May fail a class due to attendance - suddenly an issue. HELP!

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Hi, all. I am a senior. I am a transfer student and attend UNC-CH. I am a Political Science and Women's and Gender Studies major. I am also a single mother, work part time, and commute to and from school. Extremely long, sorry!</p>

<p>On Aug 26th, my car broke down on the way to school. It was an old beater, but since it was a domestic/cheap car, figured whatever was wrong with it, would be easy to fix. I was wrong. So, I had to spend all of my savings and put that into a different car, once I found one. I finally found one a few weeks later (now, I was able to borrow my mothers car a few days a week, but was receiving a few absences here and there because she needed her car, too). I let my professors know in advance and I made sure to keep up on the readings and assignments. I never fell behind nor did I turn in an assignment late. I finally got a car (as mentioned above) and two days after I got the title sent off - it was vandalized and considered totaled by my insurance company. So, I had to wait two weeks for a check from my insurance company and another week dealing with car dealerships. Thankfully, I found a car. However, as you can imagine, that was extremely tiresome. Now to the real issue - my dad was placed into the hospital mid - late September. He is older (67) with multiple health issues. He had a diabetic induced stroke. Whilst in the hospital, it was found he had lymphoma. He then contracted MRSA. Out of 10 kids, I am the only one that will support him in any way. Of course, I missed school to be with my father. He is still in the hospital, but thankfully my sister agreed to fly in from out of state to help alleviate some of the stress and allow me to be more present at school. </p>

<p>In the midst of all of this, I attended school as much as possible. I am not sure how many days I missed, but I am assuming 5-8 days in total. Some classes more than others, because of surgery days, bad days, etc. Since the 1st or 2nd week of Oct, however, I had my sister down here and thus was able to attend class. </p>

<p>I took the proper steps and notified the Dean of Students about my family emergency, as well as the car issue (and my mental illnesses, that my therapist has urged me to be more open about and has offered to write a letter in my favor - an absence or two does deal with my mental illnesses). I also spoke with each of my professors directly during office hours. All of which was extremely positive and understanding. I kept constant contact with each of them via email. I have made consistent As and Bs on all of my assignments - midterms included. </p>

<p>One of my professors, for a class that is required for my major and for me to graduate, was extremely understanding until last week. I wanted to pursue an independent study and internship within the Women's Studies department. I have an interview lined up for this Friday and I am slated to register for classes tomorrow morning. Last Wednesday, I emailed the Chair of the WMST department for advice on a sponsor for my internship and an advisor for my ind. study. She advised me to talk to the professor mentioned above, Dr. B. I talked to Dr. B and she said she was unable to speak with me because her cat had a UTI and thus she had to leave school. I decided to give the Chair a call back and ask her if she had any more recommendations. She put me on hold once I told her about the exchange between me and Dr. B and she instructed me to meet up with a different professor via advising. I made an appointment and will be meeting with someone else tomorrow. However, within 5 minutes of hanging up the phone with Chair, I received an email from Dr. B stating that she knew I had talked with the Chair and she was sorry she could not talk with me, but that she would not be able to help me. It was as if she had assumed I had tattled on her or something. She continued with the fact that she actually didn't have to leave and I could come talk to her, but she wouldn't be able to advise me or sponsor me. So, I wrote her back and told her that I had already began a conversation with the Chair prior to speaking with her, so it was nothing to do with her not being able to speak with me, in hopes that she wouldn't think I ran to the Chair to tell her that my professor wouldn't help me. That is NOT what I did. </p>

<p>Now, last week, we were to submit self evaluations on participation. I am very outgoing and love to contribute to discussions. I always maintain a good presence in class. So, of course I rated myself accordingly. I did mention in the comments that I knew the first half of the semester was a bit rocky due to my unique and extreme circumstances, but that it was out of my control. </p>

<p>However, she sent the assignment back to me with this comment (direct quote) "Amanda, I agree that you are a very good contributor. Unfortunately, being absent does affect participation! I would put you in the “good” category based on your participation when you are in class. You have, however, missed so many classes at this point that it may be difficult for you to pass the course."</p>

<p>On October 3rd, which is when my sister was making her way down here to help me out, I let her know that my sister was flying in and that my absences would no longer be an issue, she responded with:
"Amanda,
Just take care of yourself and your dad. We'll worry about class when you get back.
Dr. B"</p>

<p>I met with her in person and she was compassionate and understanding. I offered her documentation for my car problems and my father's hospital stay. She said that was nonsense and she did not require any of that. </p>

<p>I feel like I am being retaliated against for talking to the Chair about something that is extremely detrimental to my graduating next semester. I also do not understand the sudden change in attitude toward my absences. Her absence policy does state that any more than 5 absences is grounds for failing the course. However, it also states that there are exceptions in the event of family emergencies, among other things. Also, our school has a long drop policy, she could have let me know prior to the drop date (it was just two weeks ago, I have not missed any class in over 2 weeks) about the possibility of my failing the course, but she didn't. She never even hinted at the fact that I was in danger of failing the course. I have not missed a day of class in quite a few weeks. </p>

<p>What would your advice be? Has anyone dealt with this situation before? I don't want to sound cheap by saying that the professor is out to get me, or anything. However, I see her twice a week in class, have met with her, and email her quite often. There has never been a single comment made in regards to my attendance. After the incident with the Chair on Thursday, now I am at risk for failing? Help me. :( I have never failed - or even came close to failing, a class before. Should I make an appointment to talk with her in person? Should I just talk to the Chair, or will that just make things worse? Thanks.</p>

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<p>I almost stopped reading when I got to the cat’s UTI. If you want a lot of responses to your posts, you need to be able to write more succinctly. No one has time for a novel, and all the detail was unnecessary. </p>

<p>That said, it sounds like you need to meet with this professor once again to clarify what she meant by “it may be difficult for you to pass the course.” Ask what you can do to compensate for the missed classes. Perhaps an extra credit assignment would do the trick. But to be honest, while family illness may excuse some absences, a student is expected to have reliable transportation (and a reliable Plan B if that transportation fails) to assure he or she will get to class. (The same applies to an employee–there are no excuses for not showing up at work due to continual transportation woes.) You can’t expect that multiple absences due to a litany of car problems will be excused. When your professor said not to worry about class until you returned, she was merely telling you to concentrate on your father for the time being; it wasn’t a guarantee that all your absences wouldn’t affect your grade. Similarly, her assurance that she didn’t need documentary proof of your circumstances only meant that she believed you, not that your grade wouldn’t be impacted. As for the suggestion that the professor is somehow retaliating against you, I think your imagination is running wild. Speak to her and see what you can do to save your grade. That’s your only alternative at this point.</p>

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<p>Wow, brevity is not your strong point.</p>

<p>Try and speak with the professor again. If she won’t help you, cut your losses and move on. You will then need to seek out another professor for your sponsor.</p>

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<p>TL;DR</p>

<p>What does the course syllabus say about attendance?</p>

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<p>I read it all…I just didn’t really understand it…</p>

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<p>Amanda, this is college–not high school. There are a lot of differences, and unfortunately you are learning about them the hard way.</p>

<p>I don’t think the teacher is discriminating against you at all. It doesn’t matter if she is nice, or friendly, or neither of these. She is merely following the class requirements as set forth in the class syllabus.</p>

<p>Here are a few things for you to think about:</p>

<ol>
<li>Class participation grade.</li>
</ol>

<p>Think about it this way. Assume the class meets twice a week for 15 weeks, for a total of 30 sessions. Assume that students can earn up to 10 points of participation for each class session, or a total of 300 class participation points.</p>

<p>If a student misses 8 class sessions, she cannot receive points for participation in those sessions. So she automatically cannot receive 80 of the 300 available points, and can receive only a maximum of 220. And it is highly unlikely that anyone other than a superstar is going to receive the full 10 points every single class session, so the reality is that this student is not even going to receive 220 points.</p>

<p>You mentioned that the professor put you in the “good” category. My guess is that you are thus not in the “excellent” category, and thus aren’t even going to receive the full amount of points available for the days you were available to participate in class.</p>

<ol>
<li>Absence policy.</li>
</ol>

<p>Most professors state their absence policy in the syllabus. Some dock the grade a certain amount for each absence; some have a policy that a certain number of absences results in automatic failure of the course. You noted that the syllabus states that 5 absences can result in failure. You had a good number more than 5.</p>

<p>Whether your circumstances count as emergencies is between you and the professor. But it was your job to work with the professor on this issue at the time of the absences; it is not the job of the professor to contact you and work with you on issues such as this. This is one of the big differences between high school and college.</p>

<ol>
<li>Withdrawal policy.</li>
</ol>

<p>Again, it’s not high school. It is not the teacher’s job to tell you that you are in danger of failing and that it might be best for you to drop the course, nor is it her job to remind students that the drop date is coming up. You are expected to know the university’s drop dates, and the procedures to follow to drop a class…and you are expected to know where your grade stands in the class–and if you have any questions about where your grade stands, you are expected to make an appointment with the professor to ascertain where you stand academically.</p>

<p>Having received the syllabus, and being put on notice of the attendance policy for the class, you should have made an appointment to discuss your absences with the professor long ago.</p>

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<p>It’s important to realize that these attendance policies are often school or state mandated policies. A great deal of a schools funding is based on the fact that students are attending class. If students are repeatedly absent, that impacts their funding.</p>

<p>Policies are policies. When you sign up for a class, the syllabus is basically the contract between you and the professor. </p>

<p>I’d go talk to the professor and see if she can figure out your current course grade. It very well could be the case you likely won’t pass the class now. </p>

<p>Additionally, that was an incredibly long post. It could have been summed up rather succinctly. If you want more responses, it’s generally a good idea to not give people a book to read.</p>

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<p>The reason why it is so long is because it’s hard for even me to sum up. However, I did discuss my absences with her, prior to the self evaluation. The syllabus states that in the event of family emergencies - that absences would be excused. </p>

<p>I am also well aware that this isn’t high school, as I am a senior. I am also a transfer - on a strict 4 semester limit. That means, if I fail this course, I do not graduate. Not to be dramatic, but that means I don’t graduate at all.</p>

<p>This is the first time I have ever been in this position. My car issues only caused me to miss a day or two of school. My father being in the hospital (he is still hospitalized, my sister is in state now, though, and is helping me) is what caused the bulk of my absences. However, I have made it a point to attend the classes attendance matter most, this professor’s class being top priority. I don’t understand the posts stating that I should have worked this out with the professor. I let my professors know beforehand and met with the Dean as soon as I realized it may affect my attendance in classes. I kept in close contact with my professors and still do.</p>

<p>Also, I go to a school where discussion based classes (or any class for that matter) do not hand out As for just being there. Not one other student (we discussed our self evals in class on Tuesday amongst each other, it’s a small class) received the excellent category. Dr. B makes it a point to let me know I am one of the top contributors in class, she is just a harsh grader. </p>

<p>Also, I found a sponsor today. That was never the point. The point was, Dr. B emailed me after I reached out to the Chair for assistance in finding a sponsor (because I was told by the Chair to reach out to Dr. B and ask her to be my sponsor). Dr. B said she had the emergency (cat had a UTI), when in reality, she was in the office. The reason I included that bit of info is when I spoke with the Chair, the Chair was confused as to why Dr. B said she didn’t have time to see students today due to going home for her cat and was in the office. The Chair put me on hold and talked to Dr. B and then came back on the phone and discussed the internship and ind. study in more detail. Dr. B insinuated via email that I called the Chair because she wouldn’t speak with me about being my sponsor. The very first line of her email to me (I received it no more than 5 minutes after hanging up with the Chair) was “I know you called the Chair and that’s OK…” Prior to last week, Dr. B and I exchanged emails quite frequently. We discussed assignments, etc. I HAVE met with her. I have discussed my absences and every time she shrugged it off and said it was no problem, hence why I do not know how to approach this. </p>

<p>I am just going to meet with her in office hours, again. I do not know how she calculates attendance since she hasn’t actually taken attendance since the first week of school. Perhaps that will help me. Otherwise, I guess I will appeal it to the Chair. I reached out to her after receiving the self eval and she has yet to respond.</p>

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<p>

Well, in your first post you say you missed class on the day your car broke down on the way to school AND had “a few absences here and there” when you couldn’t borrow a car. That’s not “a day or two”. Now you realize that only family emergencies excuse absences, so you are changing your story. Actually, I don’t see how a parent’s extended stay in the hospital amounts to a family emergency. Once your father was safely in the care of medical professionals, your continuing presence was no longer necessary-it was a choice.You could have gone to class and spent time at the hospital the rest of the day. Life sometimes requires us to juggle a number of competing demands, and we have to figure how how to do it.

Well, that is being dramatic, because worst case, you’ll re-take the class and graduate, just later than you planned. Not a catastrophe.</p>

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<p>The professor probably wanted to help… at first. But people will bend so far. The professor can’t be there for you at every turn. Odds are you became a thorn in her palm. </p>

<p>Not to sound cold but you choose to spend time with your dad over school.</p>

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<p>This is the thing. Your excuses may be valid. But they are still excuses. They are not compliance.<br>
Professors are overwhelmed with students who have excuses, which makes it difficult for them to do their jobs. They end up having to do MORE work for each of these students, chatting about the problems and giving make up work, etc. As we say in my office, “Your problem/procrastination, doesn’t make it MY emergency.”</p>

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<p>I hope you do not raise your child to make an excuse for everything, like you are doing now. The woe is me attitude will not carry you far outside academia (and it sounds like at least one professor you have is letting you learn that lesson now. Kudos to her). College is a choice, not a right. Call me heartless, I don’t care but you seem to not accept responsibility. I am a father, full time student and I also work full time. Just because something goes wrong does not mean I quit on the other two. YOU must suck it up and find a way to carry on. Missing 5 to 8 (that is a large disparity) days in a two month period is unacceptable. If you were an employee of mine, I would have fired you. Part of college is a maturation period. I truly hope you learn from this lesson (albeit expensive) and start taking responsibility for yourself (even in situations that "are out of your control).</p>

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<p>From what I’m reading, it sounds like you expected a meeting to advise you and take on an independent study all right in that moment. The appropriate response to Dr. B’s family emergency should have been something along the lines of, “Oh, that’s all right. Can we schedule something next week, or can we get coffee before or after class?”</p>

<p>You gave yourself a week and a half to set up an internship and register for classes, and continually expect your professors to bend over backwards for you and help you at a moment’s notice. Nope, not surprised at all.</p>

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<p>Wow, this world has no empathy, apparently.</p>

<p>I can’t provide any advice, as I am but a freshman in high school and won’t pretend to know anything that would help you.</p>

<p>However, I can say that the members of this forum as just plain mean. While it does seem like it was a bit irresponsible for her to let things get as far as they did, she definitely seems to be trying. Everything just got out of hand and now she’s trying to pick up the pieces. She’s a senior in college, don’t treat her like a child and reprimand her. That’s not what she needs right now.</p>

<p>I’m so sorry that you’ve had to gone through all that; I’m not sure if the other posters truly know what it’s like to have a family member in the hospital. I did once and I never wanted to leave their side; if I had been the only one at their side and with all this responsibility it would have been ten times worse.</p>

<p>Best of luck, I hope you can work things out. My limited experience would suggest that you are as open as possible with the professor; be prepared to bend backwards for her.</p>

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<p>“Just plain mean?”</p>

<p>It’s not mean to be realistic. </p>

<p>“I’m not sure if the other posters truly know what it’s like to have a family member in the hospital.”</p>

<p>I think most people have had a family member in the hospital at one time or another. That’s kind of the nature of life. People get older, and eventually die. I’ve had family members in the hospital on many occasions. I still made it to school though. It’s an excuse- not a reason. Sitting by their bedside is not going to help them the vast majority of the time. If they were depending on you to help them recover, they probably wouldn’t be in a hospital. </p>

<p>When you get to college, you can’t have mom and dad call you off from school because you’re running a temperature or something like that. It is YOUR responsibility to be there. Professors are often willing to work with you, but missing 8 classes is excessive. I cannot believe that ALL of these absences were absolutely unavoidable. You can blame it on your car being broke down or whatever, but public transportation exists. Ride a bus, take a cab, ride a bike, carpool, walk, get a ride from a friend…there are many ways to get there.</p>

<p>I don’t even have a car and I live about 15 miles away from my school. I have never missed a single class the entire time I’ve been in college.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>I think that’s a pretty bold statement. Most of us have probably had a family member in the hospital before. I certainly have- even in college and for long periods of time. Missing one day for that is acceptable. Missing several is not. Sorry.</p>

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<p>Being realistic isn’t mean, however the poster weren’t being just realistic, they were being rather harsh and while life can be harsh, no need to throw such thing in each other’s faces and be harsh toward one another.</p>

<p>Obviously our opinion on sick family members differ, but until you know the full story that she can’t really articulate over the internet, you have no right to judge her. And again, even if you are correct and she was simply wasting time and being irresponsible, she still is not a child and does not need to be berated. She needs an answer.</p>

<p>Also, Public Transportation doesn’t exist everywhere. Don’t assume she could have made it work; maybe she honestly could not make it. Maybe she could and didn’t see the way until it was too late.</p>

<p>Good for you. Just because you are so amazing doesn’t mean everyone will have the same results.</p>

<p>Roman:</p>

<p>Sure maybe it is a bold statement, and I don’t mean to say that no one else knows what that is like, sorry if it came across that way. What I meant is it sure felt like no one else knew. Not one person had a shred of sympathy for the original poster, and I truly am ashamed that this is what is on CC. Yes we are about college and doing good in college, but we are still humans so why don’t act act like it and show some humanity?</p>

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<p>Somewhere around the middle part of your post you mention that after Dr. B told you about her cat and its UTI you called the Chair and told her about this exchange…you didn’t happen to tell the Chair the part about the cat, did you? It may be that the Chair called Dr. B with either a reprimand or a chiding- perhaps even a ribbing- and she felt foolish. That might have been enough to make her turn on you. I don’t believe that she will fail you if you continue to turn in quality of work you have been, but I do think that she wanted to make a point that she didn’t appreciate you “tattling” as you said, if that was the case.</p>

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<p>Nahara, you’re in high school. I’m not saying that to be dismissive, I’m saying that to show that you don’t know what it’s like to be in an academic environment other than high school where you can actually miss days and not have it be a huge problem. College is a whole different ball game. If attendance is mandatory, the rules are fairly inflexible. You are given expectations at the beginning of the semester. If you fail to meet these, you fail the class. </p>

<p>Professors are human and understand there are emergencies. The OP had an excuse to probably miss 3 classes at the most. She missed more than that. It was on HER to get to class, not the prof to change the rules to suit her situation. That is reality.</p>

<p>Also- did you really join this site as an 8th grader?</p>

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<p>Yes, I don’t understand. I don’t pretend to. Still doesn’t change the fact that you are all reprimanding her for something she has already done and can’t go back and fix. She is asking for help, and maybe I’m too sympathetic but I for one thing that you are all not helping the situation in the slightest.</p>

<p>And yes, I did join this site in 8th grade, but I hardly see how that has to do with anything.</p>