Doug Bernstein has keep a list of excuses he has heard why students missed a test, school, etc.
Jim Matiya Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around...Leo Buscaglia > From: ro...@stjohns.edu > To: tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu > Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2014 17:19:36 -0400 > Subject: RE: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent > > And then there are the excuses for genuine events that are used fraudulently. > For example, the student who asks to be excused for a test because s/he has > to have his/her wisdom teeth pulled on the exam date. However, the procedure > is done in the afternoon whereas the test was given in the morning. Of > course, doctors' notes and such usually indicate only a date, not a time. It > is because of scenarios such as the one above that I allow students to miss > up to two exams for whatever reason, but the cost to them is that they must > take the missed exams during final exams. > > From a paper that a student and I presented at EPA a few years ago: > > Abstract > We compared the academic performance of students who took regularly scheduled > exams with that of students who took make-up exams. Students who had taken > make-up exams scored significantly lower on those exams and earned lower > course grades than students who had taken the regularly-scheduled exams. The > results suggest that having a make-up exam policy does not give a significant > advantage to students who use it. > > > Miguel > ________________________________________ > From: Jeffry Ricker [jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu] > Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 4:39 PM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent > > Hi all, > > I have required proof of the death of a family member for a long time now. I > do this because, years ago, a student told me that he had missed a test in my > class because his grandmother had died; and then several weeks later, in > another instructor's class, he missed a test because (he told the instructor) > that grandmother died! Apparently, she rose from the dead after the first > funeral, only to die a short time later. The poor lady! > > Caron, Whitbourne, & Halgin (1992) looked at fraudulent versus "legitimate" > excuse-making, and found no difference in the frequency of these among > college students. One difference they did find, however, "is the greater > number of fraudulent excuses claiming that there was a family emergency" (p. > 91). On the other hand, legitimate excuses were more likely than fraudulent > ones to involve the death of a grandparent. Go figure. > > I seem to remember another paper, mentioned on TIPS a long time ago, showing > that grandparents are more likely to die just before test days. Is this a > false memory? > > Best, > Jeff > > Reference > Caron, M. D., Whitbourne, S. K., & Halgin, R. P. (1992). Fraudulent excuse > making among college students. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 90-93 > > > On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 5:49 AM, Beth Benoit > <beth.ben...@gmail.com<mailto:beth.ben...@gmail.com>> wrote: > > > > > > > > Claudia and others, > I didn't receive Nancy Melucci's initial post either, but read it at the > bottom of Tim's reply. I don't recall this happening before, so hope it's > just a quirk. Or maybe that's what happened to two previous posts of mine > that got no replies? > Beth Benoit > Plymouth State University > New Hampshire > > > On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:51 PM, Claudia Stanny > <csta...@uwf.edu<mailto:csta...@uwf.edu>> wrote: > > > > > > > > Nancy, > > Given your institution's policies, you had no choice but to drop her if she > did not show up. I expect she had the same experience in multiple classes if > she was out of town for a funeral, which probably adds to her stress but > should send her a clear message that this is what happens at this institution. > > Now if yours was the only class she missed and was dropped from, that raises > a new set of questions, doesn't it? If she were out of town, wouldn't she > have missed multiple classes? Just asking. . . . > > > I think you were most kind and generous to offer to reinstate her. But I know > how rigid the rules about attendance can be at two-year institutions. I > learned recently that in Florida, students who miss more than a certain > number of classes must be withdrawn by the instructor, even if the student is > doing well in the class. Something about the regulations related to financial > aid awards at 2-year schools. (The four-year schools don't have this policy, > so it came as quite a surprise to me when this matter came up in a faculty > development activity that involved multiple people from 2-year schools.) > > Perhaps if you had reinforced the message that this was not entirely your > decision by telling her you would attempt to get her reinstated, assuming you > could persuade the registrar or whoever to accept her documentation, you > might have gotten a less hostile response. (And it would have saved you some > additional grief if your attempts to reinstate her hit a bureaucratic wall.) > But I wouldn't guarantee that! :-) > > > Claudia > > BTW > > Anyone else on TIPS not getting all of the messages? > I received Tim's response but never saw Nancy's question. I even looked in my > spam filter. And no, I do not have a special filter set for Nancy! :-) > > > > > > > _____________________________________________ > > Claudia J. Stanny, Ph.D. > Director > Center for University Teaching, Learning, and Assessment > University of West Florida > Pensacola, FL 32514 > > Phone: (850) 857-6355<tel:%28850%29%20857-6355> (direct) or 473-7435 > (CUTLA) > > csta...@uwf.edu<mailto:csta...@uwf.edu> > > CUTLA Web Site: http://uwf.edu/offices/cutla/<http://uwf.edu/cutla/> > Personal Web Pages: http://uwf.edu/cstanny/website/index.htm > > > On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 10:05 PM, Tim Shearon > <tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu<mailto:tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu>> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Nancy > Short version- you are doing the right thing and it’s her environmental > factors and lack of self-reflection that lead to her response. (I.e., it’s > her – not you) > > Long version: I’ve had exactly the same thing happen – even getting abuse > from a parent for being “heartless in their time of need”. My syllabus stated > that if you must miss you MUST notify me at the earliest possible time (she > waited a week and a half). And it clearly stated that if you have to miss an > exam due to an emergency you will not be allowed to make it up if you wait > past the day of the exam to notify me- for any reason. Because I believed her > but was trying to remain fair to the other students, I emailed her that she > could give me a name and town and I’d be happy to just look it up in lieu of > actually asking her to print the obituary out. She replied that I was being > cruel. I did not take the bait but explained that I was being fair to the > others and going beyond the syllabus to accommodate her. That’s when her dad > emailed and voice mailed me to tell me what a cad I was and “how would you > feel”? Still didn’t defend myself but called him to explain the situation. He > finally said, “I guess we all get a bit testy at these times.” Grief. > Assuming she’s being honest and not deflecting at being pushed to defend an > untruth, I think you are being fair and she’s grieving but not reflecting on > her behavior enough to recognize that her emotions come largely from that and > not from you. You are, I think, being fair with her. > Tim > > _______________________________ > Timothy O. Shearon, PhD > Professor, Department of Psychology > The College of Idaho > Caldwell, ID 83605 > email: tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu<mailto:tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu> > > teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; history and > systems > > > > From: drnanjo [mailto:drna...@aol.com<mailto:drna...@aol.com>] > Sent: Monday, September 01, 2014 8:43 PM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent > > > > > > > > > Hello everyone - > > Hope you had a nice summer and holiday weekend. > > So, I need to know if my two choices in a matter are the dichotomy of total > patsy and heartless b-word. > > As I've often joked to students, May and December are bad times for > grandparents (and other distant relatives) who seem to expire in droves right > in time to make it impossible to sit for a final or complete a term project. > > A close second is the first class of the term...at community colleges, you > must show up on the first day to keep your seat, otherwise according to regs > we can (and must) give your seat away...to one of what is usually many > students on a long wait list. > > SO...I had a student not show this week and when she finally contacted me I'd > already dropped her. She said her grandmother had died. I said, I dropped you > but if you can verify the story I'll reinstate you. And I got a fairly > abusive email back. > > I suppose my main mistake was not simply saying "you are dropped" BUT I > thought (perhaps wrongly) that I was giving her a chance if she was truthful. > Now in retrospect it just seems like I should have said "too bad.' I suppose > it might have also seemed just as heartless as "Too bad." I don't know. I > hate being played. And I hate being mean. Avoid-avoid conflict. > > I also suppose I am experiencing a certain amount of burnout due to many > environmental factors...not just students but other aspects of the current > state of my work environment. So this is probably a tendril extended for > support as well as to find out a little more about how you all react to and > handle the dead fill-in-the-distant relative of your choice, all-purpose > vague but serious-sounding "family emergency" and the rest of the excuse > tropes. > > Welcome back. > > Thanks. > > Nancy Melucci > Long Beach CIty College > Long Beach CA > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu<mailto:tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu>. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13545.bae00fb8b4115786ba5dbbb67b9b177a&n=T&l=tips&o=38171 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-38171-13545.bae00fb8b4115786ba5dbbb67b9b1...@fsulist.frostburg.edu<mailto:leave-38171-13545.bae00fb8b4115786ba5dbbb67b9b1...@fsulist.frostburg.edu> > > > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > csta...@uwf.edu<mailto:csta...@uwf.edu>. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d550&n=T&l=tips&o=38172 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-38172-13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d...@fsulist.frostburg.edu<mailto:leave-38172-13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d...@fsulist.frostburg.edu> > > > > > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > beth.ben...@gmail.com<mailto:beth.ben...@gmail.com>. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13105.b9b37cdd198e940b73969ea6ba7aaf72&n=T&l=tips&o=38173 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-38173-13105.b9b37cdd198e940b73969ea6ba7aa...@fsulist.frostburg.edu<mailto:leave-38173-13105.b9b37cdd198e940b73969ea6ba7aa...@fsulist.frostburg.edu> > > > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu<mailto:jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu>. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=244790.b8b4461caf9626e16ed176ff3e555e55&n=T&l=tips&o=38180 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-38180-244790.b8b4461caf9626e16ed176ff3e555...@fsulist.frostburg.edu<mailto:leave-38180-244790.b8b4461caf9626e16ed176ff3e555...@fsulist.frostburg.edu> > > > > > > > > -- > -- > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Jeffry Ricker, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Scottsdale Community College > 9000 E. Chaparral Road > Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626 > Office: SB-123 > Phone: (480) 423-6213 > Fax: (480) 423-6298 > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > ro...@stjohns.edu<mailto:ro...@stjohns.edu>. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=1632838.7e62b84813297f170a6fc240dab8c12d&n=T&l=tips&o=38192 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-38192-1632838.7e62b84813297f170a6fc240dab8c...@fsulist.frostburg.edu<mailto:leave-38192-1632838.7e62b84813297f170a6fc240dab8c...@fsulist.frostburg.edu> > > > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: jmat...@hotmail.com. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13283.28aec02f231f4c4baa9a4a58ae139710&n=T&l=tips&o=38195 > or send a blank email to > leave-38195-13283.28aec02f231f4c4baa9a4a58ae139...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=38198 or send a blank email to leave-38198-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
