<p>Sorry about that. My son ran into some really punative policies last year at the community college he attended. Professors can make their own rules regarding grading and missed assignments / tests. And those rules do not have to make sense, or be fair, only be described on the syllabus, and followed as described on the syllabus. </p>
<p>Stinks, I know.</p>
<p>All,</p>
<p>For those of you with a student who passed through CH 101, were you aware that (at least in the case of the section my S is in):</p>
<p>If you score less than a 50% on a pre-lab assessment, you are automatically barred from the following lab session and that in turn counts as a missed lab session.</p>
<p>If you accumulate 3 “absences” from lab sessions, it results in an automatic failure of the class for the semester.</p>
<p>This hardly seems fair to me, not even in the least. That is a disincentive to learning if I ever saw one! My S had done just fine on his previous two lab pre-assessments, and then had difficulty with one and was blindsided by this policy. Quoting the TA regarding the video they were to answer questions on (only 4 of them):</p>
<p>“There was only one video, but they are not usually very helpful…” Wow. Just Wow.</p>
<p>My S is a very serious student, and punitive things like this easily create anxiety in him and very are demoralizing to him.</p>
<p>I could see aggressive policies in a 300 or 400 level class, but first semester freshman chemistry? Seriously?? As a college graduate myself, I realize there are definite hurdles purposely created to “weed out” those who can’t cut it, but I am having a really difficult time with the rationale behind this.</p>
<p>Anyone else have a similar experience or advice (besides don’t fail two more pre-labs)? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of this policy. I wonder if it’s unique for the prof?</p>
<p>S failed honors Bio lab first semester. Luckily he had a B in the class, but his grade still took a big hit because honors averages the both grades. Lots of rules, very unhelpful when he was sick. He was sick for half of a 2 part 100 point lab. Would not give him any guidance on how he would go about getting the data from the first part to complete the lab. Thought he couldn’t just copy someone’s data. I saw all the emails he sent and the appointments he made. This was the one time I was thinking of intervening on his behalf but I didn’t. </p>
<p>Second semester went a bit better but lab still dragged down the A he had in the class. This completely turned him off from taking any more science at Bama.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are thousands of students who have no problems with the policies and who get A’s & A+ in these classes but it’s too bad you don’t see much on rate my professor with labs, so you could steer clear of the TA’s with issues.
S had Guy Caldwell for Honors bio who is a great professor, but was done in by the lab. I have to say this was the only major disappointment for me with Bama academics so far. The majority of S’s profs have been great and some fantastic.
Sounds like Chemistry might have been more of the same, so kind of glad he didn’t take it.</p>
<p>What is a pre-lab assessment?</p>
<p>This was true for my DD. I think the pre lab assignment requires the student to read the material and show some understanding of what will be done in the lab. I don’t think it is meant to weed out necessarily. She learned not to wait to the last minute, and to attend every class and lab even if she is at death’s door.</p>
<p>My daughter ran into these policies in both 103 and 104, but didn’t have an issue or have any problems since students were made aware at the beginning and infractions and consequences were described in detail in the syllabus. Note that the labs are not run by the professors and are under the control of the lab coordinator. Other policies to be aware of include the restriction/requirement of certain types of clothing, punctuality, and no goggles - no lab and you’ll receive a zero. In fairness, it seems students are allowed multiple attempts on answering the questions although some of the wording the needed to be precise for the program to accept it as correct. It seemed some students found it unnecessary to watch a 2-5 minute lab safety video in my D’s lab last year and therefore couldn’t complete the assessment correctly. As you said, if you fail the lab assessment you aren’t allowed to attend that week’s lab and receive a zero. Miss three labs and you fail the class. Knowing that up front should keep most students on task. The only complaint my daughter had was regarding one lab t/a who wasn’t very helpful or responsive. I’m sorry your son isn’t having a good experience.</p>
<p>Update:</p>
<p>Pre-lab assessment is apparently a “quiz” they have to take to make sure they are “fit” to participate in the lab. In this case, it was sold to be as “for the safety of the students” but my personal take is that it was fine print that could easily be overlooked by most.</p>
<p>I get the fact that an intrinsic part of college life is learning to mind your Ps and Qs, but play those games a little later instead of ambushing kids who are already feeling overwhelmed and are just trying to find their way.</p>
<p>Further still, my issue with this loophole is not that it is a requirement, but my objection remains with the fact that even eligibility to participate in a learning environment is tied to performance, and that a failure to attend the lab (from an involuntary ban by the TA) is then tied to attendance and if you miss three, you fail. First is “free”, second is some sort of loss of credit, and third is automatic failure.</p>
<p>In a conversation with the lab director (supervisor of the TAs?) I was told “While I understand that students make mistakes, for me to distinguish between what is an accidental absence and a deliberate absence is not for me to judge. We do try as best we can to keep the policies as fair as possible for all students.”</p>
<p>That statement reinforces to me they do not understand my point, which is that if a kid voluntarily skips a lab that is one thing, but to prevent a willing student from participating and then counting it against them is something altogether different and that is what I take a real exception to.</p>
<p>Bottom line is… buyer beware. I hope someone else benefits from this experience and my best advice is to go over that syllabus with the equivalent of a lice comb and don’t let this happen to your student.</p>