Payam Heidary wrote: > how do most of you handle situations where > students are absent on the day of exams and when > assignments are due.
For examinations: I always allow a student to take exams BEFORE the scheduled time. That way, if they know something is coming up for them, they can plan on taking the exam a day or two early. I also do not worry if a student comes late to an exam (I have no times limits on my exams anyway), even if they come an hour or two late. Usually, in such a case, I tell them to take the exam in a later section (for intro psych, I have several sections during the day). I rarely have students do this consistently and, when they do, it is often because of work-related problems. It is very unlikely, with my tests, that they can talk with a student who has already taken the exam and get enough information to make a difference on their scores. I also allow students to make up ONE exam...for ANY reason (I give between five and seven exams during the semester, depending on the course). I don't even want to hear the excuse--but they often seem to feel compelled to tell me anyway. I have one day set aside during the last week of regular classes for all make-ups. When students realize that they will have to wait until the end of the semester to take the exam, many opt to rearrange their schedules or take the exam even with a sore throat rather than wait until the semester's end when other assignments are coming due. I explain to students that taking the make-up option should be reserved for major emergencies since they probably don't want to take the make-up during a very busy period of the semester. Perhaps a quarter of the class takes a make-up exam. The distribution of scores is no different than those taking the test on the assigned date. For homework assignments: I do something similar. They can always hand in assignments early. And I let them hand in ONE assignment late, for ANY reason. If there were a large number of assignments, I might even extend this to two, or I might drop a small number of the lowest scores (such as zeros on missed assignments). Students seem to find these policies very fair and I almost never have any complaints. Jeff -- Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213 9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298 Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED] Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626 Listowner: Psychologists Educating Students to Think Skeptically (PESTS) http://www.sc.maricopa.edu/sbscience/pests/index.html
