justaprofessor2
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« on: July 16, 2009, 04:01:01 PM » |
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I'll admit it, I've been teaching on-line for roughly 4 years and I am burned out. I have asked to have a semester without them, but it never happens. Specifically, I find myself getting frustrated with all of the excuses, most of which are ridiculous, some of which are true. I cannot tell the difference between the two with on-line classes. I have only taught for four years, and basically I've been rather lax with the excuses, finding it easier to just say okay turn it in ASAP than to fight with students and their parents. This has gotten me into a situation where I am bombarded with excuses and few turn things in on time, then I have to spend a lot of time at the end of the semester trying to get everything graded. So, this semester I decided I would try something different. I have only had three students with excuses. One didn't turn in a paper and said he couldn't because he had an emergency, he had a headache. It must have been contagious, because I ended up with one as well. He had his father call to confirm his "emergency". The student proceeded to twist the syllabus information to say what he wanted to say. He got an F on that assignment. Another student is in the hospital and has a doctors excuse so that one is real.
I am currently struggling with a student who was on vacation last week, and reported that due to his work schedule this week he couldn't take the midterm which is due this week. This test has been available for weeks to take. It is a proctored site, so several weeks ago, and last week I put an announcement on Blackboard that they should call to set up their appointments. He waited until Monday to do this, when the test was due on Thursday, and found that he couldn't fit it in due to his work schedule. His mother said he couldn't take off work to take the exam because he needed the money, yet last week presumably he was off work and on vacation. Regardless, I gave in and extended the deadline a few hours for him. Shortly after this I got an e-mail in reference to a family emergency and his wanting some lady that might have taught once upon a time at the college. The emergency was his dog had a pinched nerve and may need to be put down. Meanwhile he is still going to work, he just can't seem to do what he needs for the course. The dog issue may be true, I have no way of knowing. He had his mother call my supervisor. She actually got onto his Blackboard account and sent me a not very nice message basically stating that I'm a fraud and as a psychology instructor should be able to deal with people's emotions better. He has called my supervisor, and basically I've tried to be as polite as possible. I did not respond to the personal attacks at all. I told him I was sorry about his family emergency, and his dog, but that there would be no other extensions for the exam. Maybe I'm going from one extreme to another, I don't know. What I do know, in the words of my boss "they are both gunning for you right now." I am basically being personally attacked.
I just recently thought about whether or not I was being fair to all students by being lax and realized that it is not fair for the students that really try hard and get their things turned in on time if I just allow anyone to turn things in late for any reason. My big problem is I cannot tell what is legit and what isn't with these on-line courses. They could tell me they are going through Chemo, lost an arm, or anything and I wouldn't know it (I have been told both of these). It is an on-line course so I also struggle with what a legitimate excuse is because it isn't like students have to go to a campus, it can be taken from their own home or anywhere with internet access.
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larryc
Hu hatin'
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,285
Eschew the hu.
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« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2009, 04:10:27 PM » |
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Here are the magic words for students who are unable to complete curse work in a reasonable manner:
"Wow, you have a lot going on in your life! As much as I admire your attempts to do your best in this class with all the personal turmoil, it is not going to work out. If you can't [fill in the blank] you can't pass the class. I will be available on Thursday to sign your drop slip. Don't beat up on yourself for having to drop this course, I will offer it again next semester. I look forward to having you in class then when you have your personal problems solved and can show me what an excellent student you really are."
Something like that. The trick is to shift the conversation from being about the worthiness of their excuses to their dropping the course.
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mfaer
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« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2009, 04:36:12 PM » |
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You shouldn't be communicating with the parents of your students. Unless the student has signed a waiver, that's a FERPA violation. It's easy to get parents out of the picture when you tell them that they're breaking the law by contacting you.
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justaprofessor2
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Posts: 12
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« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2009, 04:38:10 PM » |
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The problem with that is that she is using his account to do it, so I do not know who I'm talking to at this point. My boss told her this. My concern is what is a valid excuse?
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mfaer
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« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2009, 04:56:49 PM » |
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The problem with that is that she is using his account to do it, so I do not know who I'm talking to at this point. My boss told her this. My concern is what is a valid excuse?
If you are aware of this, then you shouldn't engage the student via email. You should make him/her call you or visit you in your office. |
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justaprofessor2
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Posts: 12
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« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2009, 04:57:32 PM » |
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Sorry, I wasn't clear. When she called my boss he told her that we could not talk to her about the issue. Then the student called and gave the exact same response. He has taken the exam and of course he failed, so I don't think this issue will go away any time soon.
My big question: is a sick/dying dog a good excuse not to take an exam and get an extension? I know when I went to college, I would have been laughed at for this excuse but the times have changed. What are valid excuses for on-line courses?
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justaprofessor2
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Posts: 12
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« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2009, 05:00:55 PM » |
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I wasn't aware of this until this morning, and she has been told not to call anymore, that the student is responsible. This is not my concern, my concern is what is considered a valid excuse? Is a dog ill/dying/dead a valid excuse?
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larryc
Hu hatin'
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,285
Eschew the hu.
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« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2009, 05:25:26 PM » |
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What constitutes a valid excuse is up to you.
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justaprofessor2
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Posts: 12
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« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2009, 05:51:20 PM » |
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Where I work I don't get to decide what a valid excuse is. I have a supervisor that doesn't back people up, so I'm constantly worried about the choices that I make even if they seem correct to me. In fact, it is frightening how faculty are left hanging. An adjunct faculty member had a student who started screaming at her and had all the students afraid because she was psychotic (the student forgot to take her psych. meds). The adjunct ended class early to get the students out safely, two concerned students on their own accord went to the front desk to get the adjunct help. A police officer noted that she was a danger to others and she was hospitalized. When my supervisor heard the ordeal the only concern he had, along with another higher up was why the faculty member got students involved.
So, I was just hoping to get a little direction in this area.
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medieval_spectacle
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« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2009, 06:47:49 PM » |
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I wasn't aware of this until this morning, and she has been told not to call anymore, that the student is responsible. This is not my concern, my concern is what is considered a valid excuse? Is a dog ill/dying/dead a valid excuse?
If this had been the first excuse, I might have let it stand. However, because this seems to be the student's, what, third excuse . . .? And he had how many weeks to do the exam . . . ? I would probably say, "I'm sorry to hear that, but you have had X weeks to complete this exam. You chose to wait until the last minute and risk running into this sort of bind, and therefore I really cannot in fairness give you any more time." |
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mfaer
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« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2009, 11:20:13 PM » |
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I've been teaching online for just a week and I'm already burned out from the excuses and whining. There is no way in hell I'm ever doing this again. It's not worth the $.
One student just wrote me complaining that I'd given him a 0 on a particular assignment that was due last week (he spelled "due" "do" twice in his email). This assignment is written word-for-word in the course syllabus, and I even posted a reminder thread about it that included the assignment copied word-for-word in said thread.
And even then, for students who had failed to turn in the assignment, I actually sent reminder notes to them individually reminding them that the assignment was late and had to be turned in within 4 days, 10% late each day late. This student also responded to a thread posted on the first day of class that asked students to confirm that they had accessed all of the course materials, which includes the syllabus that contains the assignment. He posted, "ready to go."
Of course, it's my fault that he could "never find the assignment." According to him, my class is so hard to "navigate" that he can't just look at the front page of the main forum to see the REMINDER THREAD posted on the first page.
I've always held my ground in F2F classes, so it's not like I don't get tested outside of the online classroom; however, the amount of whining and complaining about stupid crap I've received in just one week is staggering and makes me shudder to think of what lies ahead during crunch time.
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« Last Edit: July 20, 2009, 11:21:22 PM by mfaer »
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magistra
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« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2009, 11:36:20 PM » |
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Yep, online makes the flakes flakier. You have to hold the line and learn to just give the big ol' F without taking it personally. Justaprof, I'm sorry that your supervisor makes this difficult. But the mother logging into the course is a real issue -- you need guidance on this. It does indeed mean that you can't trust that any of the student's work is his own (not that it matter if he's failing, I suppose, but still.) Don't just ask your supervisor -- something like that comes under FERPA and your school's distance learning policies. Ask them and have the policies put in writing.
Can you get any support from your distance learning division? Anyone you can talk to about their course policies, strategies, etc.?
I'm sorry -- you sound frustrated and doubting yourself as well as burned out. If they're not willing to get you out of online classes, I'd start looking for a new job. They're treating you like crap, you hate your job, and you're no longer able to do it effectively, it seems. If you can't get them to at least cut down the number of online courses, then I'd start seriously looking at other jobs. Even online teaching at another school with more support would be better. This isn't just about teaching online -- it's about how you're treated.
MFaer -- yes, it can be bad, but like anything it depends on the class and the school. You may just be unlucky. One benefit (sometimes) is that things are worse at the beginning; you'll get a few late papers and whiners at the end, but grading overall may be easier since lots of students vanish completely over the course of the semester. This of course is another kind of frustration, and a problem if your school gets excited about retention, but you do have to factor in losing more in an online class than in face to face. It's part of why online ed is such a cash cow.
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First it was Wolfram and Hart, now it's Blackboard. There's not much moral difference, if you ask me. -- Malcha
Grammar is the chocolate in the buttery croissant of life. -- Yellowtractor
Okay, so that was petty. Today, I feel like embracing pettiness. -- Mended Drum
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mfaer
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« Reply #12 on: July 21, 2009, 12:20:50 AM » |
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^Thanks:)
It should be noted that I am teaching a 100-level course for a for-profit. In two sections, 10 total students have already vanished and/or haven't even showed up.
I'm a grad student, so I'm limited in what I can teach--basically, I can teach the bottom of the rung courses. I'm not sure I have the time or energy to teach this particular course as a full-time PhD student.
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magistra
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« Reply #13 on: July 21, 2009, 02:23:41 PM » |
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Eek. Yeah, they are going to whine more -- I think there's more of an "I paid for this degree" ethos with for-profit schools. I don't think I would try to teach it as a full-timer, at least not until you've done it several times and have it down pat, and who wants that?
Online classes are becoming very popular, though, and there are still a lot of profs who have little experience with them -- this class may well help you get a job one day!
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First it was Wolfram and Hart, now it's Blackboard. There's not much moral difference, if you ask me. -- Malcha
Grammar is the chocolate in the buttery croissant of life. -- Yellowtractor
Okay, so that was petty. Today, I feel like embracing pettiness. -- Mended Drum
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mountainguy
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« Reply #14 on: September 07, 2009, 08:57:53 PM » |
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I'm over a month late to this thread, but I just thought I would say that I'm told by my colleagues who teach online for a state university that the whining is pretty bad. Having never taught online myself, I've not experienced it firsthand, although I tend to prefer to deal with student complaints in writing rather than F2F, so maybe I could deal with an online class.
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