>It appears that some students may be opting to take an I in a course
>and/or some teachers may be giving some students Incompletes hoping
>that on the retake and make-up work the student will eventfully
>make a C in the course or a higher grade. One of my colleagues was
>called in by a Dean because he was not flunking some students:
>He felt that he was just going to give them additional work.
>Are there any statistics on the frequency of grades when an I has been
>removed?
>What is your take on Incompletes and their eventual conversion to letter
>grades?
I only give an Incomplete when the student has a valid medical or personal
emergency excuse... I don't make them do extra work, only the work they
would have done if they were in class (the exams and paper assignments are
different, but of equal difficulty). Students who look for a C because
they think they may not pass the class do not have any success w/ me.
On a fairly related note... at SIUE, students are allowed to drop a class
(wo/ instructor's permission) up until the 12th week of the semester. I
find this ludicrous. When they drop, they get a "W" which is subsequently
erased when they retake the class. What are the group's thoughts on this
policy? Are similar policies in place at your colleges or
universities? Personally, i see this as another way of pandering to
students, and it really irritates me.
****************************************************************
Stephen W. Tuholski Ph.D.
Asst. Professor
Dept. of Psychology
Southern Illinois U. at Edwardsville
Edwardsville IL 62026
Phone: 618 650 5391
Fax: 618 650 5087
http://www.siue.edu/~stuhols
"Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so."
- Bertrand Russell
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