You had good reasons for dropping your class. You were encouraged to stay. What do you do now that your concern about what would happen… happened?

(Last week, I wrote about an “Incomplete” grade versus failure, based on a student question. Here is a slightly different situation, also along the lines of an incomplete. What do you think?)

Dear Ellen,

I thought I did everything right in communicating with my professor this term. I did not do well on my first exam and my professor took me aside and said he/she was concerned. We agreed I needed more study time. I faced a terrible injury three weeks after the exam and went to the prof again to explain what was going on. We discussed whether or not I should stay with the class. I was told that I should.

I took my next exam and was told I was barely passing due to absences related to the injury and that test. I asked if I should withdraw and retake the class, but the professor said, “No, you will be fine.” After my third exam, I was still barely passing. The prof said, “You have three more weeks to bring your grade up.”

My adviser suggested I ask for an incomplete, but the prof refused. I offered to do whatever it would take to finish the class, but suddenly, there were no options. By this point, it was too late to withdraw.

I don’t understand. I kept in touch with my professor, openly discussed my concerns, and I was encouraged to stick with the course. Now this feels like a mess and I’m very upset.

Student

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(Before my response, what do you think about this situation? I know I have encouraged students to stay with a class–situation-dependent, of course. If I believe a student should stay, then I feel it’s my job to have a Plan A, B, and even C in order. The student must agree to each plan and its potential ramifications. If there is no hope, I try to be realistic about that, too. These are incredibly hard decisions to make.) 

Dear Student,

It sounds like you have had a very stressful term, both physically and emotionally. I am sorry that you have had to deal with this. I’m impressed that you kept such close communication with your professor. Here are my thoughts:

Since the prof encouraged you to stay with the course in just about every conversation, an Incomplete seems completely justifiable to me. Based on my experiences, if I advise a student not to withdraw, I often have this option in my back pocket.

I can see this issue from both sides. Often, students self-select their withdrawal. Many students tell me, but some won’t. Depending on the situation, I actually wish they would to see if there is something else we can do. When faculty need to help students make this decision, it’s a tough call. I recently had a student who was doing very well in class, then diagnosed with a serious illness. We came up with three possible outcomes. One of those included an Incomplete, which I was fully prepared to give.

Had the student not been doing well, I might have recommended withdrawing the course so he/she could focus on the medical situation. Even if it meant a lower grade, student really did not want that option because it would delay graduation. My point here is that we were both prepared for several realistic possibilities.

In your case, the encouragement to stay was hopeful, but lacked a concrete plan. Therefore, I would ask again for the Incomplete. Say, “I really appreciate all you’ve been doing to help me this term. Obviously neither of us realized how much my injury would affect my performance/attendance in class. However, at every turn, I kept asking about my status, if I should stay with the class or leave, and as I understood, you believed I would be fine. Now I am facing a failing grade and having to retake this class. I respectfully ask that you reconsider an incomplete based on medical issues.”

Here is another thing you can offer: Re-joining the classes you missed next term. This would show that you are committed to digging in and finishing. Then, you and your prof can collaboratively choose a date to submit your final work.

Before you make the request, please think about this: Do you want that incomplete? If you were my student, your existing points would be averaged with points earned via the incomplete work. Will you be satisfied with that grade? If yes, then go for it. Otherwise, starting over may be best.

If the prof is unwilling to do anything, that will be unfortunate. You could enlist your adviser’s help or, of course, take the matter higher up to a department/division chair. Before you do that, I would circle back with your professor for one more conversation. I only suggest this because it sounds like you had positive interactions.

Say, “In our numerous conversations, I thought there would be a contingency plan based on my medical issue since I was encouraged to stay. I was mistaken not asking this earlier, but what did you think my options were when we had these discussions?” This will hopefully remind your professor that not every student is meant to stick with a class if there are mitigating circumstances, unless there is a clearly agreed-upon plan for completion or exit.

It sounds like you had early intuition that this course was not going to work out with the medical issues. I can see how listening to that voice would be challenging if someone is telling you “things will be fine.” If this occurs again (hopefully it won’t!), press for what happens if “fine” doesn’t pan out.

I wish you the best. I’ll be interested to hear an update.

Ellen

(I have an update on this situation and will post it in the next blog. Once again, what do you think?)

Failing a class? Should you go for an ‘Incomplete’ or will you hit ‘Restart’ and try again?

(Aaaaaaand… student write-in questions are back! With many terms winding down, I am receiving letters that include various levels of frustration and failure. You’ll see themes of them over the next several posts. Hopefully, the discussions will be helpful to anyone facing a similar issue.)

Hello Ellen,

Thank you so much for doing what you do. I wish I had known all these lessons as a student before I put myself in this situation.

I think I’m failing a class. I e-mailed my instructor about possibly taking an Incomplete, but I haven’t received a response.

I really have no excuse about my situation. I stopped going to class due to anxiety, which resulted in missing more classes. I can’t withdraw from the course, so without the Incomplete, I have to face failure.

Do you think it is better to fail the class and repeat it the following semester?

Student

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Hello,

Thank you so much for your kind words. Let me see if I can help, based on my experiences with Incomplete grades.

I hope your professor e-mails you back so you can hash out this situation, or you can talk to the prof in class before your term ends. Here is my advice in the meanwhile:

I would be very honest with your professor since it sounds like you know exactly what led to this outcome. Honesty is the only way that you’ll have a shot at resolution.

Say, “I stopped coming to class due to anxiety and the problem kept building. Here is what I’ve done that I feel went well (show examples of any successes you had). I am wondering if failure is the only option, or if there is any way that I can take an Incomplete for the course?”

You’ll also need to say, “I have a concrete plan so this doesn’t happen again.” Then lay out your concrete plan. Of course, if you are very close to the end of your term, then there won’t be time to implement a big plan and your professor will know that.

Here is my history with an Incomplete:
-Every school’s policy differs. At my last college, you could only receive an “I” for a non-academic matter and you had to finish a certain percentage of the course successfully. At that school, an “I” would only apply to a student with a medical or life emergency that prevented continuation of the course.
-Other colleges are far more liberal with their Incomplete policies; the justification is completely left to the professor. Know which way your college goes before making the request.
-When you get your Incomplete contract, there is usually a list of what you still have left to do and a date you need to finish. At my current college, students have one year to turn around an Incomplete. Otherwise, the grade reverts to what it would have been without the Incomplete.
-Historically (finishing my 14th year of teaching), less than 1% of the students I’ve worked with actually finish an Incomplete. They end up retaking the whole course because the lingering work becomes an afterthought.

If you feel that you have enough assignments that will “count” and you can truly salvage your grade, try for the “I” (based on your school’s policy, of course!).

If you’d be better served by a fresh start, then retaking the course is the right thing to do.

I would talk to this prof, even if you don’t ask for the Incomplete, particularly if he/she would be your professor next time. You’ll want to discuss your plan of attack for another go-around.

If you will not take a course with this professor again, by all means, talk to the new prof early. Say,“I took this course once before and failed it. Here is where I went wrong, but I have a solid plan to do things differently this time (then mention those things). Is there any advice you can offer for someone retaking this course?”

There is no shame in starting over and there can be many benefits to having a feel for the material walking in. A completely clean slate does give you that benefit.

One thing that I want to ensure is that you get some support for the anxiety you’ve been experiencing. Please talk to your adviser and someone in Counseling Services, at the very least. There are mechanisms on campus to help you deal with anxiety so it doesn’t hinder your academics. If your class is the source of the nervousness, they can help with that, too.

I wish you luck and would love to hear the outcome!

Ellen

You can’t text a ‘thanks’ after an interview and too many people fail to send an actual note. Practice with an e-mail to your prof! (PS: How old is this phone, anyway?).

(It is the end of teacher appreciation week! Next week, I’m returning with student write-in’s, but sticking with the theme of career success this week. Do you feel like the art of ‘thank you’ is leaving us, along with face to face conversation? I hope not. I’m interested in your thoughts!)

“Ellen,

I would like to speak with you. This is not class-related. Can we please schedule a call when you have some time?

Student”

I recently received this note just after one of my classes met for the last time. The student had a difficult term (personally, not academically), but ended up coming through magnificently.

Reading the urgency, I wasn’t sure what to think. I was alarmed, and even considered that maybe I’d done something during class that the student felt could only be discussed once the term was over (because it had to be about me!).

I’ll leave a momentary cliffhanger, but let me give you a little background into how my classes end and why I’m even mentioning this e-mail:

I teach hybrid classes right now. They meet once per week for two-plus hours. At the end of the term, when I calculate final grades, instead of sending students to the course management system for their outcome, I send each student a personal note… something like this:

“Dear Student,

You finished CMST XXX with a 3.5. Bravo! What a testament to your hard work and dedication!

I enjoyed working with you this term and wish you all the best in your educational journey.

Ellen”

If the student struggled, I will use this note to address the grade and any issues. If the student received a C, D, or failed the course, and I believe they might not be expecting that, I say, “In case this grade was not anticipated, you may have some questions. I reviewed your points throughout the term and here are the areas that contributed…”

I always say something encouraging, even I just congratulate them for finishing the course. I don’t believe the grade always tells the whole story.

After each student’s personal note is finished, I send one last broadcast to the entire class. I give instructions for grade discrepancies or concerns. I let students know how it is appropriate to stay in touch with me, if they so choose (i.e., I prefer an e-mail requesting a LinkedIn connection, rather than an auto-invite). I always offer a closing thought about our class and appreciation for their participation and engagement (if applicable… I don’t snow things over if the dynamic didn’t gel, but fortunately, that only comes around once in a while).

These e-mails used to breed a fair number of responses from students, a good-bye or final sentiment they didn’t express from class. Often, students just expressed appreciation–for the class, for something that I may have done, or even just for the relief of the class being over (i.e., Public Speaking). I have always loved this last connection.

I’ve noticed that e-mails are becoming fewer and fewer. That worries me.

Of course, because everything has to be about me, I initially thought, “Hmm, is my teaching crappier and students are ready to leave?” But I have fair evidence to indicate this is not the case.

I also wonder if e-mail is so ‘yesterday’ because it isn’t text? Or worse, do my students not realize the benefit of closing a communication loop with another professional, of leaving a lasting positive impression? I’m thinking it’s a combination of both.

So what’s the communication lesson here?

We know how many job candidates fail to send thank you notes. Career experts repeatedly confirm this.

So students, whether or not your professor has some final communication with you, or just says good-bye in person, I say that dropping a note as your class is ending, or even after it is over, can be an important move for you. Here’s why:

-You’ll get concrete practice extending thanks to a professional in a “higher up” position.
-You’ll have an opportunity to share a specific example of something you liked about the class. Again, important practice! When you write a thank-you note after an interview, you’ll want to cite a way that you’ll contribute to the company.
-You could share a constructive suggestion about how to make the class better–another marketable skill!
-You can request a recommendation letter or inquire about how to stay connected with the professor.

I promise you, taking this important step will make you memorable in a positive way. Profs don’t forget students who connect once class is done and we often save those emails!

So what should you say?

“Professor,

I wanted to say thank you and let you know that I enjoyed working with you this term. I feel that I became a stronger communicator because of what I learned in class. I really liked the lesson on conflict management and find that I’m already using the assertive message you taught us.

I would appreciate the opportunity to stay in touch with you. Do you prefer that students maintain contact through e-mail? Would you feel comfortable connecting with me on LinkedIn?

Respectfully,

Student”

Not feeling “fluffy” about your experience? If the class sucked (as well as the professor), focus on what you learned and make some suggestions. Believe it or not, a prof you may not like could be helpful to you later. The connection is still worth it.

You can say, “You challenged me at times, but I know I became a stronger student from the experience.” (You might mean that you became stronger just putting up with him/her!) or ”I would have loved it if we could have had more time for small group discussions. Maybe you’d consider implementing this for future classes?”

See how professional you’ll appear? You’ll rock a post-interview thank you note–while you’re still in college!–and you may gain a permanent valuable connection!

Oh, right… The cliffhanger:

The student and I spoke via phone. Student wanted to express appreciation for my helping them maintain motivation during a particularly rough patch. Student appreciated that I came to class smiling. Student stretched themselves in ways that were unexpected.

Wow. I swelled with thanks for hearing these words. Profs need to hear this from time to time.

I told Student that I would continue to offer help as needed. I meant every word.

You deserve lasting contacts like that, too. So put fingertips to keyboard and make it happen!

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Say This, NOT That to Your Professor helps with all types of e-mail conversations with faculty, as well as face-to-face interactions! Have you taken a look inside lately? The book has moved over to Pearson Education, but it is still on Amazon!

You worked late. You got to class early. You created a review sheet that was better than the prof’s. Heck, yes… you have soft skills. Find them in your classes.

(Following up on a piece I wrote for YouTern a couple months ago called Close the Skills Gap: View College as Soft Skills Experience. In that piece, I discussed all the ways soft skills happen in college, but many students don’t realize it. I’ve got the actual words to message those skills…)

“But I have no experience!”

How many times do college students say this when they realize: “Wow, I have to speak to skills beyond my degree to get a job!”?

A LOT!

It’s an awful feeling, too. You’ve spent money. You’ve feel like your butt’s been in a classroom since practically birth. Your college degree is supposed to be the golden ticket to a career. That’s what you’ve been told, right?

A college degree tells an employer that you have credentials and were able to finish something. You’ll have to package yourself more fully than that, particularly with those “soft skills” everyone keeps talking about.

One piece I recently appreciated was in U.S. News and World Report, called 5 Soft Skills to Showcase in an Interview by Miriam Salpeter. The article offers fantastic tips for those who are already in the workforce, but with the right spin, college students can easily transfer this advice.

Let’s look at the soft skills Salpeter discusses and see how much you can say:

1.  Work ethic. Pull out those back-pocket stories of how you conducted your work, how you excelled, and even how you worked with others in your classes. Tangible results are awesome and critical to add, too. Some examples:

-”I was always early with my deadlines so I could get feedback from my prof and have time to apply it. This helped me keep my 3.8 average.”
-”I created an extra study guide and my prof had me share it with the class.”
-”I kept a running list of questions so I could keep conversations on track when I met with profs.”

2.  Positive attitude. How do you behave when tackling work? When working with others? When faced with a dilemma? Try these statements:

-”I organized a study group and we met all term. Each of us achieved higher scores because we committed to working together.”
-”When I had a difficult situation with a group project, I kept my team motivated (and explain how).”
-”Even when I received critical feedback from profs and I struggled, I knew that I was becoming a stronger student. The feedback was meant to make my work better and hopefully improve my grade, which it often did.”

3.  Communication skills. By sharing your stories and using excellent nonverbal strategies (consistent eye contact, appropriate facial expressions, some hand gestures to animate your words, sitting up straight), your communication abilities will shine through. Here are other ways to nab this attribute that many employers say is the most important:

-”I was very engaged in class discussion and enjoyed asking thoughtful questions and hearing what others had to say.”
-”Once, I had a grade that didn’t make sense to me. The professor didn’t write any feedback. I met with him and respectfully asked if he could give me more information. We had a good dialogue and I understood what he wanted in the next assignment.”
-”I was on a service learning project where my team had a couple of non-performers. I suggested that we meet to go over the deliverables and update on progress. I made sure that we re-established clear deadlines, expectations, and even a back-up plan if the timeline wasn’t met. Everyone stepped up after that.”

4.  Time management. Here is where you can talk about how you dealt with the numerous demands of your classes. Say:

-”I set all of my deadlines a week in advance so that way I would have a lot of time to proof my work and take care of any issues.”
-”One term, I took two morning classes and a night class, and I had a part-time job. I was successful in maintaining a schedule that allowed me to finish my homework and still get to work on time.”
-”I prided myself on being on time for classes and having an excellent attendance record.”

5.  Self-confidence. As the piece notes, much of this will come from your nonverbal communication, but you can verbally message self-confidence this way:

-”I noticed that there wasn’t a cooking club on campus, so I decided to start one. I had to search for a faculty advisor who would sponsor us, and was able to convince two professors to take it on. I reminded them that cooking is an important life skill for college students!”
-”I had a gruff professor who a lot of students feared. When we were all confused about an assignment, I asked questions in class and made an appointment to meet her in her office. The personality issue did not intimidate me. I didn’t whine about being lost, but kept it all business. I believe I actually gained the prof’s respect after that conversation.”
-”I used all of the resources at my college that were available to me: Librarians, the writing center, etc. I figured that is what those services are there for and I would do better if I took advantage.”

The examples I’m providing don’t necessarily encompass benchmarks and metrics, but if you catapulted from a C to an A, by all means, use that data and tell that story. Remember, a professor can help remind you of tasks that built your soft skills. So can your campus career center, so bring some syllabi with you.

My last piece of advice? Start compiling your examples now, whether or not you are graduating. Wait too long and you may not remember everything you accomplished.

Worried that your soft skills aren’t up to par? Well, what a great time to look at the areas for improvement and start fixing them. College gives you lots of ways to renew yourself.

Whenever you see articles like Salpeter’s with soft skills examples, get creative. Consider interactions and classes that fit those requirements.

I bet you’ll find that college trained you more than you realize.

Have an application that requires a recommendation letter? Afraid to ask for it because of your grades? Don’t be… just smartly prep for the conversation .

Dear Student Who Isn’t Acing Classes,

I’m dedicating this post to you.

You are nearing the end of an academic term/year. I know you’ve heard about the critical importance of networking with your profs, getting recommendation letters, etc. You may be letting this suggestion pass you by, but I am going to beg you not to.

You deserve a recommendation letter, even if you didn’t do as well as you would have liked.

Grades are a measurement of a body of work and performance over a limited period of time. Are they important and often reflective of performance? Absolutely. But they do not always tell the entire story. Get your profs to tell more of your story before you leave your course or your college. Here’s how:

-Pick a few classes where you exhibited strong work ethic, but your grades missed the mark. 

Maybe you contributed a ton to class discussion. Maybe you took your prof’s feedback, but couldn’t get past a funky grading scheme. Maybe you studied your ass off, but felt sick on the day of a test and that test brought your grade down a letter. In these situations, your prof could likely have more to say about you than the final outcome.

You’ll have to do some self-inventory here. If your grade happened because of laziness, procrastination, or disinterest, you probably won’t feel comfortable asking your prof to stand up for you. Your prof would likely feel uncomfortable if you did. If this wasn’t the situation, proceed.

-Review your assignments from those classes and make an “I did” list.

Hopefully you’ve saved your work, or at the very least, still have a syllabus. If you don’t, then go get one. Often, a building or department administrative assistant/secretary has a copy of all syllabi.

Take a look at the assignments. Did you have a group project? How did you perform in that project? What did you do? What were your papers about? Did you do speeches or other presentations? Make a list of your “other” outcomes from class. If you were the team leader in a group project, write that down. If you had a unique paper or speech topic, list that, too.

Some other notes: Did you have perfect attendance? Did you always engage in class discussion? Did you show up for class on time? Add this to your list.

-Determine why you need/want the letter and be ready to articulate that.

Are you trying to get a scholarship? (Some are not GPA-based.) Are you trying to gain entry into a certain program? Do you want a general letter to have on hand for future employment opportunities? Your profs will need to know what type of letter you need and for whom. Have all of that information at the ready.

-Schedule a sit-down with your professors (past or present) and make the request.

Once you’ve determined possible classes where your actions spoke louder than your final grade–and you have tangible documentation of those actions–it’s time to make an appointment with profs. I prefer this conversation going down face-to-face, but e-mail is an option (though not ideal).

I would start by saying, “I was wondering if you would write a recommendation letter for me. I didn’t ace your class, but I definitely learned a lot from my experience. My final grade could have been better, but I did a number of other things that were positive. I can share what some of those things are. I understand you may have to decide if you feel comfortable supporting my request.”

Now, refer to your list of things you felt went well in class: “I always enjoyed the discussions in our class and appreciated earning all of the possible participation points.” 

You can even discuss some specifics about what you learned after the fact and changes you’ve made: “My paper on the Yanomamo tribe taught me how to write a thesis statement and carry a topic through in a focused way. I lost points on that paper because my sources were weak. I realized I needed to work more closely with a librarian, and in my next paper, I did get help.”

-Resist the request to write the letter yourself.

My feelings here may not be popular. A recommendation letter is supposed to be someone else’s perception of you in their own words. If you are writing your own perceptions of you and the prof is simply signing off, this doesn’t seem very authentic. Calling out details of why you think you deserve the letter is fine, but it’s another thing to undertake the task.

If your professor says, “Why don’t you just write what you want and I’ll sign it?”, I would reply, “I understand you must be very busy. I would appreciate your words because I can learn from what you have to say. If this is not the right time to make this request, no problem.” Then move on to another professor.

Hopefully your professor will step up and you’ll be golden. From there, have a clear follow-up plan. Arm your prof with details they need for the letter i.e., whether you need a specific addressee or just something general. Make any deadlines clear (a two week lead time, at least), and discuss how the prof can return the letter to you (E-mail? In person? Or does the letter need to be sent somewhere?).

A student recently told me they were in a class where the prof was incomprehensible. Students complained and grades suffered. I know that this student works very hard. Like I said, sometimes grades just don’t tell the whole story.

You have abilities and qualities that can expand your story. You just need support in telling it.

*************************

Feel free to stop here or read on to see an example of a letter that I would write for a student without an ideal grade:

Dear ____________,

I am writing this letter to support Student in his/her quest for entry into X program.

I worked with Student during winter 2013 in my 200-level Interpersonal Communication course. In this course, I have unique opportunities to assess students’ face-to-face and online communication. In class, Student heartily contributed to all of our discussions. I could always count on Student to appropriately engage and advance conversations. Student supported and encouraged others’ ideas, which I found impressive, particularly since this is important practice for successfully communicating in outside environments.

In the required discussion forums, Student aptly and accurately analyzed personal experiences in tandem with the theories we were studying. I noticed that Student always replied to other students’ posts, acknowledging their thoughts and appropriately adding his/her own. This offered me a glimpse into Student’s ability to interpersonally communicate in an online medium, and I felt that Student, once again, exhibited keen insights and above-average skill.

For our major paper, Student undertook the topic of how social media affects college students–this was after Student’s own three-day social media/texting fast. Student conveyed thoughts in a focused manner and showed developing information literacy skills.

As you know, grades do not always give the full picture of a student’s ability. I definitely believe this to be the case with Student. Student can tell you about the outcome and changes made as a result. Reflecting on how one can improve and then taking action is an important skill. This quality just adds to Student’s positive attributes that I hope you will consider.

If I can answer other questions about my time working with Student, I would be glad to have that conversation.

Respectfully,

The sign knows everything about slackers. Arggggghhhh!!!!!!

(A one-line write-in from a student… Does this problem ever go away in life? No! The slacking group member is a plague! Students feel helpless and concerned about grades, and they may wonder when to bring a prof in on the problem. Here’s my take…) 

Ellen,

How do you work with a group member who does not put in their work on a group project?

Student

***********************

I realize the student didn’t ask for all the advice I’m giving, but I’m giving it anyway. What do you say???

Student,

I so empathize! As a student, I couldn’t stand group work because I knew I would probably have to manage or do most of it so my own grade wouldn’t tank.

Can I be honest? Even as a professional, I still become a little anxious with group work. Let’s face it: Not everyone has the same work ethic. You can hope for everyone to step up, but as you are experiencing, some people don’t. This is a classic complaint for students. I have abandoned group work in my classes with any sort of high stakes, unless I am teaching a group communication course.

On to you: What do you do with that slacker in your group?

My first recommendation is don’t go to your prof immediately, but I will tell you in a minute when it is time to do that.

I bet your assignment is well underway. If the assignment was just starting–and since it has–this would be my strategy:

-Immediately take the lead (Not a dictatorial lead… just assertively take charge of making suggestions…) and ensure that every person ‘owns’ and recaps their deliverables, including a date for each deliverable (this can be a collaborative discussion–I’ll explain below);
-Build in enough time so if each person doesn’t meet the deadline, you can address the problem;
-Assign another group member in place to pick up unfinished work, if necessary.
-Assign yourself or a second person as “quality control” to make sure the work is completed on time and up to standards.

Bring your group together now and say that it’s time to “regroup.” You need all members there to re-establish everyone’s deliverables and the dates: “We agreed that Nyara would have X done by Monday evening and Mike would have X done by Wednesday, and I will update where we are on Thursday.”

Have a clear-cut plan of action if someone misses their deliverable with the majority of your group in agreement. Say, “Given that we only have a week (two weeks… whatever) to pull all this together, if one of us misses a deadline, they’ll get one reminder (because remember–you’ll be building in your dates with some buffer room!). Who will step in to take over that job?” Make sure that person is ready to move quickly.

Remember, too, that everyone needs to be in specific agreement about expected quality of work. Is everyone striving for an ‘A’? What does ‘A’ work look like? Underperforming can be as bad as not performing.

While you’re in the discussion about dates and work, have a mechanism so everyone knows what will happen if they don’t step up. I recommend a group evaluation, whether or not one was required. Say, “If someone needs to take over someone else’s work, I suggest we submit a group evaluation along with this project.”

I don’t suggest a huge intervention with the slacker. You can try one private conversation to be diplomatic: “The group is concerned about you. Is there something going on that is preventing you from getting this work done?” But the bottom line is, regardless of this person’s answer, the work needs to be done. If they have a genuine life issue, they need to work with the professor on that. If they are just slacking, then you won’t have time for empty promises and more delay.

More on the evaluation: Sometimes, group projects come with guidance for an initial group contract, self-evaluation of your performance, or peer-evaluation of the group performance. These tools are critical for establishing expectations and roles. If you are not explicitly told to turn in some sort of evaluation, I would turn one in anyway. A grade is at stake here. It is not fair for everyone to receive the same grade if only three of four people carried the work–unless everyone agrees to that, of course.

I may be in the minority on this thought, but in a short-term situation, like a class, you should not be forced to carry someone else’s weight at the expense of your grade. I totally get the argument that these projects prepare you for real life, but in business, someone not doing their share of the work would have harsh ramifications and you’d have longer to deal with the issue. Also, drama takes energy and time, and a quarter or semester is finite.

Make sure all group decisions are transparent–and this includes to the slacking group member. It is tempting to split off, talk behind that person’s back, and take over, but the slacker should know what’s going on. He/she may need to speak to events in the group with the prof.

Your prof will read between the lines that you’re looking for fairness, and if he/she has questions, you’ll hear them. You don’t have to say “…so you FAIL the slacker’s ass and we all get A’s!”

I can’t emphasize enough not to waste your time with drama. Keep everything ‘business’ as much as you can. The slacker will learn soon enough that working this way just doesn’t work. Hopefully your prof will make things equitable.

Good luck and let me know if I can help further!

Ellen

What advice do you have? Colleagues, how do you mitigate these types of situations?

I’ll leave this caption to you. I just liked the picture .

(Back to a student write-in question that came in on “You Failed Your Class” from my old Blogger site. Since we’re nearing the end of another school year, let’s tackle this one in case others are going through it, too…)

Ellen,
I have an issue that is really bothering me. My friend and I spent all day Tuesday in the library studying the same exact material for an exam on Wednesday (It was a practice test for our exam online). The only difference is Friend’s class is lecture style and mine is online.

Wednesday rolled around and Friend aced the test. I didn’t take mine later that evening but my friend said the test was identical to the practice test we were using to study. I go in later that evening to take my test and it is completely different then the practice test the prof issued us. The diagrams and pictures were of something that wasn’t even on the practice test. Needless to say I failed that exam and ended up with a D in the course…which I needed a C.

I can’t help but to feel upset and I think that is extremely unfair….what are my options and what would you advise doing?

Thanks!

Student

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Dear Student,

I would be very frustrated in a situation like this. I remember being mad when my score was different from another student’s score–yet I received fewer comments on my paper!

My response will only be based on my experience. There are a few variables to think about here: The online prof likely has the freedom to write a test that he/she sees fitting, unless there is a departmental exam that all profs must give. I am sure the expectation was not for the online test to completely mimic the study guide (because then the study guide would be the test, right?), but you expected the concepts to be similar.

I agree that it is unfair and unproductive to give students a study guide that doesn’t fit the test. I also believe that an online section of a course should closely mimic the on-campus section to maintain integrity. Now I’m not saying the content has to be exactly the same, but sometimes, online profs will make alterations to the curriculum that reduces the rigor (then everyone wants the online class) or they heap five times as much work on the online section to justify its existence in that medium. Sometimes, online versions of the same course are not monitored for consistency and quality. You’ll have to do some digging to find out what happened.

If you and your friend were given the exact same study materials (you didn’t copy them and share them, right? You were each given the same study guide?), I wonder if the prof was supposed to give some sort of common exam, but did not. On the other hand, if every single class had the same exam, there could be a security issue with students sharing content. I would take this up with your professor or ultimately a division/department chair (but hopefully not that far) to get to the bottom.

Another question: You now have a D in the course. Was the final worth enough to knock you down a letter grade? Or were you already struggling? No judgment on my end… believe me. The sciences were not strong for me. I’m only asking because you may have to speak to the rest of your grade standing when you confront this issue.

Make an appointment with your professor (or call) and say, “I am very concerned about my final exam. I studied with a friend who happens to be taking the same course face-to-face. I’m in your online course. We were given the exact same study materials.

I took my test and it didn’t look anything like the study guide. My friend did very well and said his/her test had the same concepts. I had a C in this course and that dropped to a D after the test. Can we please take a look at the test and the study materials and discuss why this happened? I don’t make it a habit to compare my grades, but my friend and I studied together to help each other. My friend did way better. I would appreciate any help so I can understand what happened.”

Two notes: First, be careful of miscommunicating and giving the prof the impression that you were trying to find out what was on the test. You don’t want to lose credibility. Second, profs often shut down when students compare their work to others. I would hardly ever encourage bringing up another student’s grades; this is one of those special circumstances where you have no choice.

Prepare yourself for different reactions from your prof, ranging from accommodating to defensive. Remember, your real argument is why the test was so vastly different than the study guide–not that your friend had a better test or grade. Also, figure out what outcome you seek. Do you want the prof to give you a new test? (This probably won’t happen). Or do something else about your grade? Your prof may simply say that he/she has the right to test in the way they see fit. This would be true. Unless a department compiles assessment results (many do), prof-created tests are rarely scrutinized.

If you want to pursue the issue further, you could say to the professor, “Testing on completely unrelated concepts had a very negative impact on my grade. Under the circumstances, I would like a division/department chair to get involved.”

Just be prepared that when you take this step, you have to be able to show that a large part of that test (50% or more) was on material not covered in the study guide. At the least, if a study guide is being handed out to all students taking the course, but the tests are wildly different, someone should know about it. Otherwise, your complaint won’t be the first.

I wish you luck and hope you’ll report back and let me know what you find out.

Ellen

Has anyone else encountered this phenomenon? What are your recommendations?

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Turned in a polar bear in a snowstorm (blank page ) for your last assignment? Did your prof contact you with feedback or a second chance? What level of care did you show in return?

(No major intro on this one. Student questions will be back soon. In the meantime, here is what I’m thinking about right now…)

In my Interpersonal Communication course, my students submit a question-prompted journal fairly early in the term.

The first question? “Analyze your communication strengths and weaknesses, based on communication competencies in the textbook.”

If other questions go awry, (they usually don’t–interpersonal communication may be hard as hell in real life, but it isn’t rocket science), I can typically count on students answering this one question.

Until now.

Student’s journal literally had a polar bear in a snowstorm on page one.

I was grading at night, so I e-mailed Student and said, “I just reviewed your journal. Am I looking at the correct version? The first question has no response. Is it missing?”

Student responded fairly quickly: “I didn’t understand the question. I don’t have an excuse. I figured I’d just get a zero.”

Student was honest, at least.

I replied, “The question asks you to think about ways you communicate with others, what is going well and what you would like to improve. There are a list of communication competencies in Chapter 1 that you can draw from. Why don’t you take another look and turn this back in? You’ll be analyzing your progress at the end of the term, so it’s an important question. I’ve seen you contribute in class. I feel confident that you know this material.”

Now Student, “I just didn’t understand the question.”

Now me, “I think I just explained it (?). Would you like to come in and we can talk about it further? Like I said, this is a pretty important question for the rest of the term. This is also your first major graded assignment. I’d like to see you get more points and I’m giving you an opportunity to do that.”

And Student again, “I’ll just take whatever you give me.”

At this point, I’m dumbfounded. And, to be quite honest, feeling just plain dumb for obviously caring way, way more than the student.

My final reply, “I disagree with your decision, but it is yours. We could get you up to speed and raise your grade. If you are confused, ask for help, rather than just submit work knowing you will get a zero. You wouldn’t do this in the workplace and then take the fallout, which could have serious consequences, right? There is another journal due in a few weeks. Let’s take a look at that one early and make sure you are on the right track.”

I’d love to say that this situation rarely happens. Another student submitted a required draft paper to the class dropbox a week early. It was almost too early–I suspected something was amiss–so I took a look. I e-mailed the student:

“Student, I noticed that you submitted your paper early, which is great. I see that it is missing sources and a thesis statement. If I grade this now, I’m going to spend time dealing with those issues that you can fix. Not only will your draft grade be affected, but my taking time on required items that are missing reduces the time I can spend on content. You’ll want my feedback for the final paper, which is worth four times as much. Since you are so early, why not add the thesis and sources and resubmit?”

I never heard from Student. The draft was not resubmitted. The grade was as anticipated, not only on the draft, but also on the final paper. These issues lingered until the last journal, which earned an equally low grade. Then I finally heard from the student: “Why did I get that grade?”

My reply? “There were no cited sources for your journal, the same as your paper. I e-mailed you to call your attention to this problem in the hopes that it would be fixed for the draft. I never received a response. Every paper this term has been missing sources and it has made a huge impact on your grade.”

Student didn’t argue that my e-mails weren’t received, and often, that will happen. I’ll stop with examples, but my question is this: Since when do professors care more than students? What kind of work ethic does this show? Where do students believe it will lead?

So what’s the communication lesson here?

Fabulous students, nothing in your verbal or nonverbal messaging should ever, ever give your professor the impression that you give less of a damn than they do… especially when any prof enables you to practice being better, stronger, or employable!

Speaking of employability, the first student wanted to “take a zero.” At work, a zero could mean “zero job.” There is no ‘turn in crap work and let the consequences fall.’

In both cases, a boss wouldn’t seek you out after poor work is submitted, steadily manage your process as you fix it, then cheerlead you to the finish. A boss would find someone competent enough to get it right the first time, or, at the least, savvy/proactive/assertive enough to seek out resources for help.

Of course, my recommendation is to be on top of your assignments so you know what is expected. I recognize that sometimes, this doesn’t happen. So if your professor ever contacts you about submitted work and allows you to improve it, your response should be, “Thank you very much for calling this to my attention. I must have misunderstood something about the assignment and realize that I should have clarified it with you earlier. I appreciate you giving me feedback and the chance to fix the problem. I can have this back to you in 24-hours (or 48… or whatever, but make it a short turnaround time!). Would that be all right?”

Then do it! Show your prof that you were worthy of him/her taking the time to care. Profs stop giving students chances when they perceive that their concern isn’t shared. Conversely, being able to swiftly apply feedback is a critical skill. Your prof could write about this in a recommendation letter if you keep the relationship amicable.

The interactions that I’m describing are a gift. The gift of a potentially better grade and a huge test of your work ethic.

You’ll want to pass that test to benefit your future career. That’s what college is about, right? (Psst… yes!).

Students, why do you think faculty concern is ignored when that concern can only offer benefits? Embarrassment? Genuine apathy? Disregard for consequences? Colleagues, what are your thoughts?

When a game is lost by one point, that’s a bummer. When a student is one point away from failure, that’s a potential crisis. What should you say?

(Some personal blips kept me away from my blogging longer than expected. Writing is my whole heart and when I miss it, I really miss it. Spring break is upon me soon and my hope is to get back on track for at least my weekly posts!

A couple quick updates: While I was away, my third piece in USA Today College published: 6 Things You Should Say to Your Professor. Very proud of this one because obviously, the topic is my whole heart. Read it and grab two pocket phrases to sound ultra-professional in most pesky classroom situations!

On to a difficult subject, one that has layers of complexity, but requires sensitivity and care. This comment was posted on my old Blogger site recently. I feel it is incredibly important for all of us. Although this was technically a public note, I’ll still change some items for anonymity. Please, please comment and add your thoughts and please forgive on the length!)

Ellen,

I was wondering, in your estimations, how common is it for a student to fail a course by exactly one point? It recently happened to me and I suspect my professor of foul play. My professor has no idea how hard I’ve worked and how much I’ve learned this semester. It would be redundant for me to take this class over, I am very confident about that. I am one point away from a C and a D is considered a failing grade.

I am a minority (anonymity here) and believe my prof is intimidated by my appearance. There is another student of the same race/ethnicity (again, anonymity) in class, but we come from different walks of life. We don’t dress the same, and the prof treats the other person well. The professor never makes eye contact with me. When I say hello, I get ignored or the prof seems like a nervous wreck, like they’ve had a bad experience with someone like me.

I’m not a thug. If I was, I wouldn’t be a senior. I think it’s time that America starts to understand that someone’s fashion in their culture and their style has nothing to do with the way we live our lives.

Thank you for your time.

Student

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There may be other students out there who feel this way and may not perceive an outlet to talk about it. So let’s talk about it.

Dear Student,

There are complex issues to tackle, but I want to first express compassion for the way you feel. I hope I can give you some tangible advice.

The initial question: Have I failed someone by one point? Rarely. I first examine the overall points and then where the individual breakdowns occurred. If I can justifiably round up to salvage the situation, I will. If the student hasn’t met the minimum standards and I believe that a retake of the course is necessary, then, yes, failure of one point would happen. With that slim margin, I try to look at the situation from a qualitative perspective (Did the student attend class? Regularly engage in discussion? Show improvement in any areas?) and see if the D accurately reflects what the student earned. A D does plenty of damage to one’s GPA. An F can be monumental, as well as a class that requires a retake.

As to the bigger issue at hand: The one point and discrimination. Let me try and deconstruct:

-I have no doubt that students who fail or receive a D may have learned a ton. In my currently ending term, I have some unfortunately low grades due to the written work requirement in one of my classes. I know that each of these students learned far more about our topic than what their grade reflects. As much as I want to grade on effort, I can’t. There are mechanisms in my grading scheme that allow some wiggle room for these students (some freebies, if you will), but beyond that, my grading is based on set standards and prescribed requirements.

Because the discrimination issue is not quickly or easily addressable, but the grade problem has a finite shelf life, could you go to your prof for an “all business” conversation and say, “I need to discuss my one point gap with you. I am between a C and a D and the D will mean I need to retake this class. Here are my assignments and proof that although I missed the mark on several occasions (tests, etc.), I am asking you to reconsider the point”? Show any documentation you can in addition to the assignments/exams i.e., notes that you took, etc. It may not help, but can’t hurt.

If you cannot go to the prof because of the interpersonal discomfort, I don’t blame you. A division chair would have to get involved at this point, which I’ll explain in a second.

I have to be honest: Proving that the “downgrade” is due to discrimination is going to be nearly impossible (though that does not mean you should ignore your concerns about either). What I’m saying is that unless you can showcase stellar work that was downgraded for no reason, the work is what is going to be in question.

I am speaking from experience: A student once wrote an outline and delivered a speech about an aspect of his/her culture. The student received a C, which was justified because the main points were disconnected and the sources lacked quality. The grade probably should have been lower. This was in ’08, so I’d been teaching for nine years. Prior, I taught at an extremely diverse community college in Vegas and then in the Deep South for four years where I was actually a religious and racial minority.

I had never before been accused of racism. The student contacted HR, the VP… everyone, certain I hated the speech topic about his/her culture, which is why I gave that grade. The subject had nothing to do with the grade, but rather the disorganization and source problems. The accusation never went anywhere–the work spoke for itself.

I just want to make a side note here: It was incredibly easy for the student to blame me for the outcome, rather than examine his/her contribution to the outcome. So putting the other issues aside, I ask you–with respect and care–to please think about what led to the outcome of your D. Was it the subject matter? The prof’s teaching style? The fact that you felt uncomfortable in the class? Looking at this honestly will be critical to you moving on. Also, you may have to debrief this situation within yourself because you may not be able to “process” the real issues with your professor.

-On to the heart of your concerns: The discrimination. What you have to know and probably do is that your professor’s behavior has zero to do with you personally. I know from the behaviors of my somewhat racist Jewish grandparents (I’m sorry… it was true!) and the fascinating discussions with my students in the Deep South where cultural tensions still run high, often, these reactions are deep-seated and instinctive. The behavior that you describe in a diverse public classroom, however, is inexcusable, regardless of personal beliefs. Students should be comfortable, regardless of  clothing/ appearance (within the Student Handbook rules, if there are any…) or your race, religion, etc.

Whether or not you’ve resolved the grade issue, you need to express your concerns to a division/department chair. I would say, “I have been in X class. I admit that I’ve been struggling and my grade is not as strong as I would like. My experience has been unusual and uncomfortable because my professor seems very nervous around me. I realize this is a serious accusation, but my prof’s behavior (describe your experience and be specific) when we’ve interacted makes me question if there is something about my appearance or my ethnicity/race that bothers him/her.”

The chair may ask what outcome you seek. If you met with the prof over the grade issue, which is the ideal, then you could say that you would like the chair to speak with the prof and look into the matter. If you didn’t meet with the prof, say, “I’m between a C and a D by one point. As I said, I’ve been struggling, but I can’t help but make a connection between the way the prof has treated me and this one point difference.”

Remember: The interpersonal issue–bad as it is–and the grade problem are likely going to be treated separately. The division/department chair will hopefully speak to the prof. Discrimination is a serious accusation and it should be investigated, particularly to see if the prof has had similar complaints.

Some other options:

-You could tell the division chair that you would like a Student Affairs officer involved. You can go to the Student Affairs administrator independently, but there is a hierarchy on a college campus, and you want to respect the hierarchy as much as you can. People will take you more seriously if you do.

-If you’ve read my other posts, you know that I recommend the counseling center a lot. Speaking with a campus counselor would enable you unload your thoughts, and this is another person on campus who would know about the situation.

-Your Student Senate may be able to help you file a formal grievance, or certainly you can do this yourself. The Student Handbook or your Student Affairs office should be able to help. Hopefully you would not have to go that far.

I hope you achieve resolution on the grade issue, as well as your concerns about this professor. And, of course, I agree with you that appearance has no bearing on the way someone lives their life. This is an incredibly challenging situation. I know it is going to sound cliche, though I mean this sincerely: Be reflective about the interpersonal dynamic and the academic piece. They will both offer you huge growth opportunities far beyond college.

I wish you well.

Ellen

Your heart is set on a particular job. Could an F on your transcript lock you out of it? What should you do? What should you say?

(I was not intending to take a two-week hiatus, but apparently, a hiatus decided to take me! Darned winter illnesses that strike family members back to back–but fortunately, not Mom. I’ve missed interacting with everyone and wanted to continue on our theme from a couple of weeks ago: When college is supposed to help dreams come true, but then something in college actually threatens that dream. Here we have yet another letter to that end. What do you think about this situation?)

Dear Ellen,

I read your blog about failing a class. I am a graduate student. I took a course last semester and failed it. I am feeling very depressed. I wanted to pursue a career as a professor, but I think failing this class has ruined it. I don’t see any hope. You mentioned that you failed a class, as well. How has this affected your employment as a professor? Did anyone look at your GPA and ask you why it happened? If so, what was your answer?

Student

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Dear Student,

I am really sorry about the failed course. I definitely know how that feels–awful!

You are remembering correctly, but I only told part of the story. I actually failed two courses. They were when my father died and I blogged about fading out of school. One of the courses, I retook because I had to (Public Speaking). The other course, I never retook. It was a History course, and for whatever reason, I just decided that I didn’t want that particular course again. I was an undergrad at the time and I feared those F’s on my transcript would keep me out of graduate school. So, due to my circumstances (the death of my father), six years later, I petitioned to have them stricken and turned into W’s. It was not an easy process at all, but I want you to have full disclosure that I actually was able to take care of those failing grades. I don’t want to give the impression that my situation would be universal.

Beyond that, I did have a C on my transcript from my community college, but I didn’t really worry about it. In my graduate school, had I gotten any less than a B in my courses, I would have had to retake them. That didn’t happen, but believe me, I could have easily failed my Stats course without extra help. Math is not my strong suit.

In many graduate schools, there is a similar policy. So my first question is, are you truly going to “fail” if you have to retake your course? My next question: Can you retake the course? Before we tap into the career issue, I would try to figure out what went wrong. The lessons you take away that led to the failure are going to be critical for you in becoming a professor. You’ll want to figure out why the problem happened and see what you can do differently. Again, I really think that the exercise of doing this, rather than leaving the F alone, is going to be monumental for you in the future. I draw upon my own academic experiences all the time–the good and the ugly. I bet many of my colleagues would say the same.

Now let’s get to the heart of the matter: I don’t believe that getting one “F” is going to sink you on becoming a professor, but this is going to depend on a couple of things that I’ll explain. I do think that a professor failing a course or having a poor grade in a class makes that person a) human; and b) able to connect to the struggles that actual students have. I’m going to put a huge qualifier on this, though. If the failing grade is in a main teaching area for you, a college would likely squint on that. Another reason to retake the class.

If you failed a course in, say, statistics (required for many graduate degrees), but you won’t be teaching statistics, hiring committees or HR Departments often review transcripts more to prove that you actually hold the degrees that you claim (yes, some people fake their credentials!), rather than to pore over every single individual grade. But it wouldn’t be inconceivable to have a series of low GPA’s on your transcripts questioned.

If everything else looks strong, then a bad grade (not in your primary teaching area) should not be a deal-breaker for you becoming a professor. Many students have a blip at some point–some blips are worse than others. Mine happened to be a “C” and had I not been able to turn those “F’s” into W’s after my father died, I would have had the two “F’s” on my transcript and I would have likely had to put a note with my transcript explaining why they were there.

I think it is definitely time to go back to that professor with whom you failed the course. Say, “Professor, I really need to discuss my  performance in our class that just ended. I failed the course and I am very worried about how this is going to affect not only my academic standing, but also my future career. I have plans to become a professor and am concerned about how this is going to look on my transcript. What advice do you have so this does not adversely affect me?” You may also want to have this same discussion with the adviser of your program.

Bottom line, I would do everything you possibly can to turn things around now before you start applying for jobs. If you cannot reverse that F, be prepared to speak to it candidly. If it is the only “F” on your graduate school transcript, I would position it as, “I struggled tremendously in X class as a graduate student. What I took away from the course were these valuable lessons and I feel I am going to be a lot more empathetic to my own students when they face these same struggles.”

You can also say, “Based on the issues I faced in this course as a student, I researched and devised these teaching strategies so other students won’t face the same problems I did.”

I think those answers would show that you were extremely reflective about your experience and forward-thinking about other students’ experiences.

I wish you well!

Ellen