[Taonuviel]

He's canceled class so much, HALF of them!, now he's putting my stuff in the late folder when I turned it in on time. I emailed him, and he insists it was late. 1, I know it wasn't late, I turned it in two weeks ago, when he moved the due date to because he canceled the last 2 classes before it, and 2, there's been no way for me to turn it in since! He canceled class last week, and I got it back this week, and I've never been near his box, I don't think he even has an office. And I don't think he's on campus any other times of the week, I never see him.
He's SO disorganized! He had to change his grading system, and right now he shows me as having a D. I've gotten high grades on everything I turned in and only missed one assignment - a small one, which counts as 1/3 of a grade, the rest of which was full credit, which makes the grade on that one assignment set a 66, while every other assignment was graded much higher, which does not make my total grade a D, I calculated it and it's 84 - without the faulty late grade - with the late grade it's 81. Far from the 60-something for a D! I think both his math is wrong and he's still counting that assignment set as 4 instead of the 3 he actually assigned due to his canceling class so much. But even with that assignment set counted wrong my grade would still be 75!
And he's a jerk. I had to email a paper after class because the library printer was down - it has a recurrent problem. So I asked him if I could email it because the printer was down, he said ok and didn't say anything about it being late - all my other profs accept papers like that within the day without being late - so in his reply to my email with the paper attached and my note about him marking the other paper late when it wasn't, he informs me this one will be marked late, too.
And I SO can't handle this! I'm already back to... death thoughts... and now I just can't stop crying... I've got enough to deal with without a pathetic, incompetent jerk for a prof! "It was late, like much of your work is late"... ONE assignment was late! Just one! Because I missed class when it was assigned! So now "much" of my work is late, and stuff that's not gets thrown in the late folder???

[Kiya]

ok - check to see if the school has an OMBUDS office or a place for complaints - usually they do, because they have to have a way to defend students in these cases. I didn't learn this until after i needed one also. So look into it, k???

[HellthSpot]

Situations like this are unfortunate... especially when it comes to our personal education. The only advice I have for this particular situation is to, record all of the specific events which occur and when you have enough of an organized case built to show it to his boss in a calm, concerned and collected manner. This kind of crap is common elsewhere also. Often administrators are aware of the professor's situation and are working on getting them booted (but can't say anything). There's no better place to learn how to handle it other than school.

I had a professor who was senile, always had food in his beard, wore different colored socks, smelled funny, and never had matching jacket or slacks. It was a 100 level course and every other professor of the same class gave out A's like it was candy on halloween. My professor gave out F's and had to curve the entire classes score by 40%. He appeared to have no idea what he was doing. What was the name of the class??? 102 INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC !!! hahaha

When I went to school, I always kept in mind that I was the learner. The school did not teach me and the teachers did not teach me. I learned it all on my own by sitting in already active classrooms and working at my desk. It's amazing how grades aren't as important as we think once we're out of school. Grades are the main focus for schools, but they are not as important as what we learn and grow with.

[gimmeice]

(((((((((((( tao ))))))))))))))
I agree with kiya that there should be someone to handle this complaint for you.

[splitimage]

Find out what your school's policy is for appealing a grade and don't be afraid to use it.

Finding out if your school has an ombudsmen or something is a good idea too.

Does your school do course evaluations. Make sure you write down all the times he cancelled class and talk to other students and see if you can get them to complain about cancelled classes too. Most schools take course evaluations seriously, especially if a number of students are saying the same thing.

If you really feel like raising a stink, you can always write the department chairman or faculty dean to complain. But make sure you stay unemotional in the letter. Document the dates he was late, changes he made to marking policies things like that and complain. It's a bit risky, but most departments take student complaints seriously. If going this route, I'd wait until the class was over. I had one seriously bad prof in my MBA program - he was always late, and frequently drunk, and I complained. It got all the way to the dean of students, talking to me. It didn't change much - they guy had tenure, but at least it made me feel better and like my complaint was heard.

--splitimage

[Taonuviel]

Originally Posted by splitimage

Find out what your school's policy is for appealing a grade and don't be afraid to use it.

Finding out if your school has an ombudsmen or something is a good idea too.

Does your school do course evaluations. Make sure you write down all the times he cancelled class and talk to other students and see if you can get them to complain about cancelled classes too. Most schools take course evaluations seriously, especially if a number of students are saying the same thing.

If you really feel like raising a stink, you can always write the department chairman or faculty dean to complain. But make sure you stay unemotional in the letter. Document the dates he was late, changes he made to marking policies things like that and complain. It's a bit risky, but most departments take student complaints seriously. If going this route, I'd wait until the class was over. I had one seriously bad prof in my MBA program - he was always late, and frequently drunk, and I complained. It got all the way to the dean of students, talking to me. It didn't change much - they guy had tenure, but at least it made me feel better and like my complaint was heard.

--splitimage

I can't find anything about an ombudsman, but there is some kind of procedure for complaints... looks complicated. But I guess I might have to figure it out...
The prof said someone from the class complained, but the rest of the class was talking when he walked out about how the complainer was a jerk for it. He keeps canceling because of some health problem with his mom - except the last time, which was a problem at his other job. But it's only once-a-week, he can't just cancel it like this. He doesn't even get anyone to fill in - last week was just supposed to be a movie showing, anyone could have done that. I don't think anyone really minds not having class, but he's canceled so much he's messed up his grading and apparently can't keep track of stuff like my paper. Besides, he wants us to be understanding for canceling class, but marks late a paper that's emailed after class because the school's printer wasn't working??

[Christine1123]

Teachers like that are never fun. You should go talk to the dean, bring your emails and any other proof you have (dates you put on your assignments, etc.). Good luck and I hope this issue gets resolved soon for you.

Originally Posted by Taonuviel

He's canceled class so much, HALF of them!, now he's putting my stuff in the late folder when I turned it in on time. I emailed him, and he insists it was late. 1, I know it wasn't late, I turned it in two weeks ago, when he moved the due date to because he canceled the last 2 classes before it, and 2, there's been no way for me to turn it in since! He canceled class last week, and I got it back this week, and I've never been near his box, I don't think he even has an office. And I don't think he's on campus any other times of the week, I never see him.
He's SO disorganized! He had to change his grading system, and right now he shows me as having a D. I've gotten high grades on everything I turned in and only missed one assignment - a small one, which counts as 1/3 of a grade, the rest of which was full credit, which makes the grade on that one assignment set a 66, while every other assignment was graded much higher, which does not make my total grade a D, I calculated it and it's 84 - without the faulty late grade - with the late grade it's 81. Far from the 60-something for a D! I think both his math is wrong and he's still counting that assignment set as 4 instead of the 3 he actually assigned due to his canceling class so much. But even with that assignment set counted wrong my grade would still be 75!
And he's a jerk. I had to email a paper after class because the library printer was down - it has a recurrent problem. So I asked him if I could email it because the printer was down, he said ok and didn't say anything about it being late - all my other profs accept papers like that within the day without being late - so in his reply to my email with the paper attached and my note about him marking the other paper late when it wasn't, he informs me this one will be marked late, too.
And I SO can't handle this! I'm already back to... death thoughts... and now I just can't stop crying... I've got enough to deal with without a pathetic, incompetent jerk for a prof! "It was late, like much of your work is late"... ONE assignment was late! Just one! Because I missed class when it was assigned! So now "much" of my work is late, and stuff that's not gets thrown in the late folder???

[digdug]

Originally Posted by splitimage

Does your school do course evaluations. Make sure you write down all the times he cancelled class and talk to other students and see if you can get them to complain about cancelled classes too. Most schools take course evaluations seriously, especially if a number of students are saying the same thing.

Actually, I've heard just the opposite...that is, student evaluations are essentially ignored. Perhaps if an instructor is being considered for a professorial position, but other than that profs are usually bulletproof.

There was a real bad prof at my old school, and every year her class organized a petition to have her removed. She finally did go, but not because the administration did something...but because she had a nervous breakdown over the petitions! Real irony, that.

Having said that, an individual student can often fight to have his or her grades changes. So Taonuviel, even if the procedures you have to go through are complicated, go for it. Often making as much noise as possible is the only way to get things done, but if you're in the right, and it certainly sounds like you are, things do often get done.

Keep us posted on how things are going. Good luck.

[(JD)]

Generally, the profs that do that are tenured, and know they do pretty much what they want to. Put it in writing and send it to the Dean of the College, requesting the work be counted as on-time. If you can include those dates of when he was late or a no-show, that would work in your favor as documentation of an issue. Good wishes! Fight for this, if you can at all. (No one else in class is having a problem?)

[Taonuviel]

Originally Posted by _Sky

Generally, the profs that do that are tenured, and know they do pretty much what they want to. Put it in writing and send it to the Dean of the College, requesting the work be counted as on-time. If you can include those dates of when he was late or a no-show, that would work in your favor as documentation of an issue. Good wishes! Fight for this, if you can at all. (No one else in class is having a problem?)

This one's not tenured, I'm not sure he's even a prof, just an instructor. Actually, I think he really has the potential to be in poor standing with the administration, the way he's been going this year. It might be his first and only class here, even. I'm really not sure. I don't know if anyone else is having trouble with their stuff being marked wrong, but I think some others might have trouble with his grading. But most of the class is happy with him - they like having class canceled, and then he brings us candy. What a dork... trying to buy us off with candy.

[gardenergirl]

Originally Posted by Taonuviel

This one's not tenured, I'm not sure he's even a prof, just an instructor. Actually, I think he really has the potential to be in poor standing with the administration, the way he's been going this year. It might be his first and only class here, even. I'm really not sure. I don't know if anyone else is having trouble with their stuff being marked wrong, but I think some others might have trouble with his grading. But most of the class is happy with him - they like having class canceled, and then he brings us candy. What a dork... trying to buy us off with candy.

Talk to the department chair about this, too. They may be able to run some interference for you with the dean, and I'm sure they would definitely want to know about all the cancelled classes.

gg

[e_sort]

digdug is right, evaluations do nothing but possibly hurt the feelings of the instructor who bothers to read them. you can certainly appeal grades. it's likely that if the professor is so lax about the grading he will also be lax about the appeal process, so it may well go in your favor.

you will need documentation about when you turned things in (the date you put on the assignment is meaningless, but something like an email is at least potentially verifiable.) sometimes departments will date stamp things.
you should have the original syllabus and the revised one that you should have gotten when he revised the grading system, and a clearly worked out calculation of the grades (that you think is correct). ideally you should run this by someone else (like him) before you do the appeal.

it's important not to confuse the issues. your issue is that he is marking your stuff late that is not late, and that is grading system is not well defined. the fact that he cancels class and so forth is secondary. you can mention it, but if you go into this huge litany of complaints, you're just going to look like a whiner.

the problem is that departments hear from complaining students constantly, especially undergraduates, and most of them are full of crap. I'm NOT saying you are wrong, but that's what you're up against. the more professional and organized you are about this, the better it goes for you and everyone after you.

[Taonuviel]

i don't know if i can handle the process... i can't think very clearly to be persuasive or speak for myself. i'm so stuck on s. thoughts it's insanely hard to get my work done, let alone appeal a bad grade.

[e_sort]

Originally Posted by Taonuviel

i don't know if i can handle the process... i can't think very clearly to be persuasive or speak for myself. i'm so stuck on s. thoughts it's insanely hard to get my work done, let alone appeal a bad grade.

i understand how hard it is to be involved in a dispute like this. but this is nothing to be s about. one class, one grade, one a-hole prof, it happens to everyone. look how many people here have talked about similar problems, and all of us are here to tell the tale. my husband flunked an entire year of college because a girl dumped him, and now he's a professor with a phd.

you can come back from anything. if other people can get through it, so can you. there's nothing inherently worse or incompetent about you. and if you decide it's not worth the stress to dispute it, that's another perfectly valid decision anyone might make in your place.

[Taonuviel]

Originally Posted by e_sort

i understand how hard it is to be involved in a dispute like this. but this is nothing to be s about. one class, one grade, one a-hole prof, it happens to everyone. look how many people here have talked about similar problems, and all of us are here to tell the tale. my husband flunked an entire year of college because a girl dumped him, and now he's a professor with a phd.

you can come back from anything. if other people can get through it, so can you. there's nothing inherently worse or incompetent about you. and if you decide it's not worth the stress to dispute it, that's another perfectly valid decision anyone might make in your place.

oh, this isn't what i'm s about. i was s before this issue came up...

[digdug]

I really would advise talking to somebody. If you get the right person...well, colleges are full of nice folks who understand the stress students are under, and from all appearances this situation is entirely not your fault.

It sucks that you have to do all the legwork, since you're in the right, but unfortunately that's the way life goes sometimes. I had to go through the painful process of getting my lease cancelled because my negligent landlady had led the apartment become so mouldy I was getting sick...I had to do all the work, and in the end it will cost her nothing, since she's bound to find some sucker that will scoop the place up and replace me.

Really, try to do what you can. It's amazing the strength we can find to get through hard times when we have to.