No, There is Nothing You Can Do Now...

Shame on me, I forgot to make a key change in my syllabus that would have stopped the parade of student lobbyists and lawyers trying to abjudicate a better grade than they had earned during the semester over countless assignments.  You know the drill, "Is there anything I can do?", "But it was that one assignment that I missed at the beginning of the semester that cost me an A, can't I make it up?"  "Can't I get attendance points for the classes I missed?"  Blah, blah, blah, blah.

The one thing I forgot to do this past fall semester was a tip I learned from another seasoned educator.  He has a policy in his syllabus that makes it clear that students have exactly one week to contend a grade or decision that was made that did not help their grade.  For example, when the first assignment is graded and handed back students have one week to challenge the grade if they thought is was low, etc.  If a student does not hand in an assignment they have exactly one week to get a chance to complete it (to no avail in my class unless advanced notice of missing the class where assignment is due with legitimate reason).  I think you get the point.

This policy, coupled with the contract that I have students all sign at the beginning of the semester that states they have read and understand the syllabus, should stem the flow of lobbyists and lawyers that make their way to my e-mail box or doorstep to plead for special treatment and end-of-semester mulligans.  I hope this tip works for you as well in the spring and promise to update you on how it worked out for me, too.