<p>Today I found out that my English Professor changed her requirements to pass the class. I did every single assignment in the class, and received a passing grade of each of those assignments. She announced that he will not using any assignment we did in class to determine our grade and it will solely be based on our participation in class. Here's my issue with that, this semester my mother(R.I.P) passed away, and I had health issues(due to stress) so I missed alot of days of class. When I am in class however, I rarely participate because on the syllabus, participation is only 5% and I'm a shy person.
Anyway I would like to know if she can do this. I'm afraid I might have failed the class, if so can I appeal the grade or not? What should I do?
Thanks for all the feedback in advance!</p>
<p>Go talk to the teacher immediately, and make sure she understands your personal situation. Don’t e-mail or text her–go see her in person. Call to make an appointment if she doesn’t have office hours in the next day or so.</p>
<p>A professor can do what s/he pleases in that regard, and sometimes some do unethical things. However, students can appeal and complain and even file suit. Depends on your college and how they do things.</p>
<p>Professors can make changes in the syllabus in response to class needs as long as such changes are circulated and the work students have already done is considered as part of the grade. It’s not necessarily unethical.</p>
<p>When did the professor change her syllabus? Did she distribute the changes to everyone, either by passing out a paper copy or posting the changes to the course page on whatever learning platform your college uses? Did she distribute the changes to the class email list?</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that the professor just changed all the course requirements at the last minute, especially as grading on participation is a lot easier than grading on assignments that need to be read and marked, and she’s already done the bulk of the marking. I don’t understand what her motivation would be. Is she swapping out an as-yet-uncollected assignment for a participation grade? This kind of change would probably benefit the majority of the students in the class.</p>
<p>It sounds like your performance in the class has been sufficiently marginal that a 5% loss (i.e. 0 points for participation) will cause you to get an F. How much class have you actually missed? How is the participation grade figured?</p>
<p>In my adjunct experience, the syllabus is a legal contract between the professor and the students. The professor cannot arbitrarily change the rules later in the game without the agreement of the class. If she is, indeed, making such a radical change that you will fail where before this you would have passed, I would go directly to the department Chair and lay out the situation - being sure to take a copy of the original syllabus along. Be sure that is indeed the case first.</p>
<p>Go talk to the professor before you do anything else! It may be that this change was made to save some students from flunking based on other assignments. The professor may have no intention of harming somebody in your situation, so make sure she knows what your situation is.</p>
<p>I agree with Sylvan. I consider it a contract. I always have a clause to the effect of “I reserve the right to make slight changes” but that might be scheduling drafts of a paper slightly differently (usually to give more time), not wholesale grading and requirement changes.</p>
<p>I would talk to the professor and if necessary, then to the chair of the department.</p>
<p>OTOH, absences do count against students in both schools at which I teach, and students who miss many classes usually fail, regardless of other work. But that is outlined ahead of time, not retroactively.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback guys, I just found out that she is being fired, so maybe that’s the reason for the change?</p>
<p>Also, I did tell her I was going to be absent due to such and such. I brought doctor notes too.</p>
<p>Most syllabuses have a line or a clause that allows for changes. This covers the professor in the event that class needs differ from expectations and she needs to add or take away assignments (or whole categories of assignments). Remember this for future reference. </p>
<p>And don’t believe everything you here on a college campus. The rumor mill works overtime there. She may very well be leaving, but of her own accord.</p>
<p>she is getting fired, she sent an email to the class</p>
<p>^^^Could she have announced the changes in grading policy earlier, during one of your many absences?</p>
<p>If this is as arbitrary and bizarre as it sounds, given that she is being fired, you probably have a very good shot at appealing your grade with the powers that be (presumably the ones who fired her).</p>
<p>Smoove–I’m not saying it’s true at your school, but just for general discussion, doctor’s notes and advance notification make no difference where I teach. they still count as absences.</p>
<p>“In my adjunct experience, the syllabus is a legal contract between the professor and the students. The professor cannot arbitrarily change the rules later in the game without the agreement of the class.”</p>
<p>^This.</p>
<p>The college-student relationship is contractual in nature. The professor or other school officials cannot unilaterally change requirements.</p>
<p>See the topic “Laws and court precedent on student classroom rights” from this page on Wikipedia:</p>
<p>[Student</a> rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_rights]Student”>Student rights - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Don’t waste time figuring out your legal rights until you’ve talked directly to the professor. Be nice, say you’re sorry to hear she’s leaving, and that you’re worried that your absences due to illness might affect your grade.</p>
<p>"Smoove–I’m not saying it’s true at your school, but just for general discussion, doctor’s notes and advance notification make no difference where I teach. they still count as absences. "</p>
<p>Does this mean that you do not give students a chance to make up work and/or penalize them when they had no control over missing class? That sounds even worse than most HS policies. My D was in the ER during an exam, brought in a note the following day and was still failed for that test. Same with the OP, missed classes with doctor’s notes and yet she’s out of luck?</p>
<p>Seems like a no-win situation to me, or am I misinterpreting how you do things? And is it common?</p>
<p>What Hunt said!! </p>
<p>Remember, it is very easy for anonymous people on a web site to be outraged, insist on legal rights, etc. </p>
<p>This is rarely the most productive approach to try first in real life.</p>
<p>I am agreeeing with soft at first, but in this case, if prof being fired, keep copies of syllabus, and be prepared to talk to dept head.</p>
<p>sseamom,</p>
<p>In both your D’s and the OP’s situation, did they contact their dean regarding the absences. Your D especially should have had someone contact her dean from the ER if necessary to explain that she was in the ER and missing an exam. (I remember my D having the same situation during finals. She contacted her dean, who contacted the professor and had the exam rescheduled). </p>
<p>Even at high school, we explain to students even though you may have excused absences you can still fail the class because you are not being graded for class work, class participation, etc.</p>
<p>Op, I feel for you and your situation as I had a similar one as an undergrad; my father passed during midterms. I contacted my professors and one told me that she did not give make-up exams (she said that it I did not take the midterm, I would be going into the final with a 0). Your best bet would be to look in your student handbook to see if there is an attendance requirement.</p>
<p>Sseamom–no, it does not mean they can’t make up work. That’s not what I said. What I said is that they have a certain amount of allowed absences, and that absences due to illness count toward them.</p>
<p>sseamom, it can be that way where I work, too. Generally, a missed homework assignment is not a big deal as homework is worth very little. Students who miss an assignment are fine. Students who miss many may start to see some consequences. </p>
<p>Tests are a little different because they do have the ability to affect final grades. You have a student with a good attendance record suddenly not show up for an exam. She appears in the office a few days later with proof of a medical emergency, and you let her retake the exam. Used to be that these things were rare occurrances indeed. You could grant an exception and no one would question your reasons for doing so. Things have changed, however. You let one student retake an exam, and you’ve got students who can smell a crack in the door. You find yourself faced with questions of when is “sick” sick enough to grant a retake. You really don’t want to be in that position. “Throwing up all night” might be a virus. Might be brown bottle flu, too, and believe me, there’s no way for me to tell the difference. And if you’re too liberal with retakes, you have students taking tests in your office all the time. </p>
<p>So, you set policy. Might be no make-ups. Period. Might be major medical, requiring hospital admission. Might be some other line you think is reasonable. But once set, you stick to it because as soon as you make an expection, you might as well not have a policy.</p>