I agree.  This is a great idea.  Wish I'd thought of it.  I'll probably
use it.

I am dealing with this kind of thing as we speak.

John

-----Original Message-----
From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Virginia Maurer
Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2005 1:13 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: students missing finals

I like the sympathy card, too. And actually, you wouldn't even have to
send
it; you could just ask the student for his father's address so that you
can
write him a note in sympathy for the loss of the grandmother. That
should
produce something interesting.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Rogers" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2005 12:59 PM
Subject: Re: students missing finals


I think the sympathy card is a great idea!  and the payment scheme even
better, although I'm pretty sure UW wouldn't go for it...

> One problem with student excuses is the difficulty in verifying the
> veracity of their excuse. &nbsp;I have many students that I trust
> implicitly and some that I doubt much of what they say. &nbsp;It is a
> real problem at my school because urgent personal business is a common
> excuse and my definition of urgent and the student's definition
> frequently differ. &nbsp;This semester I got a call from a student at
> 6:00 pm telling me that a roommate had been taken to the emergency
room
> and that my student was planning to be at the hospital all night to be
> with her roommate. &nbsp;The call was made on the way to the emergency
> room and was pre-diagnosis. &nbsp;Certainly, hospital stays and deaths
> in the family need to be accommodated. &nbsp;A problem arises when
> students come in with a death notice but the last names aren't the
same.
> &nbsp;While it could be legitimate, who knows? &nbsp;In the past I
have
> granted a make-up and sent a sympathy card to their homes with quite
> interesting phone calls from the parents or guardians a few days
later.
> &nbsp;Since we're trying to train students for the business world, I
> often think that I would never have said to my boss, when I managed in
> the banking industry, that I couldn't finish a report, or meet a
> deadline, because I had an upset stomach and couldn't concentrate.A
> small school that I taught at in the beginning of my career had an
> interesting policy. &nbsp;They charged for make-up tests and the money
> went to the faculty member administering the make-up. &nbsp;Back in
the
> 1970's it was $25.00 and I don't know what it is now, or even if they
> still have the same policy. &nbsp;I can tell you that once the policy
> went into effect, there was a lot less illness in Delaware and the
death
> rate of relatives was markedly cut.&nbsp;Michael A. Katz, J.D.Delaware
> State UniversityDepartment of Accounting and Finance1200 North DuPont
> HighwayMBNA America Building, Rm 206 DDover, DE 19901(302)
857-6918(302)
> 857-6924 (fax)&lt;[log in to unmask]&gt;