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[zeedog]

This is a weird issue, and I am not sure even where to post it. I was adjunct teaching in a poorly managed department in a small, newly developed program. I cotaught with the chair of the department, who acted more like...I don't know, I and others were there to do hus bidding, rather than actually collaborate. This was bad enough. There are certain things I feel are gospel, such as, assignments should be clearly defined for students, so students know how they are being evaluated AND after evaluation, grades should be administered to students in a timely fashion.

Instead, a message from the chair just went out to students that they must return books borrowed from her to her office, and grades will not be released until such time. Am I overreacting in thinking this is highly unethical? Is it illegal? Grades should have been turned in two weeks ago.

[zeedog]

I should add more information. These are not library books, nor were they signed out to individual students. There was no return policy stipulated at the beginning of the course, nor warning that grades for all students would be withheld if materials weren't returned. Students were never asked to even leave a note as to how borrowed what.

[acrimone]

Yes, you are overreacting.  If the chair doesn't know who borrowed what, and is holding everyone's grades hostage, it's an act of stupidity.  But it's not a moral crisis.

[zeedog]

Yeah, I'm just sick of students getting screwed. If it were hus course and hu were doing this, to hus students, I would think it's annoying. But it's *our* course, and I feel somehow complicit in this. For my own future reference: "our" means, I did all the work, hu micromanaged everything and is now maligning me in my absence for things that did not go as hu had planned.  I have never had such a negative "collaborative" experience.

[jonesey]

Let's look at the key phrase in your initial statement:

I was adjunct teaching...

In my experience, that means that none of them were "your" students, especially if it was a team taught class.  With the Chair. 

They hired you to fill a hole.  You did.  The course is done.  Time to say "next?" and move on.

[patchouli]

Zeedog,

     It can be hard with team teaching as things like this can and do happen.  I taught once before with an adjunct, and he was irresponsible with the grades.  It's good you are not, and have done professionally what you should.  If there is any problem with the grade holdup, you have done your job, and the chair can deal with any consequences of waiting for the books vs. grades.

   I can understand the concern about getting books back, especially if they are out of print, and the campus should deal with the chair if there is a problem.  The chair might consider, if he hasn't, a "report delayed" grade on the holder of the book(s) and report the other student grades.

[untenured]

This is a interesting quesion to toy with.  On the one side there are universities that explicitly condtion receiving a diploma with payment of all necessary fees and tuition.  This seems reasonable as the essential bargain, money for learning, is not being upheld.  On the other side would be if the chair was refusing to issue grades unless the students washed his car.

This falls somewhere in the middle.  The books are not purely personal items but they are not fully university property either.  Can a faculty condition course material on return of academic-related personal items?  Hmm.  More complex than it seems.

Untenured

[starfleet_grad]

I didn't even know someone could do what your chair is doing. On our campus, grades are due at the Registrar's Office by a certain date (submitted electronically), and anyone not submitting on time can look forward to a phone call or visit from the dean or VP to have him/herself torn a new one.

[expatinuk]

Never under ANY circumstances lend books to students unless you're willing to lose the book.

The same goes for friends and colleagues.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Never under ANY circumstances lend books to students unless you're willing to lose the book.

The same goes for friends and colleagues.

And if you *must* load your friends and colleagues to students, tatoo a "property of" stamp to their foreheads. - DvF

[aandsdean]

Never under ANY circumstances lend books to students unless you're willing to lose the book.

The same goes for friends and colleagues.

And if you *must* load your friends and colleagues to students, tatoo a "property of" stamp to their foreheads. - DvF

Dangling modifiers and related phenomena are my absolute favorite things in the whole wide world.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

And of course I meant to write "loan" instead of "load".  Alas, I have a headcold. - DvF

[expatinuk]

And of course I meant to write "loan" instead of "load".  Alas, I have a headcold. - DvF

Yeah, sorta makes ya blush when you point out an error in a post to actually blow the punchline.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

And of course I meant to write "loan" instead of "load".  Alas, I have a headcold. - DvF

Yeah, sorta makes ya blush when you point out an error in a post to actually blow the punchline.

I don't think your post was erroneous, just exploitably ambiguous. However, I've been told in another thread that I "obviously" do not know much about words and stuff, so I could be wrong. - DvF