Literally I guess.

Now here is the problem that truly stinks. One of the buildings where a
bunch of finals are always scheduled is also prone to fire alarms.
Fortunately I have only had the alarm go off /before /the exam started
-- we couldn't get into the building. But I dread the time when it goes
off part way thru'. There are all kinds of complicated rules that kick
in none of which I can remember. But basically I can't think of any fair
way of handling things other than having a completely new and
rescheduled exam. Ugh. The ultimate problem with this building is its
also where the switchboard is so you can't call anyone unless you know
the number already to find another room. Last year Darren Charters and I
trotted around campus with a couple of hundred students in tow till we
found another room. Of course, despite my going round and round the math
building looking for lost ducklings, a handful were truly never found.

Ok -- you know the conclusion. Those lucky (?) ducks got a deferred.

Sally

Ginny Maurer wrote:

> It's a Darwinian thing, Sally.
>
>
> *sgunz <[log in to unmask]>*
> Sent by: "Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk"
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
> 05/12/2005 12:08 PM AST
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Please respond to "Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk"
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> To
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> cc
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>
> Subject
>
> Re: students missing finals
>
>
>
> OK -- apologies in advance if I have completely misunderstood what has
> been said by several people.
>
> Sorry folks but I am incredulous. If you have a student with a medical
> certificate stating the student is incapacitated at that time, and the
> final is worth eg 50 percent of the grade, you won't give them a
> deferred? You give them zero and they fail the course? Am I missing
> something here? You mean some poor sap who has the misfortune of
> succumbing to an illness on the critical date or is run over by a bus
> has their tale of woe compounded by a faculty member who says 'Kid, suck
> it up. Look at the outline. It says no deferred.'   I hope I am
> interpreting this wrong but this sure isn't the way I would like to be
> treated in life -- seems far too harsh and as a fee paying parent, if a
> faculty member did that to my kid and we effectively throw away a course
> and likely (in my program anyway) made them lose a year of schooling, I
> would be furious.
>
> I want my students to sit their exam when they are not impaired by
> illness. I want them to be in a position where they can do the best they
> can -- and if that is they perform badly because they didn't study then
> so be it. But I don't want them to do badly because they were sick. We
> are the ones that say every point of a grade point average is critical
> etc etc. Seems to me we have some responsibility to be fair.
>
> And in case you think my policy (actually, my University policy) makes
> work -- to repeat, if I large class I can expect perhaps one or at most
> two deferred exams. Many years I have none. I don't feel I am being
> exploited and if a dubious (dubious as in med. certificate -- tho' I
> won't challenge a legit doctor) one slips thru' so be it. As I said
> before, those kinds of students invariably do poorly likely because they
> are too busy making excuses and not busy enough studying.
>
> Again -- my apologies if I have misunderstood what is being done.
>
> Sally
>
>
>
> Ginger, Laura wrote:
>
> >This is an easy one for me--I do not let students make up exams ever,
> for any reason.  This policy is in my syllabus and I discuss it the
> first day of class.  But even my colleagues who permit make up exams
> for some reasons do not permit make up exams of the final.  More to
> your point, no one I know would let a student make up a final which
> the student missed merely because of "writing it down wrong,"
> oversleeping, or other types of student irresponsibility.  Just say no!
> >Laura Ginger
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From:   Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk on behalf of
> Susan Rogers
> >Sent:   Thu 5/12/2005 9:43 AM
> >To:     [log in to unmask]
> >Cc:
> >Subject:        students missing finals
> >
> >I seem to have an epidemic this year of students missing the final, and
> >wanting to make it up.  In all but one case, the only excuse is: I wrote
> >it down wrong.
> >
> >This means they didn't read the syllabus very carefully, missed several
> >in-class announcements, didn't double check the official schedule etc.
> >
> >I'm just wondering what others do in this situation.  One of my
> colleagues
> >said she refused to give the student a make-up, but that student was
> >flunking the class anyway.
> >
> >I have to say, I'm getting a bit fed-up with their level of
> irresponsibility!
> >
> >
> >