The former Kaplan University dean who is one of the parties behind a series of whistle-blower lawsuits that accuses the institution of defrauding the government out of federal student aid was convicted on Friday on six counts of sending threatening e-mails to university officials and students, Bloomberg reported. Ben Wilcox, who claimed at the federal trial in Chicago that Kaplan officials had framed him, faces up to 18 years in prison and fines of up to $1.5-million. His sentencing is scheduled for April.
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39 Responses to Kaplan U. Whistle-Blower Convicted on E-Mail Charges
drjilliantweiss - December 13, 2010 at 7:10 am
Sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s the victim.
James Rovira - June 16, 2011 at 11:47 am
The question with extra credit is why students are using it. It’s never acceptable as replacement for regularly assigned work. I generally don’t assign it because most students want to use it as a form of busywork at the end of the semester to make up missed point during the course of the semester. That’s not acceptable and is a bad habit carried over from high school, which was a bad habit encouraged by HS teachers to “get the student through” rather than ensure that they develop the knowledge and skills associated with the course.
However, I have considered granting extra credit for students who have done all (or almost all) required work for the class in the case of special events that I want students to attend and consider within the context of the course. I don’t want to penalize students unable to attend due to work commitments, so I might make attendance (and the writing assignment associated with it — I would not assign extra credit for registering to vote or getting a library card without at least a two page paper associated with those activities) count only for extra credit.
markstoneman - June 16, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I almost never offer extra credit for two reasons. First, those students I have had who need it tend to have not done some other work that they should have done. Any extra credit in such cases would seem to be reinforcing negative behaviors. Second, I’m usually stretched too thin to even contemplate extra credit in the first place. I think the only time I ever offered it was once when I felt most of the students were making a strong effort and were still struggling.
Geoffrey Hooker - June 16, 2011 at 1:22 pm
When I taught mathematics at a community college, I took the semester average of daily work out of more assignments than we actually had. So a student who was there for, and did turned in, every assignment could get as high as a 105. This also offered some grace for the student who could only get a dental appointment or job interview during my class and got rid of the judgment and documentation factor for what would be a good reason to miss my class.
As far as extra credit questions on exams: If everybody missed a problem, I treated it as extra credit on this exam and asked a similar question on the next exam; those students who earned points got to keep them (to a maximum exam score of 110 or final exam score of 100). I would occasionally have fun extra credit questions as bonuses at the end that could not raise a score above 100, but could raise an 89 to a 91, for example.
carremi - June 16, 2011 at 1:25 pm
i give extra credit on the exams ..sometimes i’ll give the x credit assigment before-hand…..i think the final grade should be based on mastering the material of the course…i have too many student who at the end of the semester ask for x credit because they “just realized” they are failing the class.
temporaryname - June 16, 2011 at 3:20 pm
I use extra credit to correct for my own errors. For example, if I made an exam more difficult than I should have, I may later offer an easy but meaningful extra credit assignment to the class. (This approach means that if I offer extra credit, it’s always offered to the entire class rather than to targeted students.)
clerxr1 - June 16, 2011 at 3:49 pm
I do not provide extra credit. However, I do encourage students to attend professional chapter events like Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Institute for Management Accounting (IMA) or Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for students in the business division. I assign a classroom assessment technique – a journal – every class. If a student attends one of the professional meetings, I give them a “get our of journal card” It is not extra credit but an alternative to participation points.
artfrank - June 16, 2011 at 4:07 pm
I give extra credit when my students pursue an idea or question that comes up in a lecture or discussion. The extra credit might involve producing a brief survey and delivering into to a few students, doing a literature search to see whether others have had to say about a particular idea or question, writing a paper about how a personal experience is or isn’t consistent with a principle or theory discussed in class, etc. The extra credit might add a few points to the next exam score depending on its quality. I think providing an incentive for students to pursue an idea related to what comes up in class encourages students to work independently to pursue ideas that interest them. The work may not be of particularly high quality but the 3-5 points that I “give away” on the next exam really doesn’t have a huge impact on the student’s grade in the course but it usually encourages 2-3 students to do the extra credit work. I have a problem, however, with giving extra credit for work that is unrelated to the course, regardless of its perceived value. The grade in the course is supposed to represent the quantity and quality of a student’s work in a particular discipline in my view. To give extra credit for work outside the course’s subject matter is therefore problematic.
lee1967 - June 16, 2011 at 4:09 pm
In some courses, I offer students the opportunity
to write short memos (typically 1-2 pages) for extra credit. The memos ask them to do what I hope they’ll
do anyway: read and think. Each is
designed around a few questions related to a particular chunk of readings. I grade the memos Pass/Fail, and offer an
additional point on the final course grade (say from 85 to 86) for a passing grade. Most students don’t do them, and often the
ones who do aren’t the ones who most need the credit. But I’ve had some successes with students who
got a “fail” on their first extra-credit memo, but learned from the feedback
and did better work subsequently. A side benefit is that it’s harder for
students to complain about their grade
if they passed on an opportunity to improve it.
olddean - June 16, 2011 at 4:11 pm
All too often “extra credit” is just a euphemism for “remedial credit”; some sort of escape route for either having not done the required work in a satisfactory manner or trying to improve a letter grade. .
“Extra credit” might make more sense if awarded to top students who took on extra work to extend their understanding or learning. I don’t know how to recognize such effort, however ( an A+ or an A with honors?).
“Remedial credit” might be appropriate in a few cases but should not allow the non-performing student to outrank the student meeting different levels of class expectations.
7738373863 - June 16, 2011 at 4:27 pm
There are other ways of adjusting grades, such as throwing out the low grade in a series of exercises/papers or curving one exam on which performance was egregiously bad. But college is about doing assignments, meeting deadlines, and, above all, taking full responsibility for one’s choices and their consequences.. Positive feedback is the way to encourage desired behaviors, not extra points. Junior soccer is over, and not all of the players in the classroom should be getting trophies.
thomaslawrencelong - June 16, 2011 at 4:31 pm
My response to questions about extra credit: Why should I do more work because you didn’t do your work?
profmomof1 - June 16, 2011 at 4:49 pm
I no longer allow “extra credit” assignments, period. I too found that it was being requested at the end of the semester by students who failed to do all of the required work, who failed to study much for exams, or who otherwise didn’t put forth the effort needed to get a high grade. They hope that some easy “extra credit” assignment can be used to make up for slaking off all semester. Accomodating them is not helping them learn adult responsibility. And, giving extra credit for some additional outside-of-class event like a special lecture was problematic because not all students could attend (schedule conflicts with work or other classes). So then they would ask for an alternative extra credit assignment for fairness. The whole thing became a big headache. Now I simply require that you do the regularly-assigned class work well and on time in order to get a good grade. And if I have a lousy test question missed by all? I just give everyone credit for it.
cwinton - June 16, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Most of my classes include a term project, so I simply provide a specification that details what I expect each student to accomplish on the project, and then add extensions for new material and/or depth, stipulating the added credit each represents and the extent to which it must be accomplished for any consideration. In general, these add-ons cover things that go beyond the intent of the course or which represent directions I might have chosen for the course but did not do so. The approach serves both those who want an added challenge and those who are desperate for a way to improve their grade as the end of the term nears. The approach serves several purposes:
1. it encourages students to extend themselves in going the extra mile
2. it gives those who think they should have a better grade with the opportunity to convince me by taking the project further than I would otherwise expect
3. I get to see how well students respond to topics I might have covered, but instead opted for something else
4. student who so avail themselves obtain a greater comprehension of the course subject, which is particularly of benefit for those whose performance otherwise was less than stellar.
The major effect on grades is to determine the borderline decisions between one grade and the next higher one. Stronger students often include one or more of the extras to ensure they don’t slip a notch if the final exam doesn’t go well for them. In general, I would say roughly half of any given class will incorporate at least one extension into their project work.
icbomber23 - June 16, 2011 at 5:12 pm
I offer extra credit in my intro to media writing class, but I do so by crafting an assignment that asks them to build on what they’ve learned and use that, but also takes them beyond their comfort zone.
It’s a “Deadline Writing Challenge” where I’ll show kids a video and then give them 15 minutes to write me a 300-word story about it. They have to use all the skills they learned in class and make it clear, concise, and engaging, but it forces them to do something they probably haven’t been asked to do much, (but will most certainly need to in their careers) which is write something on an absurdly tight deadline.
I think it’s an important skill to have, but I don’t know that I’d feel comfortable giving it to kids as a graded assignment, because it can be very difficult for freshmen students to do and the skills needed for it are often not something you can easily teach. It’s sort of a trial by fire
I tell my kids if the get it to me by the deadline, there’s no more than one spelling/grammar error, and it’s done in a coherent fashion they get one or two points on their final grade (depending if they have the spelling error)
The kids seem to like it because I can have a little more fun with the content I show, and maybe use a TV Show or interesting speech. But it’s also something that challenges them and pushes them. It also gives me a different look at their ability. When kids have 3-4 days to write a 300-word story and proof it and rewrite and rework things, you get an much different product than when you ask them to make the connections quickly. So I’ve found it’s useful on a number of levels.
I would like some advice though: When’s the best time in the semester to try something like that? Last year, I did it at the end of the semester, and I can’t go too early on. But I wondered if the kids whose grades were mostly set didn’t care. I thought about doing it maybe the last day before a break, because it can be hard giving them something, having them take a week off, and then address it coming off a break. But I thought that might encourage kids to blow off class and start the vacation early. Anyone have any thoughts?
darccity - June 16, 2011 at 5:27 pm
Never offer extra credit! This issue was settled years ago. Make sure your syllabus states: No extra credit is available so when they inevitably ask, you can say, “check the syllabus.” Lesson plans and learning outcomes in a well-planned course are inconsistent with extra credit.
I was astonished when my kids’ well-regarded IB high school utilized EC for busy work, superfluous drills and as means to gain control over student grade grubbers. Is it any wonder that GPAs have never been found correlated with worldly success (income, achievement in life, you name it)? Businesses would be well advised to hire a B+ student over a straight A obsessive, anal type.
horsefarmfox1 - June 16, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Extra Credit? You can’t even do credit!
opentosuggestion - June 16, 2011 at 6:17 pm
I must say that I’m not taken with the idea of giving anyone academic credit of any kind in, say, physics because he or she gave blood or registered to vote.
prairiechick - June 16, 2011 at 6:38 pm
I decided at the beginning of my community college teaching career not to offer extra credit, because in my own experience as a student I observed that it was doled out inequitably and rewarded students who produced routine poor performance but wished to “resurrect” their grades at the end of a term. To my mind, it did not reward the kinds of behaviors that an employer would desire in an employee. After all, we should remember that we are trying to cultivate adults who will be assets to their communities!
I make allowances for absences by allowing for one grade of each type (quiz, test, discussion lead, etc) to be dropped before final grade calculation. This allows students the flexibility to deal with life’s challenges (sick child, change in work shift, “bad day”, etc.) without penalty. Students who complete all assignments and tests as scheduled have the option of having their lowest grade of each type dropped, therefore also rewarding them for full participation. It works quite well, much like “sick time” and “vacation time” for employees, because the students are in control of their own grade.
I will caution – this only works if you make it absolutely clear at the beginning of the term that this is the policy and there are NO exceptions – and put it in writing in your syllabus and don’t cave in to begging. :)
You’d be amazed how easy this is to maintain if you set up clear rules in the beginning. Certainly students question the policy each term, but never did I have
to face the “excuse factory” at the end of the semester. I always
explain in the first class session that I believe that each student is capable of making his/her own decision about the value of my course to their educational process, but that I would reliably be there each class meeting holding up my end of the “contract” and that I was looking forward to having them attend and participate. We have a lot of fun and I try to develop a working team atmosphere in class.
As far as “bad” test questions, I do similarly as others – if no one in the class gets a question correct, I give full credit to all for that question…and make a note to re-work it in the future.
raza_khan - June 16, 2011 at 7:13 pm
Hi Eliana
I see where you are coming from. However, there are two perspectives you may want to consider as we move to the fall semester.
1. Most of the freshman coming in to the college have a very wrong perception of what qualifies to be an extra credit and it is rightfully so. They have had math and science teachers who gave extra credit points for baking and / or selling cookies.
2. I am of the view that if we are to give extra credit points to the class, it must be for the benefit of the class. For example, in my chemisry class, the extra credit point may be for an extra question on the exam to a service learning component that is heavily tied to chemistry to researching recent science news articles to even points for correcting their mistakes on the exam. I find that all of the students usually take up on my latter incentive as it is a good idea to correct their mistakes on the exam as not only the final is cumulative but usually the lectures build on prior learnt concepts. In each case, doing those extra credit points in my class values the class they are taking.
Also, I am of the view that no points should be tied to just attendance in the class or on blackboard (for hybrid or online classes) whether graded or extra credit.
best,
Raza
___________________________
Raza Khan, Ph.D.
Dr.Raza.Khan@gmail.com
leadbelly - June 16, 2011 at 7:29 pm
My syllabus reads: “There is no extra credit for this course, so don’t ask.”
The only time I make an exception to that is when I first teach an online course and realize after opening an assignment that my instructions were not specific enough. The extra credit is for my students when *I* mess something up, and the bonus assignment is designed to be something meaningful and an appropriate supplement to the vague original assignment.
I don’t give extra credit in my seated classes (and I don’t teach any hybrids right now) because I can orally clarify an assignment and immediately recognize a mistake when I see too many blank / confused faces in the class. Since I can’t count on that kind of immediate feedback from my online students, I give them the extra credit because sometimes I’m not aware of a problem assignment until after several of them have submitted it.
smilintoday - June 16, 2011 at 7:35 pm
I will only award extra credit if the event/activity is tied to my course outcomes, and even then there must be something I can assess to determine student learning. For example: giving a can of food to the food drive: no (nothing to do with course outcome). Attending at concert that is in the genre studied in the class: no (merely attending does not imply student learning). Attending a concert in the genre studied and writing a review that includes topics from class: yes!
fruupp - June 16, 2011 at 10:13 pm
I once got called into the Office of Student Affairs to answer an unfounded student complaint about a grade. I swore I’d never let that happen again. Since then I give extra credit out the ying-yang, but not of the sort that takes up my time.
richardtaborgreene - June 17, 2011 at 1:11 am
This seems to suppose that the primary “teaching” vehicle of colleges is and should be courses/classes. I do not support that. Carefully structured mass workshop events—2 consecutive of 3 or 4 consecutive days, 12 hours a day—each producing several dozen team products that combine to make an impressive overall product—a book a 2 hour edited documentary a national survey of 20,000 customers along 22 satisfaction dimensions, 8 competitively superior chair designs, etc. Classes are about revisiting a topic 15 times across 15 weeks. All too often all classwork and homework from them is waste—literally thrown away. Four years of them and you have massive PRACTICE in making worthless stuff that is ALL thrown away–a more discouraging structuring of 4 years is hard to imagine—amazing that colleges stupidly do this and stupidly get away with it for eons. They need a kick in the butt and some real competition (not for profits please).
scholar42 - June 17, 2011 at 6:17 am
I do something like this; I do daily quizzes which account for 20 percent of the final grade, but a student who takes them all can earn 25 percent.
mbelvadi - June 17, 2011 at 6:32 am
I’m going to be really harsh here, but it seems to me that the author is abusing her power and undermining the very mission of her institution by offering course credit for non-course activities. I think you’ve lost sight of what grades are actually about. A student enrolls in a course about X. The student’s grade tells the institution and the rest of the world to what extent they have mastered X. What you are doing is conspiring with the students to lie about their level of mastery about X in order to further your own personal agenda, to get the students to do “certain things” that are your own pet issues that have nothing to do with the curriculum. If you gave extra credit to students who did your lawn mowing or cleaned your house or campaigned for your favorite political candidate, the abuse would be a bit more obvious, but what you are doing is really no different than that. It’s not your prerogative as an instructor to offer students a chance for course credit for doing what you personally judge are socially appropriate activities. If this is routine practice in the community college environment, I would advise most serious 4-year universities to tear up their articulation agreements with them.
usaret - June 17, 2011 at 8:36 am
I teach composition and literature at a CC, and offer extra credit (a half-grade bump) for students who consult the writing center as they write their papers. That seems related to course outcomes and does end up getting the students to do multiple drafts and receive feedback from more than one person. But I look to see that the student has followed the advice provided by the writing center tutor (we get a sheet from the tutor that documents this). I also offer some extra credit for students who get books from another library in the state (using our statewide library loan program, MOBIUS) and use information from that source in a substantive way on a persuasive paper with a research component. While about a quarter of the students might avail themselves of the writing center option, only one or two per semester will pursue the library option.
mindnbodybuilding - June 17, 2011 at 8:44 am
@twitter-229161709:disqus 7738373863
“Positive feedback is the way to encourage desired behaviors, not extra points. Junior soccer is over, and not all of the players in the classroom should be getting trophies.”
This is what I tell my students on day 1 of every semester.
mindnbodybuilding - June 17, 2011 at 8:56 am
Without much more to go on, I suggest you rethink your solution. You must be a star on ratemyprofessors.com.
polisciguy - June 17, 2011 at 9:56 am
If I may engage in a simile, extra credit is like sin/bad behavior (depending on your religious/nonreligious background) and the cycle goes something like this: 1) people beg you to do it, 2) mostly you’re “good,” but you cave in to the pressure from time to time, 3) you feel bad about what you’ve done 4) you promise never to to it again. With the new semester, the cycle starts all over again.
I am following the lead of other posters: unless I make a mistake (like having test questions on content we have not covered yet), my grades will adopt the WYSIWYG principle.
I just need to remember my new mantra: “Lead me not into temptation.”
clarinetsarethebest - June 17, 2011 at 10:01 am
I had a professor once who required everyone in class to lead discussion a certain number of times and commented that if we wanted extra credit, we could lead discussion an extra time. I didn’t go for it, but I thought that was a pretty good extra credit project – genuinely “extra,” available to the whole class, related to the class material, and didn’t involve dumping a whole lot of extra work on the teacher.
aleader - June 17, 2011 at 10:38 am
I do not offer extra credit as I feel it takes time away from doing regular coursework, which they are usually failing to do, hence the request for extra credit. Instead, I offer an incentive program whereby consistent improvement in grades (on the same type of assignment) results in changes to the percentage weights for the final grade. For example, if you give a midterm and final each weighted 35% of final tally, reward the improvement by changing the weight depending on amount of improvement. Go from an F to a C? The F gets weighed 25% and the C 45% (5% difference for each whole grade better). A B to an A? The B 30% and the A 40%. This seems to make students very happy, often shows marked results on the later assessments, and can make a significant difference in the final tally. It also means I am not grading more than I had set out to when designing the syllabus. Best of all, the early F or D becomes a learning experience and the student figures out how to do the assigned coursework. I have followed this for about 10 years and have heard no complaints. The only thing I am sure to do is wait to announce this policy until after the first quiz/test. Then, in theory, they try to do well on the first assessment.
cmorong - June 17, 2011 at 12:27 pm
I teach economics at a community college. I think that any extra credit should be related to the course material. One of my math teachers when I was a community college student said a good way to study was to copy your notes. So I give extra credit for that as well as for coming to review sessions outside of classes. Then I assign 1-2 news articles for each test and ask question(s) about them.
I also give extra credit for how well students do in class simulation games (only 1-2 per semester). These games teach some economic theory and the harder the students try in the game the better I think they will learn. Of course, there has to be a balance. Too much extra credit from a game is bad but not enough means the students won’t try very hard.
But once all of this is said and done I cap any points from all of these sources at 5% of the possible points for the semester. I check copied notes every week so at the end of the semester if any student comes begging for extra credit I can say “you should have been copying your notes but you haven’t so I can’ give you any extra credit.”
I also ask a 1 point question on my weekly quizzes based on my blog. Quizzes are worth 10 points
noredpen - June 17, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Add me to the list of those who do not offer “extra credit.” In my writing and speech classes, I want students to put their time and effort into the required work. For students who are absent due to illness, however, I give them the opportunity to make up a missed short assignment (paragraph or grammar exercise), but not until the end of the semester. This means that we can discuss returned work and the whole class can move forward. The make-up assignments are not the same as the original, but still require that the student demonstrate skills that meet the criteria for the class. Students who need to be challenged more seem to not need extra credit as much as detailed feedback on their writing and broader opportunities to publish their work.
vkw10 - June 17, 2011 at 4:58 pm
I don’t offer extra credit. I want to encourage planning and responsibility, while offering some flexibility to my students. I assign 5 projects worth 15 points each and one worth 40 points, then I grade the course on a 100 point scale. The small projects, taken together, assesses 95% of the objectives. The major project assesses all course objectives.Students may use material from the small projects as components of the major project. They may choose to skip any one of the small projects if they can’t turn it in on time; I don’t give time extensions. This is spelled out in the syllabus; I point it out at the first class, then review in detail during the second class when I make the first assignment. Students like being rewarded for diligence, given the opportunity to skip an assignment, getting feedback on components of their major project, and having a built-in opportunity to make up points. I enjoy spreading the grading of major project out over the semester, not being constantly petitioned for time extensions and extra credit, and making it very hard for students to successfully appeal a grade when they’ve been slack. Admin likes seeing good grades while colleagues don’t complain that I’m too easy on the students. Works nicely for project-based courses.
pterodactyl123 - June 18, 2011 at 9:05 am
Extra credit for donating blood or obtaining a library card? You must be joking, right? Donating blood gets you cookies and juice. Obtaining a library card is part of your responsibility as a college student. It usually comes in the form of an ID card provided by the college, and allows students access to the resources they will need to do their work.
I tell my students that I don’t give extra credit because it creates more work for me. And I already have enough to do without grading the last-minute efforts of failing or almost-failing students.
oldphilprof - June 19, 2011 at 8:17 pm
I do not offer extra credit, which I define as work performed in place of required-but-not-done work. I tell my students that, in the “real world” (as they refer to it), there is no substitute for doing what is required by the job/boss. I do, however, offer bonus points for doing things that (I think) will enrich their education/development and which bear some relevance to the course. For example, a student studying cross-cultural ethics can earn bonus points for attending a foreign film shown on campus.
lady_engineer - June 20, 2011 at 10:15 am
Giving extra credit for registering to vote or getting a library card seems a bit far out, but I don’t know what classes they are offered in. As I’ve heard from other colleagues, there are some classes that are specifically aimed at producing involved citizens so such credit may be well justified.
I teach Math — mostly developmental Math — and I learned this extra credit option from a community college colleague: After I return tests, I allow a 2 week window for students to re-work every missed problem. They can work directly with me, or a friend, a tutor, etc. Then, we make an appointment for the student to explain to me why the previous solution for each missed problem was wrong and why the correct solution is correct (with a demonstration on blank paper). They can earn back half the points lost, up to a maximum of 10% for the whole test. In this way, I encourage them to truly learn the material, which is very important in a class wherein each unit builds upon the last (hence dropping a grade is not very helpful). The approach also makes up for “bad days,” including simply being surprised at the level of difficulty of a test.
Yes it does create extra work for me, including making myself available for appointments outside of normal office hours so that work, daycare and other schedules can be accommodated. However, once I can get students to visit me in my office, they understand that I really do want them to succeed and thereafter many of them truly do succeed without so much handholding. And, it seems to relieve a substantial amount of Math anxiety. After all, my goal is to TEACH math, not be a “Math Monster.”
One other thing that I’ve experimented with is changing my point scale. At one point, I realized that so many in my generation and after are used to playing video games — “Hit the blue dot and get 500 points!” — that a 5 point bonus hardly seems worth getting out of bed. So, my syllabi are based on 10,000 points with tests, assignments and bonuses proportionately scaled up. Of course, eventually they figure out the percentage, but usually they’ve done a bunch of the assignments first! When someone figures it out and challenges me with it in class, I say “You’re right! I set you up … to SUCCEED!”
It doesn’t work for everyone, but the great majority of my students *really* like it and seem to be helped in the right ways.
(P.S. To clarify, I have never met a “Math Monster” among my teachers or colleagues, but I get the impression that some students see us that way…)
angustias - June 21, 2011 at 5:01 pm
l never allow it- I give plenty of feedback to students so at any given time they know where their grade stands, I have lots of different graded assignments essays, papers and tests.
Before I instituted this policy it was my experience that students who asked for extra credit did it at the end of the semester, when I was the least likely to have time to grade something extra, and when it was the least likely that they would learn anything from it.