Any profs pls read. I messed up big with one of my classes. :(

[GQgeek]

If you had a student that had generally done well in your classes (my second with him), that you generally liked, and he had stupidly missed a due date on an easy 25% assignment, is there any conceivable way you'd give him a chance to hand something in, even for reduced marks? I would seriously do an assignment twice as hard/long for half the marks. Those marks should have been a gift.

Basically, ******** up bigtime. For whatever reason, it was in my head that this assignment was due on the 31st along with most of my other papers. The bottom line is that I didn't read the course outline properly, or i read it too long ago, and things got mixed in my head. We have another thing due at the end of the month, but this one was due the 18th. It's my own fault, stupid as it is. I'm not gonna make some bs excuse for the prof. But seriously, this could really mess up my plans to get out of here. I'm supposed to be done this spring. And it's not like i can just take another class. I have to wait until fall because this is a core requirement.

I did really well on the mid-term (i think), and ok on our first assignment. The final is going to be rougher. It's all essays, possibly on stuff I suck at. If this was a history or physics class I wouldn't even be worrying, but it's lit, and lit is probably my weakest subject. With 25% completely missing from my grade it worries the hell out of me. And it's not like I'll have so much time to study for this one exam to make sure I get the 80+ I need to safely pass. I'm totally swamped at work and can't afford to burn the reference this late in the game (which means i can't take tons of time off to study and i was sick for an entire week not too long ago). I'm gonna have probably 12 essays to write as take-home finals based on what i've had to do for my other profs last term. Ugh. If I don't pass i'm stuck here until december for this one thing, which would really really really suck. It basically wastes my year.

I guess I'm just gonna be honest with him and hope for the best, but I have the feeling he'll tell me too bad. I can't hold it against the guy. It was clearly in the outline and on the top of the assignment (which I didn't look at until tonight when i wanted to start working on it). Does bribery ever work?

Anyway, if there's a better way to handle this, I'm all ears. His office hours are today so i'm gonna go see him. He's a young guy, if that matters at all.

GQfail.

 

[BDC2823]

Just be honest. Tell him that it was your mistake and see if there is any other assignment you can do for partial credit to make up for it.

 

[Xiaogou]

Originally Posted by BDC2823

Just be honest. Tell him that it was your mistake and see if there is any other assignment you can do for partial credit to make up for it.

Definitely Man-up and be honest. Should turn out okay.

 

[Brian SD]

I've been in a situation (twice) like that and was able to make up my assignment that I missed. One of them I lied, the other one I told the truth. *shrug*

 

[Concordia]

I had profs who would take off one grade (A to A-, etc.) per day late. It took the emotion out of this kind of transaction, and allowed people to set priorities in their schedule.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Professors are generally very accommodating. I had several times throughout university where I would miss deadlines and I would go talk to the professor, and they would work something out. Usually, they would re-weight the remaining items with a pro rated share of the missed assignment / test, or they would provide another assignment for a portion of the grade. If you really need this to work out, you must have no shame in your negotiations; lie, act upset, just do whatever you can.

 

[suited]

There's no reason to lie. Unless your mother or father just died, there is not going to be any excuse that won't sound like bullshit.

Just tell him you made an honest mistake, that's better than any excuse you could come up with.

If he tells you something you don't want to hear, tell him you'd still like to turn in the project anyway to let him know you're serious about the class. This can persuade him even if his initial decision is to give you nothing.

 

[Eason]

Tell him what you posted pretty much, he won't let a good student fail for no reason.

 

[JayJay]

What does he state in the syllabus about late assignments? Regardless, be honest with him.

 

[username79]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

If you had a student that had generally done well in your classes (my second with him), that you generally liked, and he had stupidly missed a due date on an easy 25% assignment, is there any conceivable way you'd give him a chance to hand something in, even for reduced marks? I would seriously do an assignment twice as hard/long for half the marks. Those marks should have been a gift.

This is not high school where teachers are on power trips straight out of college. I can't believe a college professor would even question you or give you anything other than full credit. All my professors were always accommodating if I had a (rare) outstanding request.

 

[Cavalier]

Depends on the school/what program you are in within the school.

I've been in schools/programs that I know the teacher would accept, but others where there is no conceivable chance you can turn in late work.

If it's a situation where there are hundreds (or thousands) of kids fighting for your spot, teachers have to be very fair and strict.

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by Xiaogou

Definitely Man-up and be honest. Should turn out okay.

+1. You have nothing to lose here.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by JayJay

What does he state in the syllabus about late assignments? Regardless, be honest with him.

I checked, but I can't see anything on late assignments. For another class it's 10% per day, but I don't think there's a departmental policy. It's really never been an issue for me b/c I've never considered handing work in late. Even with my long hours at work, the worst I've done is hand in something that could have been better.

Anyway, I don't know my midterm grade yet but i'm positive it's over 80, and on my last assignment I got an 80, which is better than I remembered getting, so as long as I pass the final (25%) and get a good mark on the second critical essay I should be ok, which is a weight off at least. I'd rather not pass with a D though.

These posts are reassuring.

 

[ryoneo]

Just tell him who you are and what the situation is. Your Prof should be able to help you out, not unless he is a hard ass. From my experience, I have turned in things late and assignments that didn't meet the deadline and was okay. Hopefully the Prof understands that **** happens. You should be fine.

 

[why]

I had 95% in a course, got mono, missed the final paper because I couldn't get off the couch, missed the final exam review and got a C on the final, and my 95% in the class became 74%. After a curve, I got a D and received no credit.

I had to go to the big department bureaucracy to request turning the paper in which they eventually (after 2 weeks) said they could not do because it was possible to turn the paper in via email. Apparently I was supposed to be prepared to have mono for two weeks and have the paper already completed.