Final Exam vs Family Vacation: What's a Professor to Do When Students Demand an Exception to a Hard and Fast Rule for a 'Capricious' Reason?
Two students wanted to reschedule a final exam so they could visit Italy with family, and when their professor refused, citing a posted long-standing and universal rule, they muttered about filing a grievance. What's next?
Under what circumstances should university students be allowed to take their final exams before the scheduled date or after? Could a professor who denies a request get into trouble if a student complains?
"Ada" teaches history at a major West Coast university. She phoned our office, worried that two of her students in an online course were going to file a grievance against her.
"Mr. Beaver, I have read you in Kiplinger for years and need your help. My syllabus lists all exam dates and times, along with my policy on rescheduling an exam, which is the same as the university's." She included the policy, which states:
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With few exceptions, students are not permitted to take any test early or late. Those exceptions include:
- Emergencies, including verifiably documented medical issues, deaths
- Preapproved university events, including athletics and conferences
- Religious observance. Accommodation will be allowed for alternate exam dates if a scheduled exam conflicts with a student's religious creed. Students should tell me during the first three weeks of class beginning, or as soon as possible after an examination date is announced.
In those events, an alternate exam will be administered, different from the test that all the other students have taken to prevent test questions being leaked to others in the class.
Ada's syllabus, which legally forms a contract with students, states in bold letters: "Students are required to show up or log in for all tests. Failing to do so without my approval will result in a failing grade."
A chance to visit Italy
Ada told me, "Two students rushed into my office, without making an appointment, and didn't ask — rather, they stated that I needed to let them take the final exam early or late, because the family of one had just invited both to accompany them on a trip to Italy.
"I pointed out that the test is online, multiple choice, true/false and, with a cell phone, they could take it, even in Italy. They rejected my explanation, so I encouraged them to sign up for the course next term, as not taking the final would result in a failing grade. They left the office in tears, and I heard them mumbling 'grievance' as they walked down the hall."
Ada added, "As I am a new employee, the last thing I need is a black mark on my record, and I am afraid to tell my department chair, so my thinking is that I will send them a polite letter inviting them to sign up for the class next term if they plan to miss the final. What do you think I should do?"
Do not let yourself get blindsided
In my law practice, I've spoken with new and tenured instructors who've experienced virtually identical situations and worried about bringing a student's entitlement issue to the attention of their department chair for fear of looking like a problem employee.
Yet, Ada's silence could be dangerous, as the students could use the grievance process to extort what they want and embarrass her.
"Talking with your chair now is the correct approach," I told her. Here's why:
- This prevents the chair from being blindsided if the students file a grievance and the chair hears about it from the dean instead of from Ada. By just saying, "I want to be certain that I am handling this properly," she would show herself as a responsible faculty member and that she is being fair to all the other students in the class.
- Sending a letter to the students before alerting the chair means she could inadvertently use language the department might not approve of.
- The chair may agree that she should write to the students, and if so, Ada should ask if there is preferred language she should use. She should also show a draft of the letter to her chair for editing and approval.
Heads, I win; tails, I win
I discussed these issues with grievance personnel at universities around the country, and it became painfully clear that higher education has become a world like Alice in Wonderland's, where up is down, right is wrong, and entitled students have found a "heads, I win; tails, I win" strategy to coerce higher grades or avoid consequences for academic misconduct, such as plagiarism or failing to show up for a final exam.
All of the people I spoke with agreed that Ada must immediately alert her chair. By doing so, she would thwart any scheme the students might try to force her to cave in to their demands.
One longtime staff member at a Florida university's grievance office described these students' justification for rescheduling the exam as "capricious."
His tone conveyed disgust. (He asked not to be identified so he could speak bluntly.)
"We see this all the time, and you really have to wonder what kind of education at home they get, as so many view threatening instructors with grievances (as a means) to make up for their failings. If they do not log in for the exam online when it is given, I would tell Ada to give them a zero!"
Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield, Calif., and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@gmail.com. And be sure to visit dennisbeaver.com.
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