Re: HOW MANY TIMES?

[Stan Dodds <dodds@RICE.EDU>]

Never. The policy at Rice is stated early in the General Announcements
('catalog'):

"The evaluation of the student's performance in a course and a decision
on the appropriate grade is the responsibility of the designated
instructor or instructors in the course."

Faculty who are clearly being arbitrary or capricious face pressure
from chairman, dean or even the provost to clean up their acts, but
that is very rare. My impression, after working at three different
universities, is that these customs are probably common.

So, why do you ask?

Stan

> How many times per year, on the average, were you reminded
> by a superior (chairperson, dean or college president) not to
> pass students who do not perform satisfactory (as defined by
> goals and expectations of your courses)?
>
> In more that 30 years of service I was NEVER instructed to
> fail students who did not know a certain percentage of what
> was expected. Is my university exceptional in leaving this
> matter entirely up to me? I was a chairman (for three years)
> and I never told my 14 teachers how to deal with students
> whose performance was less than satisfactory. Why didn't I?
> Because I did not feel it was part of my business. I assumed
> that each teacher was the best decision maker.
> Ludwik Kowalski