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[rebelgirl]

A colleague had a snowflake explain that mom had been sick for a long time and died just before final (wanted an extension).  My colleague said yes.  Later colleague decided to call the student's house to offer condolences.  Mom answered the phone.  Colleague told mom to pass along the message that the final would be held as scheduled.  I don't recall if snowflake had the nerve to show up.

That l'il scumweasel competes with mine (upthread)!

I know a prof who is a minister . . . when he gets the dead grandparent extension plea, he exudes warmth and asks the student, "Was this your mother or father's parent?"  If they hesitate, that's clue #1.  Then he asks, "May I have your parents' address?  I would like to write them a note of condolence."   

I think that's just brilliant!  If the situation is for real, then the note is a kind gesture.  If it's not . . . lying scumweasel, busted!

[bud04]

Oh yes I do this all the time. I tell them the first day of class when we go over the syllabus that I hate it when something bad happens to them during the semester while I am their professor. I explain that I will call their homes if they get sick and have to go to the hospital or someone in their family dies. Works every time......No dead people during my course unless they are really dead.......  Also no sick people without notes......because I want to talk with their parents to see what I can do for them.

[rebelgirl]

Oh yes I do this all the time. I tell them the first day of class when we go over the syllabus that I hate it when something bad happens to them during the semester while I am their professor. I explain that I will call their homes if they get sick and have to go to the hospital or someone in their family dies. Works every time......No dead people during my course unless they are really dead.......  Also no sick people without notes......because I want to talk with their parents to see what I can do for them.

I love this approach & think it brilliant.  It just occurred to me, though--could this cause FERPA problems? 

[bud04]

I have never had to make a call about anyone being dead though I did meet a parent once at Parent's Day and offered my condolences (there had been a death) .

I have called and talked with parents of students who were ill and in the hospital or at home recovering. They were impressed that a professor took the time to call about their child. They loved me. The students loved me too. I didn't talk about grades or assignments with the parents. Just showing interest makes their day.

True story: I once called to check on a student who was missing class and an exam. He finally picked up the phone and could barely talk. I called the RA at the dorm to check on the student. He was very ill and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. His parents said I saved his life.

Moral: Students know I check up on them and they appreciate it. But it keeps them honest too.

[temporaryname]

I solved the missing paper/take home exam problem years ago. When the students turn in their papers/exams, I have them sign in on a folder as they place them into it. Then we all know who turned in their papers/exams since there is or is not a signature. This also helps me keep track of whose work is missing.   

Replying to thank you for the idea, and to make sure I see new posts to this thread.

Major assignments come due starting next week, and given my current crop of students I'm sure I'll have something to add then...

[bud04]

You are welcome d_f_b. I hope it helps you. I have them come up and put the papers/exams/whatever in the folder and sign in as I watch them. It also has another purpose: those students who don't have their work are embarrassed in front of their peers. Seriously they are. Because the students are proud to be turning in their work on time.

You can also pass the folder around the room if you don't have time to watch them. Just make sure you count the signatures and the papers before you leave the room so you can make sure it matches. Sometimes I have a student check this for me as I teach.

Let me know how it works for you.

[phlegmatic]

Not my lying scumweasel, but a friend of mine had a student who lied about having cancer and even faked doctors' letters about it. She lied about herself having cancer!

[galactic_hedgehog]

Not my lying scumweasel, but a friend of mine had a student who lied about having cancer and even faked doctors' letters about it. She lied about herself having cancer!

I vote we send Wild Rose and Teeban over to her house with some very large cluebats.

[marigolds]

Not my lying scumweasel, but a friend of mine had a student who lied about having cancer and even faked doctors' letters about it. She lied about herself having cancer!

Sickening.  Did you hear about the young woman who made a similar claim in order to raise money for her treatment through charitable donations?  She then spent that money...wait for it...on breast implants.

I can't even imagine what the punishment should be for that particular fraud.  (I can certainly imagine what the karmic retribution should look like, though.) 

[llanfair]

Not my lying scumweasel, but a friend of mine had a student who lied about having cancer and even faked doctors' letters about it. She lied about herself having cancer!

Sickening.  Did you hear about the young woman who made a similar claim in order to raise money for her treatment through charitable donations?  She then spent that money...wait for it...on breast implants.

I can't even imagine what the punishment should be for that particular fraud.  (I can certainly imagine what the karmic retribution should look like, though.) 

Gawd.  Unbelievable.

[scotia]

I'm almost certain I've had multiple students fake swine flu this semester.  I just don't care anymore.  My university's policy mandates that they don't need a doctor's note, so I have no way to verify.  All I can do is give them the makeup exam (which, of course, is more difficult than the regular one).

I wonder what they will do when they really get swine flu?

I had one student  in a class on a Friday, then claim he had flu - and no, it was definitely much more serious than a cold - the following Monday (the day an assignment was due). He was back in my class on the Wednesday looking perfectly OK. I have had flu a few times and that recovery period was just not credible. He was completely busted when one of my colleagues told me he had seen scumweasel getting obnoxiously drunk in a bar near the university on the Saturday night, and one of his classmates let slip that he had taken part in a soccer tournament on the Sunday. We passed that case to the disciplinary panel.

[karmie]

I had one student  in a class on a Friday, then claim he had flu - and no, it was definitely much more serious than a cold - the following Monday (the day an assignment was due). He was back in my class on the Wednesday looking perfectly OK. I have had flu a few times and that recovery period was just not credible. He was completely busted when one of my colleagues told me he had seen scumweasel getting obnoxiously drunk in a bar near the university on the Saturday night, and one of his classmates let slip that he had taken part in a soccer tournament on the Sunday. We passed that case to the disciplinary panel.

What if the student didn't lie to *you*?  Your case caught my attention because I just had one of my students lie about swine flu... to another professor.  The story:

Before class started, I was chatting with the student about some of the points I was going to cover in class.  I made a comment about how expensive custom papers are and hu said "Oh, I know! It's like, two hundred per paper!"  After that, I just stared at him for a minute or so while I mulled over the meaning of his statement and he quickly followed up by saying "Oh, oh! No-it was a friend who got one. I'd never be able to afford one! Ha! It's actually a really funny story! This past Monday I got a call from him begging me to get up and go to school to vouch for his having swine flu. His teacher's a hardball about not accepting papers late and he the paper he bought was sent a day late so he needed the excuse.  So I had to drive all the way down here on my day off just for him. Isn't that crazy?"

I didn't respond to hu's story because more students had trickled in and class was starting.  By the time class had ended I'd forgotten all about the conversation. 

[marigolds]

I had one student  in a class on a Friday, then claim he had flu - and no, it was definitely much more serious than a cold - the following Monday (the day an assignment was due). He was back in my class on the Wednesday looking perfectly OK. I have had flu a few times and that recovery period was just not credible. He was completely busted when one of my colleagues told me he had seen scumweasel getting obnoxiously drunk in a bar near the university on the Saturday night, and one of his classmates let slip that he had taken part in a soccer tournament on the Sunday. We passed that case to the disciplinary panel.

What if the student didn't lie to *you*?  Your case caught my attention because I just had one of my students lie about swine flu... to another professor.  The story:

Before class started, I was chatting with the student about some of the points I was going to cover in class.  I made a comment about how expensive custom papers are and hu said "Oh, I know! It's like, two hundred per paper!"  After that, I just stared at him for a minute or so while I mulled over the meaning of his statement and he quickly followed up by saying "Oh, oh! No-it was a friend who got one. I'd never be able to afford one! Ha! It's actually a really funny story! This past Monday I got a call from him begging me to get up and go to school to vouch for his having swine flu. His teacher's a hardball about not accepting papers late and he the paper he bought was sent a day late so he needed the excuse.  So I had to drive all the way down here on my day off just for him. Isn't that crazy?"

I didn't respond to hu's story because more students had trickled in and class was starting.  By the time class had ended I'd forgotten all about the conversation. 

I don't know what your honor code says at your school, but at mine the student who told you that story would be accountable for helping the other student by lying to the professor. 

[temporaryname]

I wonder what they will do when they really get swine flu?

I had one student  in a class on a Friday, then claim he had flu - and no, it was definitely much more serious than a cold - the following Monday (the day an assignment was due). He was back in my class on the Wednesday looking perfectly OK. I have had flu a few times and that recovery period was just not credible. He was completely busted when one of my colleagues told me he had seen scumweasel getting obnoxiously drunk in a bar near the university on the Saturday night, and one of his classmates let slip that he had taken part in a soccer tournament on the Sunday. We passed that case to the disciplinary panel.

This student was certainly faking it, but the flu this season (which isn't limited to H1N1) is actually hitting some people as a very intense but brief illness--so what the student claimed would be unusual, but not impossible.

[scotia]

I wonder what they will do when they really get swine flu?

I had one student  in a class on a Friday, then claim he had flu - and no, it was definitely much more serious than a cold - the following Monday (the day an assignment was due). He was back in my class on the Wednesday looking perfectly OK. I have had flu a few times and that recovery period was just not credible. He was completely busted when one of my colleagues told me he had seen scumweasel getting obnoxiously drunk in a bar near the university on the Saturday night, and one of his classmates let slip that he had taken part in a soccer tournament on the Sunday. We passed that case to the disciplinary panel.

This student was certainly faking it, but the flu this season (which isn't limited to H1N1) is actually hitting some people as a very intense but brief illness--so what the student claimed would be unusual, but not impossible.

Unfortunately this student spun a yarn about spending the weekend in bed. If he had simply said he had been ill on the Monday, without embellishment, I would have had to grant an extension.  I guess the answer is, if you are going to lie to the professor about your illness, make sure you go into hiding to at least make the lie semi-convincing.

The other thing to avoid is claiming you had to miss a test due to a hospital appointment and then being (correctly) reported in the student newspaper as having scored the winning goal in a soccer game at the time the class was taking place (this was a 'friendly' intra-college tournament, for which absence from the test would not, under any circumstances, have been sanctioned). I had to waste an afternoon on the disciplinary panel for that one.