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WWYD - Unprofessional college prof :-(



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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 29 2010, 7:36 pm
Ugh I wish I could post anon here, I've vented about this to enough people that I could be recognized instantly Sad

Anyway, I'm all set to graduate but I have one professor who basically took all my coursework and disappeared without giving me a mark. This person is very high up in the political sphere here (has been working in this school forever and used to run the whole program) so there's nobody I can rat them out to. I sent countless emails politely trying to nudge things along - some got ignored, some took weeks to get a reply, at times the prof got irritated at me for sending them, but I never got a helpful response. The closest I got was "I have looked at your work and will send you feedback very soon." A) That was two weeks ago; am I the only one who doesn't consider two weeks and counting "very soon"? B) Feedback?! What about my GRADE?! This is for a FALL course, we're taking SPRING finals now, late grades take longer than regular grades and if all my grades aren't in by the official close of this semester then my graduation plans are going to be seriously fouled up.

Now, I understand circumstances may come up that render a person unable to fulfill their professional duties, but there are ways to delegate or something so that things get done! Give my stuff to some other prof to grade! Take a peek and give it a mark if you don't have time for more complex dealings! And now that you say you actually read it (THREE MONTHS after I gave it in), what the **** am I still waiting for?!

Now I realize this is mainly a vent because none here can actually submit my grade change right now... but I am not very diplomatic and can use some suggestions if anyone has any ideas of how to make anything happen in these situations... I'm kind of afraid to do anything because I need the grade within the next couple of weeks, and I reckon grading time is not a good time to have your prof all annoyed at you...

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!

(In case you were wondering, which I don't see why you would be, this prof was unprofessinal during the semester too. It has been really annoying. I don't understand why I am still having headaches over this when the class ended in January.)
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wifey




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 29 2010, 7:47 pm
Can you go to the dean of the college? I know you ssid hes high up but academically he is still accountable. Or at least CC the dean in the next e-mail where you outline the timeline having given your work in, the various e-mails and lack of responses and when, PRECISELY, can you expect to know your grade so that you can graduate?

If you're not comfortable going to the dean then do you have an academic advisor you could speak to?
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Barbara




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Apr 29 2010, 9:38 pm
wifey wrote:
Can you go to the dean of the college? I know you ssid hes high up but academically he is still accountable. Or at least CC the dean in the next e-mail where you outline the timeline having given your work in, the various e-mails and lack of responses and when, PRECISELY, can you expect to know your grade so that you can graduate?

If you're not comfortable going to the dean then do you have an academic advisor you could speak to?


If your school has an ombudsman, s/he is the person to see.

BTW, my guess is that the professor lost whatever it is of yours that he needs to grade. If you have a copy, give it to the ombudsman.

[100% certain my senior thesis was never read, given a grade on the last possible day to allow me to graduate, only after involving the ombudsman]
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KAlex




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 30 2010, 3:55 am
It's sounds like you may well need to go official with this, but if that isn't working or you aren't there, can you see does the university in question have a more informal mediation panel? I know some have designated staff members you can go to informally about any personal issues with staff (they may also deal with inter-staff stuff, but that's not your concern). From what I know about it they can make things official if that becomes necessary, but they can also provide a way for everyone to 'save face', if, for example, your work had got lost and the person didn't want to admit it.

I take it you've already spoken to the admin people in the relevant department? They're really the ones who can chase such things up, and if you're supposed to be about to graduate it's going to be their headache if there's one outstanding piece that you did submit. If you haven't already, go straight to the dept secretary (or whoever) and get them on your side!
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Mirabelle




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 30 2010, 6:32 am
As someone with several academic degrees, I would agree that you need to go to someone higher up. Professors are supposed to HELP you graduate! Those deadlines are there for a reason. I agree with those who say that he may have lost your work.


I know this is different, but I once had an issue with a professor refusing to let me take my final on a different day because the final was scheduled for shavuous. The guy was clearly anti-Semitic, said things like "I don't care about your holidays." This was about 11 years ago at a state university and really did not expect such blatant anti-Semitism. One quick trip to the higher up and all was taken care of!
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MrsDash




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 30 2010, 7:11 am
This is completely UNacceptable! You have every right to go to the board and complain about this sheer lack of responsibility on his part. If your professor is experiencing "personal" problems, then he should take a leave of absence and someone else should be given these duties until he can get himself together. Don't be nervous about his stature in the Uni, and if you do receive a lower grade you rightfully deserve, again you can go above his head, and demand for a proper grade because you believe you were graded on the basis of prejudice. Don't let this person push you around. We (THANKFULLY) are not living in the days where they would give my mother a immediate fail because she couldn't attend class on test day, due to a very sacred holiday to her known as "Yom Kipper."
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marina




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 30 2010, 8:32 am
Barbara wrote:
wifey wrote:
Can you go to the dean of the college? I know you ssid hes high up but academically he is still accountable. Or at least CC the dean in the next e-mail where you outline the timeline having given your work in, the various e-mails and lack of responses and when, PRECISELY, can you expect to know your grade so that you can graduate?

If you're not comfortable going to the dean then do you have an academic advisor you could speak to?


If your school has an ombudsman, s/he is the person to see.

BTW, my guess is that the professor lost whatever it is of yours that he needs to grade. If you have a copy, give it to the ombudsman.

[100% certain my senior thesis was never read, given a grade on the last possible day to allow me to graduate, only after involving the ombudsman]


what she said. He lost your work. email him with another draft attached. Give the ombudsman office a call.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 30 2010, 5:37 pm
A couple of months ago when the prof first disappeared, I spoke to the department head about it. Apparently he emailed the prof and what that accomplished was that the prof got in touch with me by email, all upset because I went higher, and all she really said was "I told you it will all be taken care of, you have nothing to worry about." Rolling Eyes That was two months ago. Fat lot of good it did me. I could try again I guess but I'm not sure what that would accomplish either.

I know she has my work; I submitted it by email and asked her to confirm that she received it and was able to download and open all of the documents, which she did (2 weeks and 2 emails later, when I walked into her office with my files on disk to personally track down the situation! I watched her open it on screen, confirmed it was mine, and explained what each document was!) Then, two weeks ago, she told me that she looked it over and would be sending feedback "very soon." (That was the last I heard of her) Anyway I could easily re-send it if that were the problem.

I don't know of any ombudsman or student advocate or mediator or whatever. Any idea how I could find out if such a thing exists? I would imagine it would just make things worse, the prof would just hate me for putting them on her case... Sad
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NotInNJMommy




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Apr 30 2010, 6:05 pm
Many schools have rules against retaliation, and administration is loathe to tempt a lawsuit.

Are there any profs you trust who could give you ideas of whom you should go to? Maybe you could ask them in a way that wouldn't give away which prof you are talking about?

I had an issue with one of my thesis committee members who was supposed to stop in, sign a form and drop it at the grad school office by COB Friday. It was the following Monday and he never even picked it up from his office mail--which he said he would do the day it needed to be done! I had went to my program chair and told her the issue--if it was late, I'd have to enroll for 3 credit hours to graduate next term (some "rule" if the thesis isn't in before the beginning of the next term). She got it all worked out and got the grad school to accept it a few days late, but boy was I mad!
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