<p>According to UD's academic calendar, freshman mid-term grades were supposed to be posted to UDSIS by last Monday, October 17. All of my son's grades, except for 1, have been posted. It's his English grade (which happens to be the subject he's weakest at, and he literally hates the subject), which is why I am concerned to know where he stands in this class.</p>
<p>Not only has this professor not answered his inquiries about the mid-term grade, but she has not returned any of the classes writing assignments, so he literally has no idea where he stands.</p>
<p>Any suggestions who I should contact to try and put some pressure on this professor to at least grade the work and return it to the students? I'm sure her TA's help with the grading, so I don't see why it should take this long. I don't want to contact the wrong person/department and rub this professor the wrong way, but with as much as we pay OOS to send my son to UD, I don't think it's too much to ask that this professor comply with university standards.</p>
<p>Also, I’m worried if I contact the English Department, I may be “stepping on her toes”. Do you think It might be better to ask his advisor about it?? Maybe an inquiry from an advisor might be perceived as less “threatening”?? </p>
<p>My D’s Anthro grade is not up either. In fact the class isn’t listed on Sakai. It’s the only one. But I think she has a pretty good idea of where she stands based on the exam she got back. </p>
<p>I would imagine that if it’s ENGL 110, there have been a couple of papers by now which would give your son a pretty good idea of how he stands</p>
<p>We had the same problem last year. It was eventually resolved. You shouldn’t put pressure on anyone. Your son is an adult and needs to handle this himself.</p>
<p>mhc48 - His Chem 111 class is his only class not on Sakai, but it was the first class to post a mid-term. Even though his ENGL 110 is on Sakai, there are no grades posted for any of the 5 assignments that have been submitted. That’s why I’m starting to get antsy - and I’ve actually seen this all myself. Since my husband and I are paying for everything in full (except books and spending money), he gives us his password during mid-terms, and for final grades, so that we can access UDSIS, Sakai, etc…that’s how I know he’s not fibbing.</p>
<p>Batllo and Zoosermom…I hear what you are saying, but it’s SO HARD to wait for him to handle it himself, especially when my husband and I are footing the bill. </p>
<p>Thanks for your advice - I will try to remain patient.</p>
<p>Since your son is willing to give you his password, why not just trust him to tell you his grades? (This is what we do, and we’re also paying our S’s OOS tuition in full.) That way you won’t have to obsess, and he can deal with finding out his grades on his own. Learning how to deal with bureaucracies is part of the whole maturation process that our kids need to go through in college - Lord knows they’ll need it in the real world!</p>
<p>Traye, from what you are saying and the fact that you’ve got that access, your son is not hiding anything from you that you should be concerned about and everyone in his class has the same problem. Whatever the prof’s reasons or inadequacies, there is likely nothing either you or your son can do about it at this point. BTW, has he checked her on ratemyprofessor.com, is this her usual MO? Have others complained in the past? Has it impacted on their grades?</p>
<p>You say its hard to wait for hiim to handle this himself but there’s likely nothing he can do beyond what he already has: ask. Anything more will put him in an awkward and possibly untoward situation. Your concern may also be putting counterproductive pressure on him. For now you really should ease up and step back.</p>
<p>As hard as it may be, you can’t force the teacher to do anything. I truly understand where you’re coming from as I was in the same spot last year. And to add insult to injury, the teacher in question was my D’s advisor!</p>
<p>IMO, it’s time to disconnect from watching grades in the same way you might have in middle school and high school.</p>
<p>I am in the same boat as the OP – paying full pay (OOS) and I have DD’s log-in info (she works at a sleepaway camp in the summer and does not have much computer access so she has me checking on things). During the school year, I don’t check on grades. I ask DD “how are classes going?” and she tells me - either generally or specifically (grades).</p>
<p>I would never dream of contacting DD’s professors or advisor. I would encourage DD to do so, if she wanted to get information that she wasn’t getting. Freshman year, she was hesitant and would ask me “what do I say in the email?” and we’d talk about it. But she would do it herself. Now she’s more comfortable, with office hours, emails, her advisor.</p>
<p>I hope she is doing well this semester, but I don’t know grades. I do know that she is working hard and she cares. If that goes away, she knows what the consequence will be (and it won’t include staying at UD).</p>
<p>LINYMOM - You are absolutely right about the grade watching. I always watched my S’s grades closely his whole life because he has ADHD, and if I didn’t watch them he simply would let things slide completely out of control. So, this is a hard transition for me, as well as him (maybe even more for me). My way of easing into the transition was for him to give us his password for mid-term and final grades only. Then he changes his password back to one I don’t know. Like you, I don’t want to see everything all the time, I do have to make the break at some point.</p>
<p>I’m just frustrated because she hasn’t graded any of the assignments yet, and he literally has no idea where he stands in the class. He did e-mail her twice, and she did not respond to either of them. Yesterday, he finally talked to her about it after class, and she told him because they have no tests in the class, she doesn’t post mid-terms. Of course, she didn’t know what his grades are off the top of her head, and said she’d e-mail him, but still nothing yet. Since English and writing have always been his weakest, and least liked subject, he would like to have an idea how he’s doing, so that he has time to make adjustments before it’s too late.</p>
<p>My advice to him now is to schedule office hours and utilize the writing center, that’s pretty much all he can do at this point if he is that concerned. He should utilize these resources anyway, since it doesn’t come easy to him.</p>
<p>I won’t contact the professor, but I still think that she should submit the freshman mid-term grades as required, just like the other professors do.</p>
<p>My son goes to JMU, and they also use an online system of posting grades. However, there are always some professors, for whatever reason, do not use, or post the grades there. I think the best way is for him to make an appointment during office hours, and discuss it. </p>
<p>I also can and do monitor my sons grades. I feel, for some, the additional watchful eye is needed. For example, not so much now, he is a senior, but if I have seen something that was to be turned in, and it wasn’t, I kinda want to know why. I am paying the majority of this education expense, and I feel entitled to a reasonable explanation as to why the work was not done. as it should have been.</p>
<p>Maybe I am wrong, but this is what I have done, and now that he is a senior, I think he has an idea of what is expected, and I don’t really ask anymore, because he has done really well, and knows what needs to be done.</p>