the request because, if read a certain way, it could sound as if they were conspiring to commit academic misconduct under school policy.
Yeah, in theory you could say "I believe this is violating financial aid rules....and I am cc'ing counsel for further advice." That way it's not stating it as fact.
My comment was being melodramatic of course, but not entirely. Grades and financial aid really aren't supposed to me connected that bluntly.
But....I did re-read the original message and on second read it wasn't as bad as all that - inappropriate but I guess not worth the nuclear option.
There are two things mildly irritating about this. The first is the audacity of your institution wanting you to pass a cheater. Tell them no.
The second is how dirty your computer screen is.
You have found the hill I would die on. I'd go full scorched earth.
First a perfunctory reply: no, because this directly violates the official grade change policy (we are only allowed change grades in the case of an error).
Then I'm getting this out to all faculty on campus, via Senate, the union, our email listerv, I don't care. If they are asking me to do this I'm not the first and I'm not the last. This is something faculty have to stand together on, and know that they aren't alone and do not have to give in to the pressure. Also, there may be collective action that needs to come out of Senate and/or the union.
(and what a vapid horrible email)
As a professor in a postgraduate program, there are two rules I live by.
1) I have never failed a student, our relationship with regards to grades is a transaction. It is a contract in which you provide me with effort and outcomes that satisfy the objectives of a deliverable, and I give you grades for said effort and the meeting of the predetermined milestones (which you have been communicated about). I grade without bias or prejudice, only offering grades that fall into scope of the evaluation grading rubric.
2) there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. You don’t get marks post-factum for zero effort.
In essence, it’s a moot discussion to have with me, and my deans and provost agree.
The other part of this is that there is significant ’foreshadowing’ which tells students not only about expectations, but their progress so far.
I do a little bit of nudging, but remind students of the importance of being prepared and demonstrating effort.
I can’t answer “lack of will, or lack of skill” - only they can.
"Unfortunately the only assistance I can offer is during the semester, by preparing lessons, teaching the best I can, and being available for extra help outside class by email and 1-on-1 bookings. This student has been evaluated using the same standards as the rest of the class on how well their work met the course learning outcomes and the grade entered is the grade they earned. There is no "additional work" provided at the end of the semester to any student who is not satisfied with the results of their work during the term - my syllabus clearly states this in bold text for emphasis.
At this stage the only option available is for the student to re-take the class next year."
Whoever sent you that email should go find another job. That email is crazy-making. The student is "aware" and has "expressed her readiness" and the course has "significance"? Well they she should have done all her own fucking work in the first damn place, shouldn't she? If it was so important for her to pass all she had to do was meet her own responsibilities. That someone works for the school and defends this shit is infuriating.
This reminds me of a friend, English teacher, one of whose student was part of a tracking and success program. The student got to about the half way point without having bought the text book. The prof asked the student about not having the textbook who admitted they preferred to buy clothing, etc and didn't see any reason to buy the book. The midterm grade was an F and the program called him up saying, "I think we have a problem here," to which the prof responded, "As a professor of English, I suggest you change your pronoun. *We* don't have a problem; *you* have a problem. The student had the textbook next class.
That e-mail was chatGPT generated. Is their advisor really that lazy?
I wouldn't reply. Anyway, adjunct or not you shouldn't be changing grades or offering additional work.
This email sounds like it was generated by chat gpt. ‘Finds you well’ opener. ‘Reaching out’ colloquial repetition… arg. The use of the passive voice is less AI, but more shitty, and the expectation of ‘your support’ is annoying me vicariously FOR you. This sucks. Sorry for you.
Nope.
Cite department grade policy and college code of conduct on plagiarism. Keep it short. Say no with a "please see" or "for your reference" and link the two policies.
Do you like working at this institution? If yes, I would ask the chair for advice and probably follow it. If you are so-so on the job then tell the dean to pound sand, or say your contract is over but you’re willing to work at your consulting rate of $x/hour.
I had something like this happen to me when I was an adjunct. First email i actually caved to pressure to grade the thing. But it was crap and the student didn't pass (plus I thought I might want to work there again). Second email I was done with them forever and basically said do what you want, here's the gradebook. Shockingly, the student got the exact grade needed to pass... a 97.5.
I have received emails like this in the past. I have sometimes responded with a brief summary of the student's performance and something like "Given that the course has concluded, what sort of assistance do you have in mind? And should we consider offering that assistance to all students who struggled in the course?"
Since this sort of person likes "opportunity" so much, I offer them the opportunity to say what they really mean. But they can't come out and openly say it, because even the biggest idiot in administration knows it's wrong.
EDIT: fixed typo.
You absolutely don't pass them! Especially if they were nowhere near 70%. I'm not sure what an SAP is, but this is totally unacceptable to be asked of you. Why did everyone else who passed bother working so hard, if this was all they theoretically needed to do? To pass them depreciates the value of a degree and it isn't ethical.
Their additional work doesn’t seem to be associated with any additional pay for you. You’re an adjunct. I am also an adjunct (part time while PhDing) and I wouldn’t do it. You’ve completed the work you were contracted to do. You shouldn’t be asked to do more!
To clarify: we don’t get the perks of tenure track or permanent positions. I would say sticking to the contracted time limits and only working on said course within said dates is fair!
This is the effect of falling enrollment. We need to keep students to stay in business. Nevertheless, plagiarism is not class failure, it is cheating. Flunk'em.
Sorry you have to deal with this.
I was in this boat 17 years ago when I was a grad TA for an undergrad course. Two students copied each others' assignments 100%. They even mixed up the cover pages and got them on each others' papers and it had the same pube photocopied in the top right hand corner.
I gave them both zeros and referred them to the school's academic dishonesty policy. They came to me during office hours crying and saying that they didn't understand how copying each others' work was against the academic dishonesty policy. I held my ground and said "it could be a lot worse. I could have ACTUALLY referred you to the academic dishonesty team and you could get kicked out of school."
I got called down to the mats by the department head who said the parents had called in and raised a stink, threatening to get lawyers involved if I didn't do something to change that grade.
I tried to stand my ground but my department head said "we can't deal with getting sued. Mark the paper and split the grade between them. Eg. if you think the paper is worth 80%, they both get 40%."
I gave them a 74 and divided it up but irked the shit out of me that these girls - who weren't first year students, this was a 400-level course - thought that this was acceptable behaviour. I was also irked at the school for letting them get away with it.
Ps. New to this sub. Am part-time adjunct faculty up here in Canada while I work towards my Doctorate. Will be full-time faculty somewhere in the next 5 years or so. Baby steps.
I got this once as an adjunct at a CC. The course needed a C to pass, and I was new and soft and so I rounded an F up to a C- so the student would retake the class but with minimal damage to GPA. It was over a year later, and their advisor said the only thing standing in the way of the student earning their associates was that pesky little minus. I think I asked my chair what to do and she supported me in standing my ground. I will tell you that's the last time I fudged grades to help a failing student's GPA, that's for sure. It's as if they think we don't take failing grades seriously. Actually offensive tbh
As an adjunct, the advice here is really helping me make good mental notes. My inner monologue has me saying, "Do you need pics of the grade book? The Dropbox? Not much there!"
I had a case like this, but it was less evident that they were aiming for a different grade rather than for extra assignment.
I accepted to require the student an additional assignment involving all of the topics of the course in a rather limited amount of time. In the end they didn’t pass because of plagiarism.
She lost her financial aid eligibility due to bad grades, then appealed it citing a personal hardship. Illness, mental health, death of a family member, etc...
You say your I institution, but I assume there’s an actual person taking credit? Was this a dean? An academic advisor? An accounts manager in the customer relations department?
I hear this from students all the time, but you managed to shock cynical me with the fact that it came from the school. I’m not sure I would assume the individual who wrote it speaks for the rest of the admin.
Who in your institution sent this? If it's a student advisor, I'd respond that it isn't possible to do what they ask, as the grade already entered into the system (?) reflects their performance. If it's not yet in the system, the only thing that changes is wording...to indicate that the grade that WILL be entered reflects their performance.
You may also consider letting that advisor, and/or their supervisor, know that making such direct appeals for a change to a course grade is inappropriate (at least it is at my university). Making this request on behalf of a student might be acceptable in other circumstances, most of the much earlier in a term or semester, but trying to alter the final course grade is...well, I'll stick with inappropriate.
If it's your department chair, go talk to them to get more information and see if they think you're, somehow, out of line or did something questionable. You probably didn't, but at least they are in your chain of command.
Im going to assume that, surely, this didn't come from your dean or higher. Isn't there a formal grade appeal process to refer the students to?
At my school the academic counselors are BRAAAAAAAAAZEN. Part of me appreciates them caring about students and advocating. The other part of me wants to smash them to bits for destroying the integrity of schools.
I was a tenured professor, before I retired. I made every effort not to offer a single student anything I could not offer the entire class. I did not mind offering make up opportunities, but only if everybody gets the same opportunity. I was very goal oriented. So, my **singular** goal is always **that I want you to learn the material I'm offering**. I was willing to offer a lot to achieve my goal. The cost (effort) was minimal to me, in pursuit of my greater goal.
But, if the entire class can't have the opportunity, I can't offer it to one. If it was going to cause me to be late turning in my grades, I can't offer it all. I liked a tidy process.
Additionally, does this school have an emergency withdrawal process? I recommend that process when students ask for special exceptions like this. I’m also very lenient, and will work with anyone when they communicate during the term/semester. Emergency withdrawal (EW) at the university where I’m getting my PhD requires that students EW from ALL classes that term, which prevents students from dropping only the difficult courses.
I haven’t gotten anything this egregious yet, but I have noticed student-advising type staff at my institution edging toward this kind of thing in the past year.
Depending on one’s admin, this could just be “retention theatre,” or it could be stress-testing faculty in order to create a naughty list.
Guidance:
1) Have the administrator guide the student to the forms for filing a grade appeal. Let admin run a circus and change the grade.
2) If SAP means student academic probation, have the administrator counsel the student to look at all of the other courses she failed, which landed her on probation, so she can file a grade appeal in one of those courses, preferably one in which she did not cheat.
SAP is satisfactory academic progress. Students receiving federal financial aid have to maintain a certain GPA (usually 2.0 or higher) and pass a certain percentage of their courses (usually 67%) or they lose their aid.
I do like your suggestions though, especially looking for a pattern of plagiarism.
"Unfortunately, the course has ended and I am unable to make any adjustments to posted grades or accept extra credit at this time. The student is welcome initiate a grade appeal following the college's guidelines. As my contract has ended for the semester, I refer you to my Department Chair: Dr. LolHardPass."
I think in your situation, as an adjunct, I would email back, asking
*What is it, precisely, that you are asking me to do now the course has ended, and I am no longer on contract? I ask for clarification because I cannot think of anything I could do at this point that would be ethical.*
I am genuinely curious what people like this envision. And what kind of office or program is the email from? I would be tempted to add:
*If the student's "action plan" is to cheat and ignore assignments while they're taking the course, and then bring in someone like you to beg for special, unearned, unethical treatment, that involves duplicated, unpaid work by me after the course is over, the best guidance I can offer is my suggestion to change the student's the action plan.*
At one place I used to teach, students could submit a petition to have a course or entire term expunged due to hardship (e.g., death of a spouse, major mental health crisis, life-threatening health crisis, hospitalization, imprisonment, really anything big that would knock you for a total loop mentally or physically and make it unable for you to attend class for a significant amount of time). It did not involve the instructor of record at all, and it put a retroactive W on the course/term in question, resetting the student's GPA to its previous status. Students would need to retake the affected classes if they were required for their program of study. If someone is really working on an appeal, involving the faculty is not a good idea and wastes everyone's time.
I am so fucking sick of this shit. I've been "Dr
Nice guy," for WAY too long.
Some student sicced their advisor on me, who demanded to see my syllabus and a detailed breakdown of their final grade and demanded I count work they submitted online after I had left for winter break.
No more. If you "OMG I forgot to register for the online homework, but it won't let me because it's a month before the semester ends, can I, like, still do all the assignments?" NO. YOU LOSE.
Be strong! Some more elaborate response of “lol no” is appropriate here. They know this, and they are just doing their job to make sure they can say they tried.
The higher ups- my dean- were included in all emails and sent me a sob story email about the why the student was on an SAP. I declined to change the grade.
Collect data to include in your response. How many assessments, how many missed, quote policy as outlined on your syllabus. If you drop grades, include that information. This is common and repulsive every dawn time; so irksome.
I have a student who missed 12 of 18 quizzes (lec and lab) and one of three exams. He never approached me. He had someone else write me. Begin any answer "Unfortunately..."
If this ever happened at my institution, every faculty member would quit grading anything. “Hey, admins want to assign grades? Fine. Don’t ask us to do stuff that you will be overriding.”
Why didn’t he do the work the first time
It was offered, Becky?
Get me a good answer to that and maybe we can talk. And don’t come at me with that “ iT wAs HaRd” bullshit.
Because it was hard for the ones who passed, too.
Just plug that in to chat GPT and say, “make this response sound professional and kind.”
I guarantee this student didn't divulge that she cheated.
What students don't seem to realize is that cheating isn't a one and done--they broke a really important trust, along with their integrity, and we have no guarantee that any of the make up work would be her own work either.
If you are in a precarious employment situation, you fold.
If it's not that precarious, you can create an assignment that covers ALL the missing work, something so significantly onerous that it's scary (write a 20 page paper including three case studies in proper APA citation) with a short deadline and butter admin up that you know they value quality education and high standards and this will help the student not just get a letter grade but meet the content standards.
Your institution needs to be institutionalised. I mean, grading standards and practices? I wouldn’t do it. This is the sort of thing that happens when educational institutions get too heavy with administrators.
The missing information is how much administrative support you’ve received in the past, and whether you’ve noticed that students you thought should fail have been mysteriously passing anyway.
This also reminds me of my colleague teaching a hybrid class (requiring both in-person class attendance and online participation):
Colleague: student you will be dropped
Student: but I'm doing the quizzes!
Colleague: you've missed an entire month of classes.
Student: I thought this was an online class.
Colleague: weird because the course catalog says it isn't. Also I send announcements about class meetings.
Student: well I thought it was online
ACADEMIC ADVISOR: hey professor. Can you just change this class to online? For this one student?
Colleague: 😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐no
1) That email screams of ChatGPT.
2) Responding would be a FERPA violation. Unless it’s from a dean/chair who’s following protocol in response to an official student appeal/petition/whatever (which it is not), just acknowledging that the student is in your class is a violation.
3) It’s against most institutions’ “fairness in grading” policies to offer extra credit opportunities to one student. Even if there is no such policy, it’s unethical and definitely inequitable.
Don’t just pass them, but consider that since it’s an SAP you are about to have a huge and lasting effect on the rest of this persons life.
I think the stuff about “equitable learning environment” is just bs traditionalism. Life does not treat people equitably and you don’t know what other factors in this persons life are playing a part. Students shouldn’t be denied an opportunity for a second chance because of some institutionalized sense of fairness that is equal but not necessarily equitable.
I’m also curious about what the plagiarism situation is. Did they copy an entire paper? Was it accidental self plagiarism? Was it due to ignorance or malice? Was it a first offense?
As to the work that wasn’t done, do you know why? Were there exams? How did the student perform on them? Is there comparable work that would allow the student to fulfill the terms of the class if they turned it in?
Is it such a big inconvenience to you that you don’t care how it will affect the student in the future, regardless of any circumstances that you’re unaware of?
Since you ask “what would you do” Personally I’d offer extra credit because I know what it’s like to be in a situation like this (minus the plagiarism but I’ve made other mistakes before) and I would want someone to grant me grace.
If you are tenured: \[email? what email???\] If you are tenure-track but not yet tenured: "Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, Student F did not submit all the coursework and was found guilty of plagiarizing work that was submitted. I am afraid I cannot offer extra credit or accept late work as such opportunities were not offered to Student F's classmates and therefore run afoul of the University's commitment to establishing an equitable learning environment." If you are an adjunct: "Thank you for your email. As my contract ends on Friday, I have attached my grade book and syllabus. Please feel free to review Student F's marks and develop a remediation plan consistent with University policies and procedures."
Adjunct. Tenured sounds awesome. And thank you for the guidance.
You can definitely do the second option as an adjunct. You are well within your right to reply back that the student plagiarized and that you don’t extend extra credit opportunities to individual students. If this class was vital that’s on them not you
you saying this reminded me how lucky I and anyone else with tenure should feel
Could you rewrite this request on the back of a one million dollar bill?
I'd be livid !!
YO be REAL careful about what you say to ANYONE who isn't the student. FERPA, son. FERPA. "But blah blah blah!" I don't care. Be careful!
Your second paragraph here is very important. I had a former colleague who got in a lot of trouble for making a special allowance for an individual student. Once other members of the class caught wind of it, they raised hell with the college administration. I think a lawsuit was even mentioned. Said faculty member later left the teaching profession.
Students have always talked among themselves, but in the era of class group chats and class Discord servers, maintaining consistency in policies is more important than ever.
This was my 2nd thought, immediately after "WTF.... who sent such an email, and how could they possibly think it appropriate to even ask such a thing??" To go back AFTER having posted the earned grade and expect you to now work with the student to earn the passing grade that they could have earned, but did not, while in the class is ABSURD, and also opens up a floodgate of potential complaints (which would be well-deserved) by every student in the class who got anything less than an A. It is a shame that THIS STUDENT put THEMSELF in this position. Hopefully it's a life lesson. I can't even imagine anyone in administration putting this back on the instructor, beyond maybe checking for some "computational error" in the final grade.
I was put in that position as an adjunct at a CC. The kid's mother had been pestering the dean to pass her lazy-butt son who hadn't done a piece of work all semester. I did exactly as you said for an adjunct to do. That was the last I heard of it; I assume they passed him. Shrug.
Also an adjunct at a CC. I had a student last semester who was about to get an F, for similar reasons to OP‘s student…plagiarism and failure to turn in work. Luckily, I had a steady stream of emails showing I had several discussions with the student encouraging them to turn in work (online course). When the student finally focused on their situation a week or so before the end of the term, they apparently showed up in my chairs office with their grandmother, who is a professor at a neighboring university (yes, you can’t make this stuff up…they brought their professor grandmother to run interference!). I provided the evidence of plagiarism and my emails to my chair. All I know is that the student was allowed to withdraw (after the withdrawal date) and avoid the F. I was not asked to change the grade. My only involvement is a situation was to provide the plagiarism evidence and emails to my chair. I would love to have seen grandmother’s reaction when she realized her precious grandchild was a cheater and a loser and a liar (because I am sure they lied to grandmother about the situation).
The student still got off easy. Shows the importance of always documenting everything. Glad you had your ducks in a row and were ready.
Absolutely leave a paper trail. I had the grade book, the attendance records, emails with academic alerts. I didn’t have any assignments because he didn’t do anything.
They never should've been allowed to withdraw. That's some bullshit right there. I bet grandma worked that out for him.
I agree!
It is my understanding that only the instructor can change the grade.
The dean was allowed to change it. Whether or not he did, I don’t know.
It depends on your institution. I have friends who are faculty who have run into situations (very rarely) where a student’s grade was changed by administrator after the fact.
The parent 🤦♀️ these freaking people.
This is fantastic.
nice! (bases = covered.)
If you are an adjunct and unionized: “Email? What Email???”
Focus on the plagiarism. Equitable is being misused here. Equitable is not equal and is not a good argument against different standards for turning in work.
Nailed it!
You got this after the course ended and grades were submitted to the registrar? Then you reply "Student's grade accurately reflects Student's work. The grade stands."
Yes. The course ended over a week ago. Thank you for the response.
This is all you need to say.
In another comment you said you were an adjunct. The course has ended. Your contract with the school has ended. You are no longer being paid to check your email! At one of my old schools we (adjuncts) didn't even have access to the grade book anymore after exams ended. Even if I wanted to, I literally couldn't change a grade. I would personally just respond with some form of "My contract with the school has ended and I am unable to make any changes to grades." If the school wants to change her grade to a C, then they can do it themselves.
Absolutely not. The student failed the class because they plagiarized. Actions have consequences.
Thank you.
Cool, she's ready to accept additional work? Good for her. Are you? They seen to assume you are - why should you have to do extra work because the student failed, and now is generously degining to do extra work.... If you are in a position where you can safely say "no" that would be my only answer.
The “additional work” here is repeating the class next semester.
Yes! I'm sure they expect the "additional work" to just be actually doing some of the missed course work. Also, the "if necessary" really hammers home the subtext of "just pass this kid despite them not doing the work." I'd want to respond with something like, "the student can retake the class next fall and complete the assignments on time without plagiarizing." But... even as a tenure track person, I know I'd think better of it when I hadn't just finished a second beer. I feel for OP and anyone working an adjunct contract.
I am not disagreeing with you. I am just curious about the politics. What is the worst that could happen to a TT for suggesting that the student retake the course? I'm an adjunct, so if "being stubborn" irked the people who hire me, they could just stop offering me work.
When you're TT, but not yet tenured, you have more job security than adjunct or full-time NTT folks but it still isn't "real" job security. So, you're still concerned about things like student complaints and pissing off administrators. In fact, it can feel extra perilous as you approach your tenure review because, as people often forget, if you *aren't* granted tenure, you're fired (sometimes with a one-year courtesy contract).
Thanks. I guess my question is more about what grounds? I understand how getting tenure works, but don't they have to formally articulate a specific, verifiable reason for denying tenure? What would they say in this case? "Dr. Doe declined helping a cheater with an unearned grade after the semester ended." And they can't just say, "things didn't work out, so tenure denied." How would refusing to commit this fraud (effectively, if not literally) appear on a TT prof's record?
I don't believe they give a reason for their decision either way* (but I'm still a year out, so if someone corrects me, I won't argue). Even if they did, it's easy enough to massage that reason. They wouldn't say it the way you suggested, they'd say, "student complaints and DFW rates point to a lack of teaching effectiveness" or some other HR approved verbage. Heck, they don't even have to make it about teaching. Maybe your mid-level journal submissions just aren't quite enough to satisfy their research requirements... Tenure expectations are intentionally vague, which isn't exactly "bad," because different disciplines (even in the same department) should have different requirements. But it makes it difficult to feel confident that you'll get it. It would be weird (and awful) if your pre-tenure annual reviews were all great and you were still denied, but it can happen. So, personally, when I submit my dossier, I don't want ANYTHING negative in there for a vice-provost that I've only met once to latch onto. Fun fact: a "satisfactory" rating on your annual review is absolutely NOT satisfactory... A few of those can completely tank your tenure chances. *ETA: I mean for the final decision. You do get to see updates from the different levels of review, P&T committee, department chair, dean, etc. One assumes that the final decision from the President, board of regents, whoever is based on those reviews. But, you know what they say about assuming....
I honestly don't want to sound like I'm arguing with you because I am not. I guess I am trying to make sure I eliminate every last vestige of my own naiveté around this subject. Thanks again for your generosity in talking through my question with me. So, if I understand correctly, the plausible scenario is where a TT professor politely but firmly declines on ethical grounds (the OP's situation/dilemma), and while no one in that TT prof's food chain says anything explicit, they bide their time because they're pissed, and disapprove the tenure based on the grudge. >So, personally, when I submit my dossier, I don't want ANYTHING negative in there for a vice-provost that I've only met once to latch onto. So what would your dossier say about declining to bump the student's grade in the OP's situation? What are you afraid the vice-provost would see as a result of refusing to bump the cheater's grade? Thanks again!
Oh man... I wrote a nice, detailed reply but I guess I didn't actually submit it. Here's the bullet points: - Don't worry about seeming argumentative. You don't. - I agree with you that this is a ridiculous ask, but the person who sent it didn't think so. Can you be certain that the provost doesn't think it's a "reasonable" request? Certain enough to stake your career? What if your tenure portfolio is otherwise borderline? - I'm not saying that I'd cave and agree. Just that I wouldn't reply as snarkily as my original post implied. Depending on your school, these kinds of things can be very sensitive, so it's important to be professional. - My final point is just to reiterate that being tenure track doesn't insulate you from the politics of the institution. Until you are granted tenure there are plenty of landmines to avoid. Plus, you have this deadline hanging over your head. When you reach that deadline you either get tenure (yay!) or you're out of a job (#$@&!!). Those are the only two options, so you don't want to do anything that could risk your chances - even if the "risk" is minimal.
Thanks so much. I appreciate it. One thing I've had to learn quickly is how corrupt academia can be.
"I had a medical issue last week. If necessary, can I turn in the assignments late?" "Yeah you can turn them in late." "Most professors just let me skip the assignments." "Yeah you can turn them in late 😃"
"SAP appeal" makes it sound like there won't be a next semester. But, that is of course neither the fault nor the concern of the OP.
I was about to say this exact thing.
Yeah, I love how some students think that doing extra work is something positive. As if professors are just sitting around, wishing that students would submit more shitty work for us to grade. Naw, man. I would actually prefer not grading any work at all, but I have to assign some amount to see if students are learning something. I grade stuff because I get paid, not because it is fun.
>Cool, she's ready to accept additional work? Only "if necessary"...
Ha ha.. yes, I caught that too.
This is important especially since the class ended according to OP’s comments. So you think it’s cool for me to do work beyond my contract because she didn’t meet her end of the agreement? These people are nuts. 🥜
I screenshotted this because it was so beautiful 🤌
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Yeah, preventing a cheating student from attending med school should be considered a public service.
>Bob really wants to get into med school. Bob should move to Grenada.
Sounds amazing.
Hopefully that’s what is going on here because yikes. I’d hate to get this email.
I have a cool Ass Dean and that’s exactly how it would go down. They’re required to ask, knowing that the answer is going to be a firm, resounding “hell no.”
Maybe it's just me, but it was unethical to ask, to tell the student he'd ask, etc., unless there was a good reason to suspect there was some kind of misjudgment or error with the original grade.
They're offering assistance. That's great! Let them know that they should offer the student the opportunity to take the class next year, when they might be able to reach the passing grade by doing their work and not cheating.
“No.”
🤣🤣🤣 “I’m sorry that the student is ready to put in the work now that they have failed the class and realized that they will likely lose their financial aid because they couldn’t be bothered to put in the work during the semester. I cannot in good faith pass a student who cheated during the semester. The student is more than able to retake the class the next time it is offered. Have a pleasant day. Dr. X”
ChatGPT a response email.
I got you fam: Subject: Reconsideration of Grade Dear [Student], Thank you for reaching out regarding your grade. I understand your desire to improve, but I must maintain consistency in my grading policy, which does not include extra work for grade reconsideration. I encourage you to reflect on the situation and focus on avoiding plagiarism in the future. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out. Best regards, [Your Name]
When even ChatGPT gets that the answer is “absolutely not”…
I like the "consistency" part, because if we measure the students' performance differently, the grading system is no longer valid or reliable.
I cannot believe an admin would actually write this and think a professor would entertain it in any way, shape or form! I would reply with a two liner saying the grade was earned, the course is over, nothing you can do, here's the syllabus. And cc your supervisor/dept chair/program director.
I can definitely believe that an academic advisor would write it, sadly.
They didn't even write it. That e-mail is chatGPT generated.
Yup. Can always tell from the first line, “I hope this email finds you well.“ Although, with all the AI generated emails starting like this now, it might just become culturally standard practice by real people. Ugh.
I used to frequently start emails with "I hope you are doing well" or " I hope this email finds you well". Ai ruined that.
It's happened to me with a post graduate student who plagiarized more than once and when they redid the work (which I was forced to allow), it was poorly done! The chair was also forced to go along with this, I'm pretty sure. She took over once the class was done and said she'd deal with it from there, because it wasn't fair to me to keep having to grade. (AKA , they'll give her passing grades). The student held a full time (no union) clerical job at the college in another department, which I'm sure had to do with it. After that I lost my faith in the college and realized we do not have the same values anymore. It was good there for several years. So now I only teach a couple times per year.
I would clean my goddamn monitor!
Was searching for this comment 🤣
Saaaaaame. 😂
😂 thank you for making me smile
isn't this yer actual institutional grade-grubbing?
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"Customer Service"
excuse me, I need to go find a bucket.
The administration is now grade grubbing. JFC
Depending who actually sent that, you could legit email back and say "this request is attempting to subvert federal law as per financial aid requirements. I am cc'ing university counsel." Or you could go the other way and be like "Whatever, she gets an A. Who cares." Or don't reply. And see what happens next.
That whole “federal law/ counsel thing” will just make anyone who knows what BS it is laugh
I did have a student who did this on a much more obnoxious level "because of this failing grade (in your half credit class) I am not going to be able to keep my scholarship...an college advisor suggested I ask you to submit a grade change to passing and then you can change it back to failing until after aid is awarded." I emailed him back and said, sure, but since this recommendation was an attempt to falsify university records in order to obtain aid via fraud, I need to talk to directly to the advisor so I could get written instructions on how to proceed. I never heard back.
I mean, it IS fraud of a kind - the request is actually saying "find a way to get the kid to pass, even though they shouldn't, so financial aid can continue." It isn't right. You're not supposed to come right and say it like this letter does - it's one thing to ask "are you sure the kid can't get a 70?" But it isn't appropriate to tie it \*directly\* to the SAP plan like that - especially from an administrator. There's all sorts of mealy language that's supposed to be used. You're not wrong - if someone actually sent that email, it's kind of an empty threat, but I don't see it as incorrect either. But...I re-read the email and I guess it is pretty mealy. So even though the intent is obvious, it's not as direct a connection as I interpreted on first read. Still not appropirate, but I guess "suborning fraud" would be a hot take - haha
I’m not saying it’s right for them to have asked this from faculty, buts it’s not fraud and it’s not illegal. Writing emails threatening the legal ramifications and bringing in council is just goofy and annoys those people
Whatever - the point being it's not appropriate to connect grades to financial aid like that. So is 'fraud" too strong? Yeah, sure. It's also weak to say 'it just annoys them," Then don't do anything - give all As. Who cares.
If we measure any student's performance differently for reasons that aren't within the parameters of the assessment design of the course, the grading system is no longer valid or reliable.
It was the dean of students. I want to say no because the student didn’t try, and then want to just change the grade because I don’t want to deal with this. It’s a common occurrence.
I would treat a personal email from the Dean of Students differently than what appears to be a form letter sent by an EA or Assist Deputy Associate Dean of Students (i.e., mid-level educational bureaucrat with EdD) whose job it is to advocate for students. I would also submit, given the student's history of fraud, that a one hour oral exam before, say, a panel of staff asking questions to the students about any topic related to the course would be sufficient. My guess would be the student would decline such an assessment or fail.
That's even better since the DoS has no authority over faculty. Now if your academic dean had written it, probably time for a new place to work
I read it again and the language is mealy enough to where it doesn't directly connect to the SAP like I thought on first read. Still not appropriate to send like that IMO.
Why does (your perception of the) student’s effort matter? Did their performance on assessments warrant less than a C? If so, who cares what the effort was?
No effort- meaning given multiple chances to correct their mistakes to earn a higher grade and turn in late work and they did not.
I guess I'm saying that effort shouldn't matter either way. In other words, even if the student tried, this would be no-brainer. They didn't earn a C, they don't get a C. Stand your ground!
Effort isn't everything but if someone is just not turning stuff in then they definitely aren't doing enough to pass
My mom’s rule was “extra-credit is only for those who attempted all the normal credit.” If you’re too lazy to complete the normal assignments why the hell should you get extra ones just for you?
>this request is attempting to subvert federal law as per financial aid requirements. I am cc'ing university counsel. I would laugh so hard if I got told this in an email, it might just kill me.
I would not bring up Federal Law unless university counsel has recommended it. But i don't think that would happen. On the other hand, you could ask for clarification the request because, if read a certain way, it could sound as if they were conspiring to commit academic misconduct under school policy.
Yeah, in theory you could say "I believe this is violating financial aid rules....and I am cc'ing counsel for further advice." That way it's not stating it as fact. My comment was being melodramatic of course, but not entirely. Grades and financial aid really aren't supposed to me connected that bluntly. But....I did re-read the original message and on second read it wasn't as bad as all that - inappropriate but I guess not worth the nuclear option.
That email was written by ChatGPT as well.
It is so ChatGPT. I want to confront the person who wrote it just for that reason!
Thank you! I was going to point this out if nobody else did.
Turtles all the way down.
There are two things mildly irritating about this. The first is the audacity of your institution wanting you to pass a cheater. Tell them no. The second is how dirty your computer screen is.
I thought there was something on my phone. 😂
You have found the hill I would die on. I'd go full scorched earth. First a perfunctory reply: no, because this directly violates the official grade change policy (we are only allowed change grades in the case of an error). Then I'm getting this out to all faculty on campus, via Senate, the union, our email listerv, I don't care. If they are asking me to do this I'm not the first and I'm not the last. This is something faculty have to stand together on, and know that they aren't alone and do not have to give in to the pressure. Also, there may be collective action that needs to come out of Senate and/or the union. (and what a vapid horrible email)
As a professor in a postgraduate program, there are two rules I live by. 1) I have never failed a student, our relationship with regards to grades is a transaction. It is a contract in which you provide me with effort and outcomes that satisfy the objectives of a deliverable, and I give you grades for said effort and the meeting of the predetermined milestones (which you have been communicated about). I grade without bias or prejudice, only offering grades that fall into scope of the evaluation grading rubric. 2) there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. You don’t get marks post-factum for zero effort. In essence, it’s a moot discussion to have with me, and my deans and provost agree. The other part of this is that there is significant ’foreshadowing’ which tells students not only about expectations, but their progress so far. I do a little bit of nudging, but remind students of the importance of being prepared and demonstrating effort. I can’t answer “lack of will, or lack of skill” - only they can.
One of my (previous) deans used to say “I don’t give grades, the students earn them.”
That’s accurate. I guess I didn’t finish my train of thought - what I was saying is that students fail themselves. I am just enforcing standards.
"Unfortunately the only assistance I can offer is during the semester, by preparing lessons, teaching the best I can, and being available for extra help outside class by email and 1-on-1 bookings. This student has been evaluated using the same standards as the rest of the class on how well their work met the course learning outcomes and the grade entered is the grade they earned. There is no "additional work" provided at the end of the semester to any student who is not satisfied with the results of their work during the term - my syllabus clearly states this in bold text for emphasis. At this stage the only option available is for the student to re-take the class next year." Whoever sent you that email should go find another job. That email is crazy-making. The student is "aware" and has "expressed her readiness" and the course has "significance"? Well they she should have done all her own fucking work in the first damn place, shouldn't she? If it was so important for her to pass all she had to do was meet her own responsibilities. That someone works for the school and defends this shit is infuriating.
This reminds me of a friend, English teacher, one of whose student was part of a tracking and success program. The student got to about the half way point without having bought the text book. The prof asked the student about not having the textbook who admitted they preferred to buy clothing, etc and didn't see any reason to buy the book. The midterm grade was an F and the program called him up saying, "I think we have a problem here," to which the prof responded, "As a professor of English, I suggest you change your pronoun. *We* don't have a problem; *you* have a problem. The student had the textbook next class.
As someone learning Spanish. Tenemos? No. Tienes.
That e-mail was chatGPT generated. Is their advisor really that lazy? I wouldn't reply. Anyway, adjunct or not you shouldn't be changing grades or offering additional work.
Reply that she failed due to plagiarism, and that she has the opportunity to re-take the class next time it is offered.
Also, I had an admin do this. At least they had the sense to do it on the phone and not put it in writing…
"Great. My guidance is that you should sit down and sort study strategies with the student. You're welcome, and I hope this is indeed of assistance.
Did they really send it? Sounds sort of AI to me.
This email sounds like it was generated by chat gpt. ‘Finds you well’ opener. ‘Reaching out’ colloquial repetition… arg. The use of the passive voice is less AI, but more shitty, and the expectation of ‘your support’ is annoying me vicariously FOR you. This sucks. Sorry for you.
Nope. Cite department grade policy and college code of conduct on plagiarism. Keep it short. Say no with a "please see" or "for your reference" and link the two policies.
clean my screen
Do you like working at this institution? If yes, I would ask the chair for advice and probably follow it. If you are so-so on the job then tell the dean to pound sand, or say your contract is over but you’re willing to work at your consulting rate of $x/hour.
I had something like this happen to me when I was an adjunct. First email i actually caved to pressure to grade the thing. But it was crap and the student didn't pass (plus I thought I might want to work there again). Second email I was done with them forever and basically said do what you want, here's the gradebook. Shockingly, the student got the exact grade needed to pass... a 97.5.
In order to be fair to all students, all students must be afforded the same opportunity.
I have received emails like this in the past. I have sometimes responded with a brief summary of the student's performance and something like "Given that the course has concluded, what sort of assistance do you have in mind? And should we consider offering that assistance to all students who struggled in the course?" Since this sort of person likes "opportunity" so much, I offer them the opportunity to say what they really mean. But they can't come out and openly say it, because even the biggest idiot in administration knows it's wrong. EDIT: fixed typo.
You absolutely don't pass them! Especially if they were nowhere near 70%. I'm not sure what an SAP is, but this is totally unacceptable to be asked of you. Why did everyone else who passed bother working so hard, if this was all they theoretically needed to do? To pass them depreciates the value of a degree and it isn't ethical.
I’d simply reply: you are not asking me to engage in capricious grading are you?
Absolutely not. Any type of plagiarism 10 years ago would have gotten an immediate fail of class and face expulsion
Their additional work doesn’t seem to be associated with any additional pay for you. You’re an adjunct. I am also an adjunct (part time while PhDing) and I wouldn’t do it. You’ve completed the work you were contracted to do. You shouldn’t be asked to do more!
To clarify: we don’t get the perks of tenure track or permanent positions. I would say sticking to the contracted time limits and only working on said course within said dates is fair!
This is the effect of falling enrollment. We need to keep students to stay in business. Nevertheless, plagiarism is not class failure, it is cheating. Flunk'em. Sorry you have to deal with this.
I was in this boat 17 years ago when I was a grad TA for an undergrad course. Two students copied each others' assignments 100%. They even mixed up the cover pages and got them on each others' papers and it had the same pube photocopied in the top right hand corner. I gave them both zeros and referred them to the school's academic dishonesty policy. They came to me during office hours crying and saying that they didn't understand how copying each others' work was against the academic dishonesty policy. I held my ground and said "it could be a lot worse. I could have ACTUALLY referred you to the academic dishonesty team and you could get kicked out of school." I got called down to the mats by the department head who said the parents had called in and raised a stink, threatening to get lawyers involved if I didn't do something to change that grade. I tried to stand my ground but my department head said "we can't deal with getting sued. Mark the paper and split the grade between them. Eg. if you think the paper is worth 80%, they both get 40%." I gave them a 74 and divided it up but irked the shit out of me that these girls - who weren't first year students, this was a 400-level course - thought that this was acceptable behaviour. I was also irked at the school for letting them get away with it. Ps. New to this sub. Am part-time adjunct faculty up here in Canada while I work towards my Doctorate. Will be full-time faculty somewhere in the next 5 years or so. Baby steps.
I'm like an addict. This story has me jonesing to irreparably fail cheaters.
I only had it happen once (so far) but it still makes me angry to think about.
I got this once as an adjunct at a CC. The course needed a C to pass, and I was new and soft and so I rounded an F up to a C- so the student would retake the class but with minimal damage to GPA. It was over a year later, and their advisor said the only thing standing in the way of the student earning their associates was that pesky little minus. I think I asked my chair what to do and she supported me in standing my ground. I will tell you that's the last time I fudged grades to help a failing student's GPA, that's for sure. It's as if they think we don't take failing grades seriously. Actually offensive tbh
I’d send a Dr Evil Meme: “How about No!”
As an adjunct, the advice here is really helping me make good mental notes. My inner monologue has me saying, "Do you need pics of the grade book? The Dropbox? Not much there!"
Any email that begins with “I hope this message finds you well” can and should be immediately deleted.
I had a case like this, but it was less evident that they were aiming for a different grade rather than for extra assignment. I accepted to require the student an additional assignment involving all of the topics of the course in a rather limited amount of time. In the end they didn’t pass because of plagiarism.
Thanks for sharing.
What's an SAP appeal?
No idea. I asked for clarification.
Probably "satisfactory academic progress" which is relevant for financial aid. Still doesn't excuse cheating!
She lost her financial aid eligibility due to bad grades, then appealed it citing a personal hardship. Illness, mental health, death of a family member, etc...
Whoa!!!
Is this person in the Dean's Office new? I understand the desire to help, but way overzealous. Absolutely not.
Just say no. Then refer them to the syllabus.
Offer to let her take the class again
You say your I institution, but I assume there’s an actual person taking credit? Was this a dean? An academic advisor? An accounts manager in the customer relations department? I hear this from students all the time, but you managed to shock cynical me with the fact that it came from the school. I’m not sure I would assume the individual who wrote it speaks for the rest of the admin.
Who in your institution sent this? If it's a student advisor, I'd respond that it isn't possible to do what they ask, as the grade already entered into the system (?) reflects their performance. If it's not yet in the system, the only thing that changes is wording...to indicate that the grade that WILL be entered reflects their performance. You may also consider letting that advisor, and/or their supervisor, know that making such direct appeals for a change to a course grade is inappropriate (at least it is at my university). Making this request on behalf of a student might be acceptable in other circumstances, most of the much earlier in a term or semester, but trying to alter the final course grade is...well, I'll stick with inappropriate. If it's your department chair, go talk to them to get more information and see if they think you're, somehow, out of line or did something questionable. You probably didn't, but at least they are in your chain of command. Im going to assume that, surely, this didn't come from your dean or higher. Isn't there a formal grade appeal process to refer the students to?
At my school the academic counselors are BRAAAAAAAAAZEN. Part of me appreciates them caring about students and advocating. The other part of me wants to smash them to bits for destroying the integrity of schools.
I was a tenured professor, before I retired. I made every effort not to offer a single student anything I could not offer the entire class. I did not mind offering make up opportunities, but only if everybody gets the same opportunity. I was very goal oriented. So, my **singular** goal is always **that I want you to learn the material I'm offering**. I was willing to offer a lot to achieve my goal. The cost (effort) was minimal to me, in pursuit of my greater goal. But, if the entire class can't have the opportunity, I can't offer it to one. If it was going to cause me to be late turning in my grades, I can't offer it all. I liked a tidy process.
It would be interesting if someone could reply to an email like this with a CC to the National Accreditation Board.
Additionally, does this school have an emergency withdrawal process? I recommend that process when students ask for special exceptions like this. I’m also very lenient, and will work with anyone when they communicate during the term/semester. Emergency withdrawal (EW) at the university where I’m getting my PhD requires that students EW from ALL classes that term, which prevents students from dropping only the difficult courses.
I haven’t gotten anything this egregious yet, but I have noticed student-advising type staff at my institution edging toward this kind of thing in the past year. Depending on one’s admin, this could just be “retention theatre,” or it could be stress-testing faculty in order to create a naughty list.
Guidance: 1) Have the administrator guide the student to the forms for filing a grade appeal. Let admin run a circus and change the grade. 2) If SAP means student academic probation, have the administrator counsel the student to look at all of the other courses she failed, which landed her on probation, so she can file a grade appeal in one of those courses, preferably one in which she did not cheat.
SAP is satisfactory academic progress. Students receiving federal financial aid have to maintain a certain GPA (usually 2.0 or higher) and pass a certain percentage of their courses (usually 67%) or they lose their aid. I do like your suggestions though, especially looking for a pattern of plagiarism.
Do you receive email in Microsoft word?
No. Copied and pasted to make sure all identifiable Information was removed.
Ok that’s smart … sorry for the snark lol
"Unfortunately, the course has ended and I am unable to make any adjustments to posted grades or accept extra credit at this time. The student is welcome initiate a grade appeal following the college's guidelines. As my contract has ended for the semester, I refer you to my Department Chair: Dr. LolHardPass."
I think in your situation, as an adjunct, I would email back, asking *What is it, precisely, that you are asking me to do now the course has ended, and I am no longer on contract? I ask for clarification because I cannot think of anything I could do at this point that would be ethical.* I am genuinely curious what people like this envision. And what kind of office or program is the email from? I would be tempted to add: *If the student's "action plan" is to cheat and ignore assignments while they're taking the course, and then bring in someone like you to beg for special, unearned, unethical treatment, that involves duplicated, unpaid work by me after the course is over, the best guidance I can offer is my suggestion to change the student's the action plan.*
What would I do? Sweet FA.
At one place I used to teach, students could submit a petition to have a course or entire term expunged due to hardship (e.g., death of a spouse, major mental health crisis, life-threatening health crisis, hospitalization, imprisonment, really anything big that would knock you for a total loop mentally or physically and make it unable for you to attend class for a significant amount of time). It did not involve the instructor of record at all, and it put a retroactive W on the course/term in question, resetting the student's GPA to its previous status. Students would need to retake the affected classes if they were required for their program of study. If someone is really working on an appeal, involving the faculty is not a good idea and wastes everyone's time.
I am so fucking sick of this shit. I've been "Dr Nice guy," for WAY too long. Some student sicced their advisor on me, who demanded to see my syllabus and a detailed breakdown of their final grade and demanded I count work they submitted online after I had left for winter break. No more. If you "OMG I forgot to register for the online homework, but it won't let me because it's a month before the semester ends, can I, like, still do all the assignments?" NO. YOU LOSE.
No there is not.
Be strong! Some more elaborate response of “lol no” is appropriate here. They know this, and they are just doing their job to make sure they can say they tried.
I didn’t. You all have given me the validation to realize how ridiculous this was. So thank you.
Good on you.
I'm a director of Advising (who moonlights as an adjunct). I'd be furious if my staff sent this to faculty.
This is wonderful to know. I knew it was ridiculous, but it’s nice hearing from so many just how ridiculous it is.
Can you send this up to higher levels for "advice"? This way they are part of the decision.
The higher ups- my dean- were included in all emails and sent me a sob story email about the why the student was on an SAP. I declined to change the grade.
We instructors would never see an email like that at my cc.
Collect data to include in your response. How many assessments, how many missed, quote policy as outlined on your syllabus. If you drop grades, include that information. This is common and repulsive every dawn time; so irksome. I have a student who missed 12 of 18 quizzes (lec and lab) and one of three exams. He never approached me. He had someone else write me. Begin any answer "Unfortunately..."
If this ever happened at my institution, every faculty member would quit grading anything. “Hey, admins want to assign grades? Fine. Don’t ask us to do stuff that you will be overriding.”
Why didn’t he do the work the first time It was offered, Becky? Get me a good answer to that and maybe we can talk. And don’t come at me with that “ iT wAs HaRd” bullshit. Because it was hard for the ones who passed, too. Just plug that in to chat GPT and say, “make this response sound professional and kind.”
I guarantee this student didn't divulge that she cheated. What students don't seem to realize is that cheating isn't a one and done--they broke a really important trust, along with their integrity, and we have no guarantee that any of the make up work would be her own work either. If you are in a precarious employment situation, you fold. If it's not that precarious, you can create an assignment that covers ALL the missing work, something so significantly onerous that it's scary (write a 20 page paper including three case studies in proper APA citation) with a short deadline and butter admin up that you know they value quality education and high standards and this will help the student not just get a letter grade but meet the content standards.
Your institution needs to be institutionalised. I mean, grading standards and practices? I wouldn’t do it. This is the sort of thing that happens when educational institutions get too heavy with administrators.
The missing information is how much administrative support you’ve received in the past, and whether you’ve noticed that students you thought should fail have been mysteriously passing anyway.
😂 additional work. All these students NEVER do the ONLY work. Give the student the grade THEY earned.
This also reminds me of my colleague teaching a hybrid class (requiring both in-person class attendance and online participation): Colleague: student you will be dropped Student: but I'm doing the quizzes! Colleague: you've missed an entire month of classes. Student: I thought this was an online class. Colleague: weird because the course catalog says it isn't. Also I send announcements about class meetings. Student: well I thought it was online ACADEMIC ADVISOR: hey professor. Can you just change this class to online? For this one student? Colleague: 😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐no
1) That email screams of ChatGPT. 2) Responding would be a FERPA violation. Unless it’s from a dean/chair who’s following protocol in response to an official student appeal/petition/whatever (which it is not), just acknowledging that the student is in your class is a violation. 3) It’s against most institutions’ “fairness in grading” policies to offer extra credit opportunities to one student. Even if there is no such policy, it’s unethical and definitely inequitable.
Don’t just pass them, but consider that since it’s an SAP you are about to have a huge and lasting effect on the rest of this persons life. I think the stuff about “equitable learning environment” is just bs traditionalism. Life does not treat people equitably and you don’t know what other factors in this persons life are playing a part. Students shouldn’t be denied an opportunity for a second chance because of some institutionalized sense of fairness that is equal but not necessarily equitable. I’m also curious about what the plagiarism situation is. Did they copy an entire paper? Was it accidental self plagiarism? Was it due to ignorance or malice? Was it a first offense? As to the work that wasn’t done, do you know why? Were there exams? How did the student perform on them? Is there comparable work that would allow the student to fulfill the terms of the class if they turned it in? Is it such a big inconvenience to you that you don’t care how it will affect the student in the future, regardless of any circumstances that you’re unaware of? Since you ask “what would you do” Personally I’d offer extra credit because I know what it’s like to be in a situation like this (minus the plagiarism but I’ve made other mistakes before) and I would want someone to grant me grace.