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[georgiaprof]

MJ, what happens to the grades if you simply remove the grades from the end where they had the sub?  Does that fix any/enough?  And - I still recommend going to your chair and getting hu to help you figure it all out.  That way - hopefully the chair will have your back and be able to protect you from other profs who think you aren't teaching well.

I am sorry that this has gone so poorly...

and that your dean is an idiot.

[mdwlark]

Well, this discussion has become moot.  Apparently a small handful of my students bypassed my chair and went directly to my dean, who feels that since I "deserted" the class at the very end (never mind the fact that it was for medical reasons), that I should pass as many students as I can.  After all, the students should not be penalized for failing to do the final assignments since they were brought in by a sub who clearly does not have the same teaching style and was not familiar with the needs of the class.

Apparently, my beautiful gradebook and all of the math that I have done to justify their grades counts for nothing.     

Next semester I will be one of those instructors about which other instructors say, "I can't believe Mrs. Romo passed this student.  What was she thinking?  Has she lost her mind?"  And then they will advise students not to take me. 

F-! being pregnant.  Tonight I am having a drink.

Could you look at what their grades would be if you dropped the substitute's assignments and adjusted the total points accordingly?  It is a compromise that addresses the dean's objections and would give an accurate indication of where the students were right as you took your medical leave.  If they are still failing when you drop the final substitute assignments, you should be able to make an argument for giving them those grades with the dean.  

[mdwlark]

Well, this discussion has become moot.  Apparently a small handful of my students bypassed my chair and went directly to my dean, who feels that since I "deserted" the class at the very end (never mind the fact that it was for medical reasons), that I should pass as many students as I can.  After all, the students should not be penalized for failing to do the final assignments since they were brought in by a sub who clearly does not have the same teaching style and was not familiar with the needs of the class.

Apparently, my beautiful gradebook and all of the math that I have done to justify their grades counts for nothing.      

Next semester I will be one of those instructors about which other instructors say, "I can't believe Mrs. Romo passed this student.  What was she thinking?  Has she lost her mind?"  And then they will advise students not to take me.  

F-! being pregnant.  Tonight I am having a drink.

Could you look at what their grades would be if you dropped the substitute's assignments and adjusted the total points accordingly?  It is a compromise that addresses the dean's objections and would give an accurate indication of where the students were right as you took your medical leave.  If they are still failing when you drop the final substitute assignments, you should be able to make an argument for giving them those grades with the dean.  

MJ, what happens to the grades if you simply remove the grades from the end where they had the sub?  Does that fix any/enough?  And - I still recommend going to your chair and getting hu to help you figure it all out.  That way - hopefully the chair will have your back and be able to protect you from other profs who think you aren't teaching well.

I am sorry that this has gone so poorly...

and that your dean is an idiot.

< on edit>  georgiaprof and I have the same idea, but chime to GP's suggestion to get your chair involved.  Your chair might have some feelings about being bypassed.  

[mountainguy]

MJ, sorry to hear that your dean is being an idiot. Even if your students have a valid reason to complain (and it doesn't sound like they do), I think it's terrible that your dean isn't investigating to get your side of the story.

Rather than fighting with him/her about it, my inclination would be to say something like: "Okay, Dean Whoever, I hear your concerns. Here's my gradebook. Since none of the students passed by objective criteria that my department and I set up, I'd like your input about what should constitute a passing grade." In other words, don't be defensive, but put the burden on him/her to adjudicate the problem rather than compelling you to be the judge. I once did something similar to one of my admincritters with a handful of complaining students, and although the students got what they wanted in that case, that administrator never bothered me again.

[conjugate]

This is b*llsh*t. 

Step 1: Start searching for jobs elsewhere.  Your chair should give you a good reference.  There is no excuse for telling you to pass students who did not do the work, just because you had medical issues. 

Step 2: Drop one or two of the "sub-taught" assignments; give the little b*st*rds the resulting grades.  Inform your Dean that you have done all you can do.

Step 3: Talk to your fellow instructors.  If any of them get your former students in Subject X+1 (the sequel course to this one), tell them you're sorry, but you passed the childish worthless pieces of garbage on the orders of the Dean.

Step 4: Keep searching for jobs elsewhere (preferably at schools with some kind of standards). 

Honestly, if it were me, I'd give the whole class Fs and write an open letter to the newspaper about how the Dean is insisting that passing grades be given to students who did not do the work, sending copies to the accrediting body, the board of regents or trustees, and to all institutions that compete with your current institution for students, with your full permission to use the contents of that letter in their advertising.  Then I'd start applying for jobs outside of academia, because I'd be unhirable at any academic institution for the rest of my life.  In fact, to get a place to stay and food to eat, I might have to commit a crime and go to jail.  So maybe I wouldn't quite go that far.  But boy, it's tempting.

In the end, honestly, you may be stuck.  But do try to find work elsewhere.  The place where you are is just insupportable, and if there's any justice in the world¹ it will wind up on the ash heap of history. 

A good friend of mine 'way back when was in a similar situation.  He gave the grades they earned to a class full of students who didn't feel obliged to do the work.  The college president spoke with him firmly on the subject; he stuck to his guns; and he resigned when he found the college president had gone and changed the grades without his consent.  He's never worked in academia since.  I haven't heard from him in a dozen years, so maybe that's changed, but for a long time he did other things.

My sympathies and condolences, MJ_Romo; it's sad to work at a place that pretends to be an institution of higher learning but isn't.

¹ Evidence indicates that there isn't much, but sometimes you get lucky.

[mountainguy]

As I recall, MJ is an adjunct. So I guess the question of sticking to one's guns is whether MJ really wants to continue teaching part-time at this school.

As I mentioned up-thread, what constitutes "standards" is unfortunately a socially-constructed by institutional norms. I will once again reiterate my suggestion that it is the dean's responsibility at this point to decide what constitutes a passing grade and how that should be determined. As instructors, it's our job to decide on a syllabus and assignments with our department's input, and to then grade according with those standards. If an admincritter wants to change the goalposts ex post facto, that's their choice, but they're the one who needs to deal with it. I'm not a mind-reader and can't decide what should constitute an arbitrarily passing grade.

[shastymcnasty]

MJ_Romo, This is horrible.  You deserve much better than this.  Unfortunately, I think conjugate gives good advice.

How do we criticize for-profits if this type of sh*t happens at non-profits?

[zuzu_]

mj, in case you missed it, the same thing happened to me this semester. Here is the thread: http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,67416.0.html

And I'm going to go ahead and disagree with larryc. You are not necessarily to blame. Although all good teachers should be self-reflective, it is indeed possible to have a class of duds ESPECIALLY at a CC. As long as the rest of your classes have failure rates consistent with the rest of the department, I would not beat yourself up. Although again explore the possibility that maybe the students are 90% to blame and that there's 10% within your control to improve. All good teachers do that with ALL their classes.

[conjugate]

Unfortunately, I think conjugate gives good advice.

Thanks for this; it's added to my signature.

Although all good teachers should be self-reflective, it is indeed possible to have a class of duds ESPECIALLY at a CC. As long as the rest of your classes have failure rates consistent with the rest of the department, I would not beat yourself up. Although again explore the possibility that maybe the students are 90% to blame and that there's 10% within your control to improve. All good teachers do that with ALL their classes.

Yes; as I said above, sometimes you get a class in the bottom 2% or so.

[mj_romo]

Could you look at what their grades would be if you dropped the substitute's assignments and adjusted the total points accordingly?  It is a compromise that addresses the dean's objections and would give an accurate indication of where the students were right as you took your medical leave.  If they are still failing when you drop the final substitute assignments, you should be able to make an argument for giving them those grades with the dean.  

This is exactly what I decided to do - I am glad my brain is functioning along the same lines as fellow forumites.  At that point, the 7 whom I thought should pass then did definitely, and 2 more sneaked through as well, which I'm just going to have to live with.  That's the most I am willing to pass, and I spoke with my chair who has promised to back this decision 100%.  I think it helps that I can prove that even without the sub's assignments, those other students would have failed.  I suppose it's the best compromise I can reach.

[antiphon1]

Good for you, mj_romo.  Excellent solution.

Walk away from this semester.  It's time to focus on really important things like the arrival of little romo. 

[mountainguy]

MJ, I'm glad to hear you were able to reach a decision that you were comfortable with and that hopefully closes the book on this situation.

Remember that if there's any further uproar or grade-grubbing from students, it's no longer about you. It sounds like you've done the best you can with the situation. If your dean wants to tolerate further shenanigans, that's their choice. Let them deal with it and not you, beyond providing the appropriate documentation.

[spork]

I think you should give them all D minuses.

[finallydone]

Really sorry that the dean is a wuss.  But glad that the decision is done.  You did the best you could under the circumstances.  That's something to be contented with. 

And as antiphon1 wrote.....

Walk away from this semester.  It's time to focus on really important things like the arrival of little romo. 

[infopri]

Excellent solution, mj_romo.  Now try to forget all about this horrible semester.  Focus on little romo, and rest assured that it's unlikely that you'll have another group of students like this again any time soon.