<p>rutgersmamma - that's why I think it's appropriate for teachers, etc. to ask for some kind of memorial/funeral service program or an obituary. Kids wouldn't get away with something like this.</p>
<p>yes, don't the airlines ask for the obituary to justify discounts for funeral fares? Seems fair. Also, I only recently learned that a family has to pay for an obituary to be published, so the newspaper's "Death Notice" should suffice. A memorial service program is also a good back-up, as teriwtt suggests.</p>
<p>Some families just gather to scatter ashes without any formal service, but I don't want to think about an appropriate souvenir from that day. (Might serve a professor right!!)</p>
<p>P3T, you're obviously fortunate if you didn't know about paying for newspaper obituaries. They're actually quite expensive... just so you know and won't be shocked when you have to pay for one, or write one for that matter. Some families write them, then when they find out how much it will cost for one day (let alone two or more if they choose to do so), they do some major editing.</p>
<p>I was executor for both of my parents, so I've seen how this is done.</p>
<p>You pay for the death notice (which is usually submitted to the newspaper by the funeral home). The obituary is a news story. You don't pay for it, but the newspaper decides whether or not to run it. The family can ask the newspaper to publish an obituary, but ultimately it's the newspaper's decision. If you live and die in a relatively small community, you're likely to get a nice obituary in the community newspaper. If you want your obituary to appear in The New York Times, you had better have done something important during your lifetime.</p>
<p>In our community obituaries must be paid for - newpaper policy.</p>
<p>Looking back at the original post, I'm not sure if the "Academic Dean" worked for the department or the University. </p>
<p>Generally universities have policies regarding absences for family issues (deaths, illness, etc.) that apply to drop/add and exam taking. These policies are NOT subject to instuctor whim. </p>
<p>If the policy says students are allowed x number of days after the return from an excused absence (funerals for certain relationships) to make up work/exams, there is no question.</p>
<p>Often department officials forget these things and need a reminder. If the policies are not on the school website (should be for a large public), the officer in charge of academic affairs for the university should be able to provide it in writing.</p>
<p>Of course, when presented such a scenario, personally, I'd go to the funeral and send an email to the professor with an offer of a reasonable date (a day or 2 after return depending upon length of absence and lack of access to necessary materials - state your case!) to turn in the missed assignment along with an obituary or funeral program.</p>
<p>When the professor declines to accept, turn in the assignment on that schedule anyway and forward the failed paper, the obituary (or funeral program) and all correspondence to the department head, university academic affairs officer and if necessary the chancellor.</p>
<p>The professor may hide behind tenure, but ultimately the university can adjust any grade they care to, if the professor continues to be inconsiderate. </p>
<p>BTW, I work for a large public.</p>
<p>Do what is right by your family and let the chips fall where they may.</p>
<p>I hope your niece is doing OK.</p>
<p>I had a thought similar to goaliedad's: I just re-read the OP and noticed that the "academic dean" OK'd the student's absence. That frankly sounds like a low- or mid-level administrator in the student life/dean of students' office (people who often have dean somewhere in their title). The "real" academic dean, often known as a Dean of Faculty or Provost at a large university, does not keep tabs on students' absences. If you're intent on pursuing this, it's either the department chair or that Dean/Provost's office that you want to be talking to, since that's where the faculty report. If they're unresponsive, then maybe it's fair to say that the institution was unsympathetic, but the poor person in the dean of student's office probably has no sway at all over a faculty member.</p>
<p>I was motivated by Goaliedad's post to read the Harvard College Student Handbook and here is what it says:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Absence from academic exercises, for whatever reason, including representing the College in extracurricular and athletic activities, does not relieve a student from responsibility for any part of the work in the course required during the period of absence.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In other words, the student may be absent but is still responsible for turning in the work on time. This is what the prof told the OP's niece. If the niece's college has a policy similar to Harvard's, the prof, heartless though s/he may be, would be within his/her right and I doubt very much that even the Provost or Chancellor would want to intervene. BTW, I do believe that Harvard profs would be more sympathethic than this prof has been.</p>
<p>With regards to the appeals process...</p>
<p>From the Harvard College Student Handbook... (this one for college of design)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Grade Changes and Appeals
Evaluation of a student’s performance in each course is the responsibility of the instructor of record for that course. Normally, the instructor’s decision is final. For grades other than “Incomplete,” grade changes can be made by the instructor of record and with the approval of the department chair only for the purpose of correcting an error made in calculating the grade. Very exceptionally, grade changes can be made for compelling reasons over which the student has no control, such as a medical emergency. Whether or not a student decides to invoke the formal appeal process, a student always has the right to request in writing, informally, an explanation of an assigned grade by the instructor. A copy must be sent to the assistant dean for student services. Instructors are required to respond.
However, a student who feels that a grade is unfair due to negligence or discrimination on the part of the instructor has the right to appeal formally. This appeal must be filed within the first 30 days of the academic term immediately following the term for which the grade was given or within 30 days of the date grades are distributed by the registrar, whichever is later. If, after receiving the instructor’s response, the student still believes that a grade has been assigned unfairly, the student should discuss the matter with the assistant dean for student services. If the student decides to pursue the appeal, he or she must submit a written petition to the dean of the Faculty of Design, stating the reasons for appeal of the grade. This petition must be filed within the first 60 days of the academic term immediately following the term for which the grade was given or within 60 days of the date grades are distributed by the registrar, whichever is later. If the dean believes the petition demonstrates evidence of negligence or discriminatory behavior, an advisory committee will be formed to review the appeal and make recommendations to the dean. The dean’s decision concerning the appeal of a grade is final. If a student appeals a grade assigned in his or her last term at the school, the appeal process may take place after his or her graduation. No grade may be changed after graduation for any reason other than as the result of a formal appeal as described above. Additional information on procedures related to grade appeals is available from the executive dean.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think the death of a grandparent is a compelling reason over which the student has no control and would be grounds for an appeal of the grade.</p>
<p>And if the OP's niece does a decent job of documenting her effort to be reasonable about the work, I think most university officials would agree. If not the campus newspaper is always an option... </p>
<p>BTW, in the interest of full disclosure, I had a grade changed (along with a lot of others in a class) while in school (also at a large public) due to unreasonable instructor actions.</p>
<p>Goaliedad:</p>
<p>I interpret the passage differently from you. A medical issue incapacitates a student, rendering the student unable to perform the homework. If a death in the family emotionally affects a student to such an extent that the student cannot perform the work, that is something that can be taken into account on medical grounds. Wanting to attend a funeral or a memorial service, however, does not fall into that category. The prof might be shown to be heartless, but I doubt that an appeal made on the grounds covered in the passage would be successful if the prof is unwilling to budge.</p>
<p>I am not saying that the prof was right. I would not have made the same decision. But I am saying that the prof may well be within his/her rights.</p>
<p>Not quite on topic: When I was in college, and students were absenting themselves from class to protest one thing or another, one of my profs commented in class that he had not even absented himself in order to attend his own father's funeral because he felt his duty was to his students.</p>
<p>One last thought Marite,</p>
<p>I think that there is much missing from Harvard's website with regards to policies and such. </p>
<p>I cannot imagine that any university would let a professor do this if it were a parent or spouse who died. There probably is a grading policy (specifically for faculty - not a student oriented publication) that spells out these policies.</p>
<p>That is why I suggested that they contact someone on a university oriented level (not department) to get the academic policy in writing regarding absences. Schools, just LOVE policies and have one for just about anything imagineable. The student handbook is usually a subset of school policies for frequently asked questions. They wouldn't put bereavement policies in the student handbook for fear that some students would get an idea to (as other posters have put it) kill off their grandparents every term.</p>
<p>I'm with everyone else here that the professor is being a jerk about this. Just ask for a copy of the plane tickets (if applicable) and obituary/funeral program as proof of absence. </p>
<p>I know that with employers past, they have asked for the funeral program or a similar document on the letterhead of the funeral home. Heck, in the old days (when airlines offered bereavement fares) the airlines would ask for this kind of documentation on the return flight to give you the 50% discount (on regular fare) for the funeral flight.</p>
<p>goaliedad - airlines still offer bereavement fares. I've used them in the last four months. I gave them a link to the legacy.com website with my nephew's obituary, and they were satisfied.</p>
<p>teriwtt - good to know that still is that way (with the airlines these days you can't count on much). I know that when I had to go to a funeral last January, I found that it was cheaper than anyone's discount fares to drive 2 hours to an airport that had Southwest, so I didn't even bother to ask.</p>
<p>goaliedad:</p>
<p>I agree that the prof is being a jerk. But I did look up the faculty handbook, and it has the exact same language as the student handbook I quoted. I don't know about other universities, but Harvard profs are not easily cowed by deans or chancellors (see what happened to Larry Summers). But I know many who would be very accommodating, so no need to appeal to higher ups.
I feel for the OP's niece.</p>
<p>goaliedad - it's funny that you should mention Southwest, because I, too, will usually go out of my way to fly them. However, they are the one airline that does not offer a 'bereavement' fare. They will quote you their fully refundable fare, which, like you said, is often still less than other airline's bereavement fares. But yes, we've been known to travel up to two hours from a destination city's airport to fly them. Thankfully they fly out of Midway in Chicago, so then I just have to worry about how close will they get me to my destination city.</p>
<p>OK, I got curious about the policies at the large public U where I work. Here is the policy regarding appealing of grades:</p>
<p>
[quote]
UNDERGRADUATE GRADE APPEAL PROCESS
A student may appeal grades on the basis of one or more of the following grounds:
1. A clearly unfair decision (such as a lack of consideration of circumstances beyond the student’s
control, e.g., a death in the family, illness or accident);
2. Unacceptable instruction/evaluation procedures (such as deviation from stated policies on grading
criteria, incompletes, late paper, examinations, or class attendance);
3. Inability of instructor to deal with course responsibilities; or
4. An exam setting which makes concentration extremely difficult.
The student must take the following steps to appeal a grade:
1. First consult with the instructor and if an agreement cannot be reached, appeal to the department head.
2. The department head will review the circumstances surrounding the assignment of the grade and determine if the grade should be changed. If the department head
recommends that a grade be changed and the instructor elects NOT to do so, the department head will appoint a committee of no less than three faculty members to review the matter.
3. If you wish to pursue appeal further, you may appeal in writing to the Dean of the college in which the department is located.
4. If the issue is still unresolved, you may initiate the formal Undergraduate Council appeals procedure by forwarding a written request to the Appeals Committee at...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In our case "death in the family" is grounds for appeal of a grade, with specific steps, so the instructor grade can be overridden.</p>
<p>Can't seem to find the absence policy yet... Still looking...</p>
<p>It sounds like a common policy to me. In my Managerial Accounting class we had four tests, and you could drop the lowest test score at the end of the semester - so only 3 counted. No make up exams are givin for any reason - so if you miss a test, that's a 0 and that's your dropped score. A girl in my class had moved here years before from Hungary and had to go take her citizenship test on the day of our test and she had been working on getting it scheduled forever.. She had to take a 0 on the exam and use that as her dropped score... with no option of a makeup. She threw a fit, but the decision stood. He said that's why he allows the dropped test, to allow for emergencies.</p>
<p>I had a professor with the exact same policy, Fendergirl.</p>
<p>I thought it sucked for her because she really did have a legitimate excuse, but I understood his reasoning for the rule. </p>
<p>All prof's are different though. My roommate sophomore year broke up with her boyfriend the night before finals and I was really good friends with both of them and he was an absolute mess. He had problems with depression before and was not taking it well at all (as to be expected after 4 years of dating and your girlfriend dumps you for your roommate). I wound up spending the night at his apartment and we were up all night and I was talking him through it (he was crying almost the whole night). I went to my final at 9 in the morning completely exhausted (I swear I looked like a Zombie).. but willing to take the exam.. I had studied but was completely drained from being up all night, I explained what happened to my prof and he let me take the final two days later in one of his other sections. He told me to go back to my room get some rest and look after my friend. I was so relieved.</p>
<p>It's just amazing how one prof's policies can differ so much from another prof's policies.</p>
<p>I remember one time being given the option of having my final exam count twice if I skipped an exam due to a major crisis in my life. I just remember the prof, saying at the beginning of the term that we should feel free to call him at any time with any problems, and I did. I think the prof was actually a psychology prof, but was teaching a psychology of business class in the business department. I couldn't believe I spilled my guts out to him on the phone, but he was very compassionate.</p>