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[poster]

I have a somewhat older student in a class who has threatened me and my department. We did not accept her as a major, yet she is still taking one of my classes and is doing very poorly. She keeps threatening that I need to pass her or else I'll "look bad" or "never hear the end of it." She is an unstable and strange person and I feel afraid for my personal safety around her. I have contacted security, student services, deans, chair, etc., and everyone is very supportive. My question - how do you respond to threats from students? What are some tactics you use? Thanks!

[geoteo]

Can you drop her?  If she is threatening you, it sounds as if she ought to become someone else's problem.

[zharkov]

Age, "strangeness," and how the student does in class are all irrelevant if you fear for your personal safety.  Focus on that, just that, and have a talk to the people in security.  Maybe you need to involve the police with respect to a restraining order, if security does not intervene.
 

[lizzy]

If I were you, I'd find whatever university policies apply. The next time she makes a threat, call her on it immediately. "Making threats is a violation of university policy X, which states [whatever it says]. If you make threats again, university policy says that [whatever it says] will happen." Then I'd e-mail her a follow up: "Today, we discussed our university's policy...." and cc it to everyone you've discussed the case with.

You say that the people you've contacted have been supportive, but I think you need to know what, specifically, they will do to support you. If you feel your personal safety and the safety of your students is at risk, I would use those words in my conversations with university officials and document the contact. At my place, the dean of students and campus security would be very involved, even sitting in on the class.

[snowbound]

But I'm not sure if this amounts to a threat.  "You'll never hear the end of it" sounds to me like "I will appeal the F.  I'll appeal it as far as I can--to the Dean, to the President, to my Congressman, to Fox News--heck, to the Supreme Court if I have to!"  This would be a huge nuisance obviously, and I suppose one could say that she is "threatening" to appeal the F, but that is not the same as a threat to your personal safety.

Heck, I don't know if this student is a Virginia Tech-style nut job or not.  But from what you say, I think you would have a hard time demanding action on the basis that she is threatening your personal safety.   

[larryc]

Kick her out for disrupting class. Get your administrative ducks in a row beforehand however and make sure that you can make it stick.

[melba_frilkins]

My question - how do you respond to threats from students? What are some tactics you use? Thanks!

Based on the fact that everyone around you has been supportive and if the threat is solely along the lines of "I'm gonna report you, I'm gonna tell the dean on you", invite the student to do just that. Tell the student that you're done discussing grades/fairness with her, and that the next step for a grade appeal is <insert actual step from your campus policy>. You've therefore called her bluff, you've told her you're not afraid of her biggest weapon (a complaint to administration) AND you've moved the problem up the chain and out of your hair.

I did this by accident once and it worked wonders.

[tee_bee]

My question - how do you respond to threats from students? What are some tactics you use? Thanks!

Based on the fact that everyone around you has been supportive and if the threat is solely along the lines of "I'm gonna report you, I'm gonna tell the dean on you", invite the student to do just that. Tell the student that you're done discussing grades/fairness with her, and that the next step for a grade appeal is <insert actual step from your campus policy>. You've therefore called her bluff, you've told her you're not afraid of her biggest weapon (a complaint to administration) AND you've moved the problem up the chain and out of your hair.

I did this by accident once and it worked wonders.

This. I always lay out my grade appeal policy on my undergrad syllabi (24 hours cooling-off period, appeals only in writing about substance, not about your chronic hangnail, etc.) and then list the precise process for grade appeals or other complaints. I then invoke it when whining happens. In this case, you may want to tell her to just go right ahead, as mentioned. You may want your chair and maybe dean to be forewarned. Don't call her out right in class, though--students might actually sympathize with her more than you.

if you can degregister her, just do it.

[rebelgirl]

My question - how do you respond to threats from students? What are some tactics you use? Thanks!

Based on the fact that everyone around you has been supportive and if the threat is solely along the lines of "I'm gonna report you, I'm gonna tell the dean on you", invite the student to do just that. Tell the student that you're done discussing grades/fairness with her, and that the next step for a grade appeal is <insert actual step from your campus policy>. You've therefore called her bluff, you've told her you're not afraid of her biggest weapon (a complaint to administration) AND you've moved the problem up the chain and out of your hair.

This is a good adaptation of the upthread advice to what sounds more like harassment than threat of physical harm. 

However, if the student is unstable, things could get physical, so it would be good to have a plan in place. A student threatened me some years back (big guy, veteran, PTSD issues) - coming into the office, slamming the door, shouting at me, refusing to open the door, etc.   My dean and student service admin came up with this plan for what to do if it happened again:  tell the student, "I have to call [person X] because I have a meeting with him, hold on -" then call the admin's secretary and say, "Please tell [unusual name nowhere near close to name of my admin] that I'll be a few minutes late."  They would then send me help (i.e. large burly admins!) at once.  They apprised my department of the situation, told them to phone if they heard the guy yell, also.  Finally , I was advised to take a cellphone to class and have the admin office on speed dial.  We never had to do this, but having the plan made me feel much safer and helped me stay focused on my job till the situation resolved itself (the student got into counseling, ended up doing reasonably well in the class).   

Good luck with this, OP. 

[prof_smartypants]

I have a somewhat older student in a class who has threatened me and my department. We did not accept her as a major, yet she is still taking one of my classes and is doing very poorly. She keeps threatening that I need to pass her or else I'll "look bad" or "never hear the end of it." She is an unstable and strange person and I feel afraid for my personal safety around her. I have contacted security, student services, deans, chair, etc., and everyone is very supportive. My question - how do you respond to threats from students? What are some tactics you use? Thanks!

These aren't really threats. If a student said this, I'd just say, "OK" and move on.

[womanofproperty]

OP, what behavior is it specifically that makes you afraid for your safety?

The student has the right to take classes and to fail the class. Strange, eccentric - well, that applies to a lot of us.

Maybe the student just needs to be told (and more than once) what the appeal procedure is. Maybe this is not a big deal.

Is the person doing this during class and disrupting the class? Then the appropriate remedy - kicking the student out of class, usually - applies. Follow Larryc's advice.

Is the person following you, refusing to leave when you indicate the conversation is over, constantly leaving messages on your VM?

What exactly is going on? How exactly are you being threatened? Because the specifics are going to determine how to respond to the issue.

[skeptical]

Her words do not sound like much of a threat. However, if you feel unsafe there is probably good reason to be concerned. Don't discount your sense of unease. I would contact campus security for advice. Oftentimes, such students have a history with other faculty. At the very least, you would put this woman on someone else's radar.

[adjunk]

You want to be very careful here.  My advice is to bring your concerns to your chair first for advice on how to handle it.  You don't want to go over anyone's head or ruffle any feathers.  Take it from someone who's been there.  In 1994, when I was adjuncting, I received a hand-written death threat from a student.  It contained the words "I want to kill you" and featured a drawing of a handgun with bullets coming out of it.  I took it to the Dean's office first.  I should have taken it to my chair and let him handle it.  The Dean became outraged at me for bringing it to his attention, complaining that the college now had to spend extra money on this student for a psych evaluation.  The situation was resolved, or so I thought, when I was forced upon threat of firing to shake hands with the student in front of the Dean, and apologize to the student for "misunderstanding" his little note.  Subsequently, my chair scheduled me for courses the following semester, but the very next day after I turned in my final grades, I received a letter from the Dean informing me that my services were no longer needed.  The bottom line is: don't go this alone.  Make sure you have your chair or some other authority figure on your side. 

[prof_cj]

While it might not sound like a "real" threat from the student, don't discount your own gut instinct.  As you said, the administration is behind you, which is good. Get as much lined up administratively to protect yourself.

Is the student making these sort of statements in class/publicly If they won't respond to you in private after class/during office hours, respond publicly, in kind. "(name), discussions on grades are over. You addressing an instructor in a disrespectful manner is also over. If you want to talk to someone else, but  until I hear from others, this discussion is over and if you keep it up, I'll have to ask you to remove yourself from class." The just turn away and get back to lecture.

[gbrown]

I agree with Lizzy. Find out what your college does to support you (in print) and use these strategies and rules to protect yourself before it gets worse. We have a security committee at my college and a (fairly new) document titled something like, "Dealing with the troubled, disturbed, or dangerous student." It really helped me feel confident about where the line is between nonsense and actual trouble. If you google, "distressed, disruptive and potentiallly dangerous student," you may even find the document that my college borrowed stole verbage from.

Good luck op.