I've got a problem at school.

[Tobin S.]

I'm taking an online class at school and the instructor is way behind on grading. We have discussion forums and participation is graded. We've had two such forums since February 6th that we haven't received a grade for. We also have had a test in that period of time and the grade for it has not been recorded yet.

All of that wouldn't be a big deal, but this morning our next forum discussion topic was supposed to be available at 6 AM and it has not been posted yet. We have a limited time to do these forums and I don't think it's fair to the students to be late with posting them. So that coupled with falling behind on the grading is starting to get on my nerves.

I contacted the instructor after I should have received my grade for one of the forums and she just said that it hadn't been graded and the class would be notified when grades were posted. I'm thinking about contacting the dean of that department. What do you think I should do?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. That is a problem, my dear Tobin...

I think you are well within your rights to contact the dean. Nobody should be that far behind, nobody.

Your instructor sounds disorganized.

Good luck!

[Baitball Blogger]

7. +1

[RebelOne]

8. I agree with Peggy.

Maybe if you and other students contact the dean anonymously, the instructor would be replaced with one who is more organized.

[Moondog]

2. You are dealing with what I used to refer to as an academic nazi.

Do nothing, unless you do not need this course, this grade and this instructor. Payback is a bitch, and for students there is very little recourse.

Times may have changed, but I doubt it.

[Tobin S.]

5. That thought has occurred to me

If I were going to say something I'd find a way to do it anonymously.

[we can do it]

10. I think this is the best idea.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

12. Times haven't changed...

my son ran into this in academic year 2009/2010..law school no less. Infuriated him!

[Mz Pip]

3. Wait until the class is over

Sometimes there are evaluations that are posted after the semester is over. Then you can voice your complaints and be fairly sure they will be noticed. If there is no evaluation then write up your complaint and send it to the powers that be. Hopefully they will deal with her incompetance.

If you need the grade and feel you are doing okay in the class then don't jeopardize it by confronting the teacher now.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. Have you discussed this with your classmates? What do they think?

[Tobin S.]

6. As far as they go, I just know they are in the same boat as me.

It's all online and I haven't said anything to anybody yet so I can be sure to retain my anonymity if I do go to the dean.

[annabanana]

9. The alternative is to get as many students as possible

to go on record, rendering anonymity irrelevant.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

11. I do sympathize...

Son had a law school professor who was just as bad in 2009/2010 academic year. Unless you can afford to get a really rotten grade in this class, you will just have to find a way to live with it. As someone else posted, students are at the mercy of these academic Nazis. The Dean will not step in to interfere over a disputed grade.

So sorry. I know it is aggravating almost beyond belief.

[talkingmime]

13. My wife has to get a certain number of credit hours per year under Act 48 - mostly online.

She runs into the same problem with almost every online course. She completes the course and waits, and waits, and waits. The biggest part of her frustration is that she can't begin a new course until she gets a sign-off on the previous one. The instructors are just not responsive and there's nowhere to turn with complaints. There should be some sort of audit system in place (automatic would do) that flags completed projects that weren't graded within a reasonable amount of time. There just doesn't seem to be.

[MiddleFingerMom]

14. Anonymous, Tobin. I only had one serious problem with a professor and went...

.
.
.
... to the appropriate office to voice my complaint/fix the problem. It was an office
ostensibly in place to protect students. The official I spoke with suggested that I
first "talk it over" with the prof. I went straight to THAT office and found that the
official had called the prof with a warning about the seriousness of my complaint
and suggestions on how to "deal with him".
.
I realized that he had allowed his office to deteriorate into something focused on
protecting the school rather than the students. It could have been disastrous --
if dropped from the course, I would've dropped below my minimum semester
hours and been disqualified from my Federal Pell Grant -- for a year or more, I
believe.
.
If I had it to do over, I would've tried to bring along an attorney and/or a member
of the press,
,
,
,