<p>for a dance performance class, we are allowed 2 absences and more than 6 results in a F. apparently I had 10 absences and my teacher emailed me saying that i would fail and i could meet with her to talk about it. anyways, i know this was dumb of me but i was feeling sick or something else came up when i missed the classes, i also wasn't fully aware how much the absence policy actually meant or else i wouldn't have missed. i did my final performance for the class which was easy but haven't talked to her yet. i cannot get a F for this class under any circumstance because it will have other repercussions, and retaking isn't an option due to these repercussions, such as graduating next semester and this would push back my graduation, also i would lose my financial aid. i've emailed her explaining my situation and asking if i could make up for it somehow but haven't gotten a response. we already had our final and i'm not sure where her office is since she is not a normal professor so don't know how to go about meeting with her. What could i do under these circumstances?</p>
<p>Build a time machine. Go back and read the syllabus and go to class.</p>
<p>I’m sorry that you will face difficulties, but you have to admit that you did bring them on yourself.</p>
<p>I would try to very promptly set up a meeting ASAP with her. You could try your best to explain the circumstances but I agree with above poster that you brought this upon yourself. Missing class because “something else came up” isn’t a good idea. If you’re not fully aware of how important an absence policy is, but you knew about it, this is definitely your fault. I would try emailing/calling the department to find out where her office is and her office hours, or try following up on the email. If you’re that worried about the repercussions, I would suggest you do everything in your power to find a contact to set up a meeting.</p>
<p>You can… go and talk to her, like she said. That’s it. That’s the only thing you can do. </p>
<p>Do not be surprised if she doesn’t accept your explanation.</p>
<p>The only thing you can do is set up a meeting with her and grovel. You don’t have a lot of standing here, so all you can really do is explain your situation, admit your mistake, and ask for help.</p>
<p>Is her office listed on the syllabus for the course? Would another student in the class (or the TA) know how where her office is or when she’s normally in her office?</p>
<p>I would love to be a fly on the wall when you go talk to the professor: " I blew off your class all semester and didn’t pay the least bit of attention to the class requirements in the syllabus, but now I want you to do me a really big favor…" My guess is that you just might have to add a repeat of the class next semester. As you said, the class was easy. You just needed to show up</p>
<p>well i did find that her office is on a street close to campus but not actually on campus,which is why it wasn’t familiar, and we have a student TA as well. I also wonder why she didn’t email me earlier in the semester about this. I know it was kind of my fault but if i’d known it was so important I wouldn’t have missed at all. I also added her class late since i was on the wait list so started attending like a week or into when classes started,when someone else dropped so i could be added,so missed when she went over things like class policies.</p>
<p>It’s not the professor’s responsibility to contact you and say that you are in danger of failing the class. The policy was clearly outlined, and it wasn’t her responsibility to make sure that everyone understand that this was an real policy that was serious and had actual ramifications. The fact that she emailed you AT ALL and offered to talk to you about it is actually really nice. She could have (and another professor probably would have) just failed you because of the attendance policy. In the future, it would be helpful to read the syllabus and assume the professor is being serious about everything in it. It doesn’t matter when you added the class–it was your responsibility to get a copy of the syllabus, or barring that, meet with the professor (or TA) to ask for a syllabus or other class policies when you added the class. Or you could have asked another student. Either way, it was not the professor’s responsibility, at all, to make sure that you were aware of this policy.</p>
<p>She offered to meet with you, so meet with her (regardless of where the office is–it doesn’t matter). Explain your situation, and see what happens. If you can’t get a hold of the professor, then ask the TA for help in getting in contact with her.</p>
<p>And in the future, make sure you have and read the syllabus for the class, that you are clear about any and all class policies or assignments, and that you take those policies seriously. It’s your responsibility, not the professor’s.</p>
<p>I feel like if she intended to outright fail you without giving you any chance to fix it, she wouldn’t have bothered to offer to meet with you. I suggest you stop fooling around and meet with her immediately and take full responsibility and see if she is willing to give you any chance to make it up.</p>
<p>yes, I feel that way too. But I haven’t received a response back yet so i was thinking of just going to her office. i’ve emailed the TA as well but haven’t gotten a response back yet either. I emailed her explaining my absences so does that mean she accepted my explanation if she didn’t respond? but why would she email me saying i could meet with her about it and then not respond? and class is over so I can’t meet her that way either. i was planning on taking more advanced classes too and this would ruin my plans.</p>
<p>Professors as a whole aren’t always prompt at responding to emails because they often get a ton every day. She may be busy and hasn’t gotten around to it. She may not have seen it or skipped over it or forgotten about it. If you can, just drop by her office. If she’s there, ask if she has a moment to speak with you or if she’d be willing to schedule a time to meet with you. If she’s not there, try to see if anyone around her office might know what time she’s usually in (perhaps, she has an administrative assistant or something you could speak to). She may not be there, but you never know until you try. You don’t have to wait for her to email you back to go to her office.</p>
<p>No response DOES NOT mean that she has accepted your explanation. Don’t assume that, and keep trying to get in touch with her. She’s probably busy with the end of the term, but all you can do is keep trying.</p>
<p>Have grades been posted yet? Do you know when they’re due? That’s likely your deadline to get a hold of her.</p>
<p>Talk to the professor and see what can be done.</p>
<p>But…you can’t really deny that you brought this on yourself. I can’t believe that there were legitimate reasons for missing class on TEN separate occasions in the semester. If it’s a 16 week semester and a class that meets twice a week, that’s 32 class periods altogether. Missing ten classes means that you have missed a THIRD of the semester. That doesn’t really show much initiative.</p>
<p>If you are any way interested in dance, why would you miss a dance class? For us dancers isn’t missing dance like the end of the world? I mean even in dance schools, the dancers still come in they’re sick, at least they can just sit on the side and watch or take notes (policy in my dance class).</p>
<p>Just something to point out…</p>
<p>Have you tried calling her to schedule the meeting? She should be in a university directory.</p>
<p>The professor’s attendance policy was clearly stated in the syllabus. Why did you think it didn’t matter? If it didn’t matter, she wouldn’t have a written policy in the syllabus. She expressed it as a part of her grading rubric, just like how much of the grade was dependent on written exams or class performances, etc. And why would the attendance policy of this class be any less serious than that of any more “academic” class ? </p>
<p>My guess is that the professor had an expressed absence policy, with a strict limit, because attendance in her dance classes may have in the past suffered from students thinking like the OP here “it’s only dance class, I can blow it off today, I’d rather nap/ go to lunch with my friends/sun on the quad…”</p>
<p>Think about it this way–if the semester is 15 weeks with two class meetings a week, that’s 30 class meetings. You cannot be given any points for the classes you missed, so that is zero points for a full one-third of the particpation points available to you. So the most you could get would be 67% for participation–which I am assuming is a major portion of the grade in a dance class–and there is no reason to assume that you would have received every single point of the 67% still available, unless your participation was standout stellar when you did bother to attend.</p>
<p>I hope your professor gets back to you soon…but I wouldn’t be surprised if getting back to you is not her top priority right now as I am sure she has a lot of end of semester responsibilities and holiday plans, etc.,…and what goes around, comes around…</p>
<p>In other posts you say that you are applying to transfer. Which is it, are you graduating in spring or transferring?</p>
<p>It is expected that you will attend classes. You can’t get away with going to work just when you feel like it…</p>
<p>she finally responded! she’s not a very swift replier i can tell… but just in time since friday is the last day of finals before break…</p>
<p>Are you going to respond to our posts?</p>
<p>And I don’t think she is a swift replier as she seems to be because of correcting papers and getting final grades done…</p>
<p>do you think she owed you a swift reply? Really?</p>
<p>You, of all her students?</p>
<p>My guess is that your concerns are not at the tippy-top of her list right now. A little less narcissism might help you when you meet with her.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies everyone! i finally met with her on the last day of finals and managed to get an incomplete for my grade as long as i take it during winter session. although i ended up crying even tho i didn’t plan too…</p>