Rant time Earlier this week my uncle passed away. Obviously it was a very chaotic time and I was extremely stressed/busy between monday-wednesday. So, last night it completely slipped my mind that I had an economics paper due at midnight. By the time I realized I never turned it in, it was this morning. I hadn't actually completed my paper because I still had to write another page or so and revise. So I called my professor up this morning. I told him all the background info and explained my situation. All I asked for was maybe a day or two extension to finish up and turn my paper in. He replied by telling me that unfortunately I would have to take a zero because he didn't accommodate anyone's requests and it would be unfair for him to allot me extra time. I was pretty shocked honestly. I mean it's not like I was making some BS excuse. I seriously had a family emergency. Anyways, point of the matter is he gave me the reasoning that "the paper is only 10% of your grade." That sucks though. I have gotten high A's (95+) on all his exams and quizzes so far. Even if I keep that up, there is still no way I can possibly get an A in his class. It's crazy that even though I will likely get high A's on all his assignments I will still end up with a B in the class. I'm gonna try speaking to him in person on Monday. However, if he is not willing to help in any way, do you guys think I have grounds to go to the department head or higher to plead my case? btw, I go to UH fml...
Who is your prof? Is it an economics class? I had one like that, I forgot his name, but he had a beard, looked like santa from hell. The least you can do is give him a bad rating and bad mouth him on ratemyprof
Unfortunately, not much you can probably do. Taking a B wont be the end of the world either, it sucks because you probably dont deserve the B, but sometimes things aren't fair. Also, the professor might've been more lenient if you emailed or called him before the deadline to give him a heads up. Waiting until after the deadline passed and asking for more time usually won't end up in your favor. I realize your situation mightve precluded you from doing so, but it wouldve only taken a few minutes. once you graduate, get a job, that B won't matter too much....and if you dont get a job because of 1 B, then you probably dont want it anyways! Sorry about your loss..
I'm sorry about your loss. Your uncle obviously meant a lot to you. But... You should have lied and said he was your godfather as well. The death of an Uncle won't get much sympathy from most people. So, no, I do not think you'll have much luck whining to a higher up.
It's a case of a no tolerance policy just to be fair. People are always coming up with excuses, not that yours should be trivialized. I take an online course and accidently uploaded the wrong paper last semester. Didn't notice until the TA sent me an email saying it looks like you screwed up. I emailed the Professor with the correct doc but got a zero and the only C grade ever in my entire degree program. Sucks, but I understand the policy.
if you feel you have a case that requires an exception you should meet with the department chair, if you feel the department chair is not giving you a fair chance then you need to take it to the associate dean this is your right as a student to use the proper channels for an appeal such as this, act immediately, do not be emotional, it is not the professors job to take your case into special consideration that is the job of your professor's boss or even higher
<br> Well to be fair I tried E-Mailing him numerous times. He's the type who doesn't really ever check or reply to E-Mails. It was very hard to get a hold of him because he took the entire week off to go to Washington D.C. because it's a requirement of his other job. He's in the Navy so occasionally he has to go to these meetings or whatever... I understand that one B doesn't matter way too much in the long run, but right now it'll drop my GPA quite a bit. I guess worst case scenario is I have to end up taking the B. But, i'm gonna do whatever I possibly can to fight that because I really think i've been slighted.
Holy ****! I took economics over the summer at the UH sugarland campus and the professor matches your description! He was also a total dick. He did say he taught at the main campus as well.
DING! We have a winner. Your argument against the teacher ends right there. Unless he gave you the assignment the day before it's due, you really have no excuse to not be finished the day before it's due. Sorry to say, the teacher is correct in this case. He can't/shouldn't give you an extension based solely on your say-so.
<br> I had the paper done though. I mean I could have added on and it wasn't completely revised. But that's another matter entirely. I mean he could have at least let me turn in whatever I had. It wasn't that I had nothing done. It was that because of everything else that was going on I simply forgot to turn it in. I mean if he would have simply let me turn in what I had I would gladly take even a 50 over a 0...
Yeah I got a C in that class I think, took it in 2004 and promptly switched my major out of economics. Did he give the speech about cheaters or what not? About how he can't legally hang you on a light poll outside, but he would do everything he can academically to come as close as possible and ruin your life. What a great way to start off your very first lecture on the first day. OP: I agree with the others in that you don't have too much of an argument since you contacted him the following morning. Take the B and lesson learned. Just bad mouth him on ratemyprof and wish him ill for the rest of the semester.
Hahaha. I don't recall that... But let me ask you this... Did he preach about how much he's against Wal-Mart?
I am sorry about your uncle. Unfortunately, when you are out in the work force, 'forgetting' will not cut it if there are certain milestones to meet in a project regardless of the situation that occurs. If his policy is zero tolerance and he applies it across the board, then it is hard to find fault with his stance.
i stand by my statements anyone who draws a paycheck lives in the real world and only dick bosses have zero tolerance policies
Hamza - Don't take all this crap from people essentially telling you that you should have known better or been done sooner. You can prepare and prepare until you're blue in the face and it won't matter: No one can account or prepare for a death in the family and taking care of family issues like that is a priority over a damn paper. Professors have heard every excuse in the book, so gather your evidence and present your case. For example, my grandfather died the first weekend of Spring Break in 2006. He was 96 and the patriarch of the family. He also raised me. I emailed my professor that week and linked to the obituary on the Chronicle's website as we had a test the Monday after Spring Break. I was allowed to take the test the following week. Were you mentioned in your uncle's obituary? Were there pamphlets at the funeral that list the family and is your name listed therein? What about a picture of your uncle (whether from the obituary or the funeral pamphlet) and another picture of you and him while he was still living? State your facts and present your evidence while letting them know you were close to him. If that didn't work, I'd get all kinds of pissed off. If none of this worked, I'd drop the class and take it again with another professor. I'd be pissed about my GPA, but I'd be more pissed off that they should insinuate that my GPA should somehow take precedence over someone dying. Some people seemingly have no respect for the dead or the bereaved. This infuriates me. I'm sorry for your loss. RIP.
If you go to the department head and complain, I am 90% sure that they would fix the situation. They don't want to get a bad rap for crap like this. I was taking an Italian course during my Freshman year and got Swine Flu. I missed an entire week and the teacher would not allow me to make up any of my work. I spoke to the department head and she helped me a lot. I did not want to deal with this teacher anymore, so she let me drop the class no strings attached. They consequently fired the teacher at the end of the year. I was surprised they would be willing to hear my case considering I go to such a large school (30k students) but they were quite helpful. It won't hurt to plead your case.
