Failing Class Because Of Bad Professor Advice

Hey, guys! I was wondering if any of you could give me some advice. I took a 7 week online course spring semester and unfortunately got very sick for the last week and a half, causing me to not complete some of my assignments on time. I emailed my professor as her syllabus said we can ask for extensions, however she did not email me back. I emailed her two more times, and then even emailed the head of my professor’s department and still did not get a response so I could not access the locked assignments. Grading comes around and the professor gives me an incomplete (no response to the emails at all) telling me I have two months to finish the last couple assignments or else I will fail. Great. Easy. However, she did not unlock the course so I could not access any assignments. We emailed back and forth about 7 times regarding the issue and she still failed to unlock the assignments because she “didn’t know how”. The due date for my assignments is already passed and the summer is quickly ending. What should I do about this situation? I do not want to retake a class because of my professor’s faults. Who would I contact about this? Thank you.

How close are you from the university? You can start by doing that

I’m a little more than an hour away and the professor does not work on campus, unfortunately.

I think you should talk to the department head so they are aware of the situation and possibly work with IT to help you resolve the issue. Communication at this point is very important so you want to make sure you keep that up throughout the process.

You aren’t failing a class b/c of bad prof advice: it’s time to stop blaming your prof and start blaming yourself for not pushing harder to find solutions. As far as I can tell from your timeline, this has been going on for ~3 months.

Go back to the early info you got- the ‘how the system works’ stuff, and look there. Do you have an advisor? an Academic Dean? there is a system, and it is your job to figure it out.

Also, your phone has many great features, one of which is that it can be used to telephone people and actually speak to them. True it can be frustrating, but it can be the fastest way to get useful information. Also, the department admin people know an enormous amount about how the system works, and are often willing to be very helpful to undergrads who are polite.

Hey, thanks for commenting. I am definitely the person who acknowledges my own faults usually but I have done everything I can do in this situation truly which is why it is so frustrating and which is why I came here because I don’t know what to do. I hate people who blame the professor but I truly feel that this is on my professor as I have emailed her over and over and over again but she doesn’t know how to unlock the assignments and didn’t even try for the first month! Calling her wouldn’t do anything because she doesn’t know how to unlock the assignments either way. I also currently don’t have an advisor because my old one got moved to a different job and they’re still looking for a replacement. It’s just hard right now.

My professor said she tried to work with IT to get everything unlocked but was unsuccessful! I think I may try to get in contact with the department head again to see if there’s anything she can do in this situation.

The sickness you had must’ve been so bad that you couldn’t even do the assignments online. IMO, the professor should’ve understood your situation a little more.

Makes me wonder why some professors aren’t as caring and understanding in certain situations, add on a lack of responsibility for not responding to any of your emails in a timely manner. They also can’t expect everyone to be the “perfect student”, some people make mistakes (from missing a few classes to forgetting an assignment), but when you don’t learn from your mistakes, then it becomes a bigger problem for you.

Overall, I’m glad that the situation is currently being fixed.

There is an Academic Dean somewhere. With the teacher not being helpful and the Head of Department not responding, that is your next port of call. Make a tidy summary of the steps that you have taken so far (clear, succinct, factual, specific) and attach it to an email to the AD. Now that it’s full summer, they might be on holiday, but you have to start sometime.

Drive the hour to school and speak to a human. Yes, the prof is a poor communicator, but it’s frankly not her problem. Three months is more than enough time for you to realize after three emails that the situation required you to be more proactive. You need to resolve it by going to the college in person.

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What is this new fangled invention you speak of? Never heard of it.

At the end of the day, it’s not the professor’s problem. It’s yours. You need to take whatever steps are necessary-- like driving to school and speaking to person after person until you get the results you need.

you need to call IT and talk to them. And if that doesn’t work, make and appointment and drive immediately to see someone in their Dept.

That’s why I came here. I wouldn’t know who to start with!

It was way more than three emails and she told me she was working on it so that’s why I’ve been waiting and waiting. When she finally responded to me about the incomplete she said she would unlock the course asap but she forget to do it. Then she said she would do it but forgot to do it again. Then finally she said she was going to but was unable to. Then she claims she got help and the class was unlocked but both myself and the other student who got an incomplete couldn’t access anything!

I actually had to go to the hospital a couple times because of my sickness so I missed a few on campus classes as well but no assignments were missed because of how the classes were at the time. I’ve never been the student to miss either classes or assignments so this is pretty new and difficult for me. The professor seemed understanding after giving me the incomplete but hasn’t done what she said she would!

At this point I would contact the Dean of Students…tell them what happened with your illness/hospital, that you talked to the Prof and she gave you an incomplete and 2 months (which is what she should have done), however despite you communicating with her multiple times she is unable to re-open the course software and you are unable to finish the course and can they help out.

Agree with the above ^. Time to go to the Dean of Students.

Thanks so much guys!

Good luck, and let us know if you’re able to access the class or etc.