Thursday, January 13, 2011

Doing Favors for Students

I'm getting better, people. Thank you, everybody, for your concern!

While I've been out after my trip to the ER, higher powers have been preparing evidence for me that doing favors to students should be approached with extreme caution. A student (let's call him M.) had asked me if he could take my course instead of another class he is required to take and also if he could take it in absentia while he is studying abroad. I had no problem allowing that but my Chair said it shouldn't be done because it would set a bad precedent for other students. So I told M. this can be done and considered the matter closed.

Today, a colleague and I are being bombarded by e-mails from students who were told by M. that my class can now be taken instead of the other one. From my sick bed (to use a bit of an elevated rhetoric with the hopes of eliciting the compassion of my postmodern readers), I have been trying to inform the students that this practice does not exist. Like I have nothing else to do when I'm fresh from the ER. My Chair was right in saying that this will have droves of students descending on us demanding special treatment. 

So a lesson learned: no special treatment for students. 

3 comments:

human said...

Maybe you should tell M. it can't be done after all since it's causing a larger problem. Bet he wouldn't pull that again.

Pagan Topologist said...

Substitutions of courses at my school require the approval of a committee, which must be petitioned via letter carefully explaining the justification. It does happen, but not terribly often.

Clarissa said...

I'm still kind of new at this school and it takes me a while to figure out how things work bureaucratically. I'm sure I'll learn all the procedures by the time I'm ready to retire.