This Q&A was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond –
Question
Dear Jonas,
I’ve had it up to here (my chin) with student excuses for missing quizzes, exams, and assignments. Not only do they come up with the most ridiculous excuses (my boa constrictor ate my ferret which ate my homework…. last month!), but they expect me to let them make up the work. They even turn in assignments from the beginning of the term at the end of the term and expect me to grade it. This is extra work for me, which I feel is not part of my job.
Why can’t students just grow-up and act responsibly about their coursework?
Signed: Head about to pop off
Answer
Dear Head about to pop off,
I can understand your frustration with the endless excuses. When I was an undergraduate, I had a friend who had 12 grandmothers die while he was completing his undergraduate degree. Of course, many students will have valid excuses (such as illness excused by a doctor), and you are required to allow them to make up the work. Other cases are dealt with on an individual basis, and different teachers have different policies.
The best way to avoid unnecessary excuses is to make your policy very clear from the start, put it in writing, and stick to it. You should set strict deadlines for homework, with well-defined penalties for late work – then act on it. Let’s face it, freshmen are learning the rules in college, and even us “grown-ups” need deadlines (e.g., April 15). Some instructors don’t accept late homework at all, while others take off a percentage or a percentage for each day late. For quizzes and/or homework, some instructors have a policy of dropping the lowest two, with no make-ups. In addition to a late homework policy, I suggest that you state a clear policy on makeup exams. I put exam dates in the syllabus, and allow students to make up an exam if they warn me ahead of time that they need to miss it because of a valid conflict, such as an athletic event. Often it’s easiest to let them take it early on exam day.
However, the problem of excessive missed work and poor excuses can be exacerbated by a teacher’s response to it. If you give a due date for homework and then accept some of it late without a real reason, then students will interpret your due date as a “target” or “flexible” date. When they’re faced with real due dates in other courses, all except the most motivated students will let your assignments slide. This makes teaching and grading all the more difficult, and worse, some students will fall dangerously behind and may not catch up.
When students come with flimsy excuses after missing a quiz or homework, this is an opportunity to remind them of their responsibilities as a student and that there are repercussions for their inaction. Sometimes the best learning experiences we can provide students are often the most painful for them. It also helps at the beginning of each term to remind students frequently of your deadlines and then taper off as the term progresses so each one can start developing his/her own sense of responsibility for learning “To make up or not make up” depends on your goal for students’ growth and development. Exceptions to your guidelines are fine as long as you are clear about WHY you’re allowing the exception and that it applies to ALL students in similar circumstances. Remember at this stage of development many students are in the stage Perry (1970) calls duality – that is everything is black or white so perceived fairness is an important issue. Balancing between justified student needs for extensions and the risk of fostering inappropriate student dependency is difficult. My guiding decision making principle is to do what will help students in the class become more responsible learners.
Jonas
Quick Tip
It is important to realize that family members and friends DO, in fact, pass away or have other serious problems from time to time. You should not immediately assume that students are making up excuses. Be sensitive to the issues that are (possibly) involved.
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This content was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond.
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