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Yes. A professor is obligated to turn in a final grade for a student who is enrolled in his/her course. That is a university policy.
Your final grade was an incomplete. Incompletes are horrible things, and you are often better off taking a W and retaking the course. Once you have one, there is no guarantee that it will ever be lifted until the university drops it from your record.
Your final grade was an incomplete. Incompletes are horrible things, and you are often better off taking a W and retaking the course. Once you have one, there is no guarantee that it will ever be lifted until the university drops it from your record.
Rubbing salt in my wound now are you? Thanks. That is really helpful.
So you're saying that first she gave you an incomplete, and then she didn't change it to whatever letter grade you earned? You didn't really explain what grade you are expecting to receive - incomplete or some kind of pass. But I assume she gave you the I, and now you want a letter because you completed the work like...a month ago?
Here's the thing you don't understand - giving an incomplete is a real pain in the neck. It means that after the semester is over and we are done with that coursework, we have to go back and grade all of someone else's stuff and then do all the paperwork for a new grade. It may sound like nothing to you, but it's actually so much work that in our department we just got rid of I's altogether. So you did your work several months late because you were so "stressed out" and now you are upset because she didn't grade your late work ASAP? In fact, if she's on sabbatical it's even more of a pain to do because she might not have even been around to get your work, look at it, and do the paperwork to give you a grade. It may seem like it's a small thing to you, but trust me, it's NOT. It's a huge pain and a real inconvenience. You were lucky to get the I and not an F, so now you'll just have to wait. If more than a semester goes by and you still don't have a grade, then you'll have to try to contact her again and be very polite about it.
Yes, but how will the university ombudsman help me exactly? I thought their role is to just be neutral and make suggestions.
An ombudsman is a student advocate. They are not supposed to be neutral.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Maven
Rubbing salt in my wound now are you? Thanks. That is really helpful.
No, I'm not. I have been there. Most professors will work with you, but once that I is turned in for your grade, that is a final grade and they do not have a responsibility to clear the I. I learned that lesson the hard way; you are often better off withdrawing and retaking the class rather than trying to catch up from behind and complete an I while dealing with all your other responsibilities. The exception is when you have a very small amount of work, like wrapping up a final paper or taking a final exam. The grade you receive if the incomplete is not completed varies widely from school to school. You could receive a W, an F, or an I-grade (your letter grade for work completed to that point, which the professor has to assign when the I is assigned).
If your professor is on sabbatical, you have a larger problem. Did you have a signed Incomplete contract? (e.g. one like this from Oklahoma https://www.ou.edu/content/dam/provo...%205-23-12.pdf)
That would be your best protection in this situation. Otherwise, a professor on sabbatical has very different responsibilities and will be difficult to reach.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Maven
I have no idea why my professor wouldn't simply respond to one of my emails to explain why she won't or hasn't turned in a final grade for me. There is no excuse for her radio silence; sabbatical or vacation, no excuse. This is a serious issue.
Often times they go completely incommunicado, no longer reading normal university emails and using a different email address for official communication.
The good news is that the department may have assigned a different professor to resume her service work. You probably need to talk to the department head about this; they will know if such an arrangement has been made. The bad news is that I have seen grad students forced to go on hold during a sabbatical. Waiting on one class is torturous, but when your thesis adviser goes on sabbatical you sometimes have no choice but to put your entire thesis program on hold for a year and wait until they get back. My thesis adviser actually was employed by a private company while on sabbatical and resigned from the university when her sabbatical was over (all of us wrapped up our defenses before she went on sabbatical).
I'm having a real hard time figuring out what you're confused about. You took a class in the spring. You failed, but the professor was nice enough to mark it incomplete and allow you to work on the missed assignments over the summer. I believe everything else you posed can be condensed into these:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Maven
My prof did mention that she would be in Alaska then Australia.
She said she would check my work while she was in Australia but then mentioned that she would go on official sabbatical after that, in late August.
her vacations were supposedly over by August 25th.
I emailed her my last two papers by August 28th.
It seems to me that the professor bent over backwards for you, and you still didn't get the assignments turned in on time. Simply taking the assignments late is more than most professors would allow, much less agreeing to grade them during their foreign vacation to give you yet more time four plus months after the assignments were due.
I'm having a real hard time figuring out what you're confused about. You took a class in the spring. You failed, but the professor was nice enough to mark it incomplete and allow you to work on the missed assignments over the summer. I believe everything else you posed can be condensed into these:
It seems to me that the professor bent over backwards for you, and you still didn't get the assignments turned in on time. Simply taking the assignments late is more than most professors would allow, much less agreeing to grade them during their foreign vacation to give you yet more time four plus months after the assignments were due.
Wrong again.
I failed a separate component; the student teaching while taking this professor's class. So I was doing 2 things!
I didn't fail the professor's class either. I took an Incomplete to finish up coursework because I was stressed out which I am not going to defend or explain any further to you, as you don't seem to understand my situation. That's pretty clear.
I took an Incomplete to finish up coursework because I was stressed out which I am not going to defend or explain any further to you, as you don't seem to understand my situation. That's pretty clear.
Wow.. there ARE communication issues! THAT certainly is very clear.
How will anyone understand anything you say, if you are unwilling (or unable?) to explain?
Um, this whole situation is a train wreck. So, not only did you NOT manage to get through your last semester of grad school, you failed student teaching and you were LATE turning in your already late assignments. Oh my. Lots of luck.
Based on all the additional information you provided it sounds like you waited too long to get your assignments in. I think for now you just need to sit back and wait. Hopefully she will get a chance to check her emails.
this will all have to go through the process of change of grade, and getting everything signed off by the department - if she decides to allow the lateness of your submissions to be considered completing the requirements.
When I am on sabbatical I NEVER check my faculty email ... my sabbatical is when I want to get AWAY from the hundred messages I can get a day.
OP, you say that that mean old professor never gave you a final due date, but why didn't you just come right out and ASK and then do everything in your power to get the work in EARLY (especially if you knew she would be out of the country and then on sabbatical for a year!)? You ARE coming across as rather "oh woe is me." I bet the professor is wishing she'd just failed you as it sounds like she should have since you couldn't get the work done.
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