Go to the Dean of Students?

[Hacp]

If your job relies on it, pay someone some dough to guide you through the project. Not do the project for you but to answer questions(that your professor won't answer) and to prod you in the right direction.

 

[Gamingphreek]

If your job relies on it, pay someone some dough to guide you through the project. Not do the project for you but to answer questions(that your professor won't answer) and to prod you in the right direction.

Still a violation of the honor code I would think.

Not only that, there isn't anyone out there. This is a program called conceptual written by Los Alamos National Lab. They are the only ones who know how the whole thing works.

 

[Hacp]

Still a violation of the honor code I would think.

Not only that, there isn't anyone out there. This is a program called conceptual written by Los Alamos National Lab. They are the only ones who know how the whole thing works.

Well it depends on what your professors say. Some explicitly say that you can't get any outside help on assignments. Others just say you can't have someone do the assignment for you, which is different from receiving help. It does sound like the professor is setting all of you up for a very low grade so he can curve the class and in the process fail half the students

 

[mfenn]

I second talking to the department chair. If he's only an associate prof., he'll most likely cave to whatever the chair decides. Oh yeah, make sure you have EVERYTHING documented and in-hand to present to the chair.

I'm not sure if your complaints about the scheduling of the midterm and difficulty final assignment are valid. As long as he didn't go against the syllabus, he can make assignments due whenever he wants. He can also make the class as hard as he wants.

You do have 2 valid complaints:

1. It's a combined graduate/undergraduate class, but there is no difference in coursework. You need to document this (i.e. proof that the same assignments/exams were given to both sections).
2. The fact that he had given 3 different times that the first project was due. You need to document the times, that you met the requirement, and that he refused to count your assignment as "on-time".

In my experience, dept. chairs bend over backwards to get people to graduate (looks good for their statistics), so you should DEFINITELY mention that.

 

[JEDIYoda]

The ironing...

yep I agree....the irony...look in the mirror.....

The OP started a serious thread with concerns that were real....
Then we get some idiot telling the OP to key the dudes car.....
Then the same idiot says-- "Fuck that professor. Respect has to be earned, not doled out according to position. He hasn't given you respect, and he's failed in his duties at the school, as well as wasted your time and money. He hasn't earned your respect, and should be treated accordingly. "

The fact the guy is gamingphreeks instructor and was put there by the university means you treat the instructor like you would any other person put in that position.

You don`t key his car......you don`t display an entirely unproductive attitude.....etc.....

 

[DrPizza]

RTFM (read the manual) - it generally outlines how to deal with situations like this. And I haven't seen one where the first step is to go to the department chair. Most schools have a number of steps where if it isn't resolved at each step, you're able to escalate it to the next step. I've been in a very similar situation as you are & had to take it all the way to the highest level before someone with common sense realized "this isn't right."

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Wow. What an absolutely incompetent and terribly unfair professor. My condolences OP. At this point it's clear that continuing to discuss this matter with him would be a waste of time. Do your best on the remaining project and hope he doesn't fail you.

If he does, take it to the department chair. Acknowledge that there are things you could have done differently (e.g. turning that one assignment in before the earliest deadline instead of the latest) - the chair will take you more seriously if you accept responsibility for your actions. However, insist that your transgressions are truly minor in comparison to the professor's. I don't know where you are, but at the Universities I've worked for, canceling class at least three times in the same semester without prior warning to the students would get an adjunct canned and pretty much ensure a non-tenured prof wouldn't get tenure (unless, of course, they were flippin' brilliant in their research). That is simply inexcusable and beyond pathetic.

Write a scathing but reasonable evaluation, and pan his performance across the board. Write scathing (but again, reasonable, so people take your complaints seriously) reviews on whatever websites you want to (e.g. ratemyprofessor.com or whatever's popular at your school). Make sure any of your younger friends in the program avoid this nitwit like the plague.

Good luck. Again, sorry you had/are having such a terrible experience with someone who gives the profession a bad name.

 

[ProfJohn]

My personal experience:

I had a professor who had retired from the corporate world as a motivation/HR presenter.

Took a 20th century humanities class with him.

Instead of teaching us about 20th century humanities though he spent most of his time doing the types of things you would get in corporate meetings such as personality types and other related crap.

So I went to the Department head and complained to her about the class and stated that I signed up for the class because I wanted to learn about 20th century humanities and not go through some semester long corporate HR meeting.

She allowed me to withdraw from his class and move to a new class that was just starting (half semester class) and everything worked out good on my side.

Cliffs: go to department head first, but don't go to complain about why the prof sucks, but have details about how your education expectations aren't being met etc.

 

[sourceninja]

I work at a college. I tell any students who ask me about problems like this to treat their professor and everyone above him (I am also a professor) just as you would anyone else you are paying for service.

They are not special, their degrees are meaningless in this context. No different from asking the waiter for another steak if the one you got was over cooked. First you ask nicely, then you ask to see the manager, finally if all else fails you make a shit storm.

In this case, go see the chair and walk it up the chain of command. In fact if there was 12 of you with these same issues then you should all go see the chair as a group. It will be impossible to ignore if the majority of the class shows up to complain they are not being taught.

Don't worry about the professor failing you for talking about him to a chair or dean. You can't live in fear of assholes. You are either going to keep your mouth shut and be under-educated and fail, open your mouth and get some help, or open your mouth and fail.

If he fails you for complaining you may also find legal recourse.

 

[mfenn]

Wow. What an absolutely incompetent and terribly unfair professor. My condolences OP. At this point it's clear that continuing to discuss this matter with him would be a waste of time. Do your best on the remaining project and hope he doesn't fail you.

If he does, take it to the department chair. Acknowledge that there are things you could have done differently (e.g. turning that one assignment in before the earliest deadline instead of the latest) - the chair will take you more seriously if you accept responsibility for your actions. However, insist that your transgressions are truly minor in comparison to the professor's. I don't know where you are, but at the Universities I've worked for, canceling class at least three times in the same semester without prior warning to the students would get an adjunct canned and pretty much ensure a non-tenured prof wouldn't get tenure (unless, of course, they were flippin' brilliant in their research). That is simply inexcusable and beyond pathetic.

Write a scathing but reasonable evaluation, and pan his performance across the board. Write scathing (but again, reasonable, so people take your complaints seriously) reviews on whatever websites you want to (e.g. ratemyprofessor.com or whatever's popular at your school). Make sure any of your younger friends in the program avoid this nitwit like the plague.

Good luck. Again, sorry you had/are having such a terrible experience with someone who gives the profession a bad name.

Sounds like the guy has tenure (he has the title Associate Professor).

 

[Gamingphreek]

You guys are awesome for the advice/support - I really appreciate it.

Associate Professors do not have tenure here. Assistant Professors have tenure from my understanding.

We worked on the code all day and got virtually no where...

We've sent 3 E-Mails since Thursday and posted on the forums 1 time and received no responses to either.

The project that I had to take a 33% report on was graded at an 82 (-16 points for 1 minor problem - though it was a legitimate point deduction) which reduced to a 55 (UGH).

I talked with a couple people in the course already and they all said they would be willing to step up if the situation required it.

In response to all of this and everything you all have said, I just sent this E-Mail to my CS Advisor:

Ms. XXXXXX,

You may remember that I made a request earlier in the year regarding problems with a class/Professor.

I opted not to speak with you until I had done everything in my power to succeed in the class and resolve the problem with course staff. Unfortunately, if you have time, I desperately need to speak with you. While not everyone has problems as severe as a few that I want to bring to your attention, >50% of the class is extremely frustrated with many aspects of the course and Professor.

If you have time, I would like to speak with you as early as possible Monday morning.

Thank You,
X

I'll keep this thread up to date with everything I do regarding the situation.

-Kevin

 

[Hacp]

You guys are awesome for the advice/support - I really appreciate it.

Associate Professors do not have tenure here. Assistant Professors have tenure from my understanding.

We worked on the code all day and got virtually no where...

We've sent 3 E-Mails since Thursday and posted on the forums 1 time and received no responses to either.

The project that I had to take a 33% report on was graded at an 82 (-16 points for 1 minor problem - though it was a legitimate point deduction) which reduced to a 55 (UGH).

I talked with a couple people in the course already and they all said they would be willing to step up if the situation required it.

In response to all of this and everything you all have said, I just sent this E-Mail to my CS Advisor:



I'll keep this thread up to date with everything I do regarding the situation.

-Kevin

If I had a job lined up and it depended on passing this course, here's what I would do. I would find the address of the researcher who wrote the program, purchase a plane ticket to California or Texas or wherever Los Alamos is, and camp outside his house until he agreed to answer your questions.

 

[Matthiasa]

Sounds like the guy has tenure (he has the title Associate Professor).

Associate professors generally don't have tenure at least it the university follows the normal track for tenure.

 

[Skillet49]

Sounds like you are going on the right course of things, if he ends up failing you (let's hope not!), see what action should be taken to change your grade. The university that I attend has an ombudsman where students can appeal their grades if they feel they earned a different grade. It sounds like you have good reason that you deserve a higher grade and more clarity in the course. Also, not that it is as solid proof as a syllabus with contradicting information, but document every conversation you have had with him with dates, summaries of conversation, etc. that you can remember.

 

[Slew Foot]

AS a professor myself, I find this guy to be a complete douche.

 

[newnameman]

Update?

 

[mfenn]

Associate Professors do not have tenure here. Assistant Professors have tenure from my understanding.

Associate professors generally don't have tenure at least it the university follows the normal track for tenure.

I guess every school is different. At my alma mater (Clemson), the ranks go like:
Assistant Professor - no tenure
Associate Professor - tenure
(Full) Professor - tenure, full voting rights, etc.

 

[cronos]

I guess every school is different. At my alma mater (Clemson), the ranks go like:
Assistant Professor - no tenure
Associate Professor - tenure
(Full) Professor - tenure, full voting rights, etc.

This is how it is around here as well.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Hey Everyone,

Sorry it took so long for an update.

I took my advisor's advice and got a couple other students who were upset and went to him after class and said we were concerned about graduation as well as our grades for the course given the assignment.

He said he understood and he wouldn't let it make/break us.

The next class, he announced that the Project was completely extra credit. (Best news EVER). He also gave us all tentative grades. The class average was a 72%, I made a 74%. If term ended that day, I would receive a B+.

So then I went to studying for my final while waiting for my other grades to come back. I got my grades and they were far short of what I was expecting - it was like they were arbitrarily assigned. I took the final knowing that I still had little chance of failing the course, but personally feeling that a D would not suffice.

I got 65% which curved up to a C for the final grade. It was really unfortunate because, I got A's and B's for the rest of my classes ....

BUT - I graduated today Thanks for all the advice on this everyone, it proved invaluable!

-Kevin

 

[mfenn]

Hey Everyone,

Sorry it took so long for an update.

I took my advisor's advice and got a couple other students who were upset and went to him after class and said we were concerned about graduation as well as our grades for the course given the assignment.

He said he understood and he wouldn't let it make/break us.

The next class, he announced that the Project was completely extra credit. (Best news EVER). He also gave us all tentative grades. The class average was a 72%, I made a 74%. If term ended that day, I would receive a B+.

So then I went to studying for my final while waiting for my other grades to come back. I got my grades and they were far short of what I was expecting - it was like they were arbitrarily assigned. I took the final knowing that I still had little chance of failing the course, but personally feeling that a D would not suffice.

I got 65% which curved up to a C for the final grade. It was really unfortunate because, I got A's and B's for the rest of my classes ....

BUT - I graduated today Thanks for all the advice on this everyone, it proved invaluable!

-Kevin

Gratz! Glad it worked out for you in the end.

 

[BoomerD]

Congrats on graduating!

I was one of those horribly anal people who always felt like anything less than an "A" was a failure...BUT, as a good friend of mine kept reminding me...C's get degrees!

(fortunately, in 2-1/2 years at the community college, the lowest grade I got was one B...in basic keyboarding of all dammed things. Typed over 70 wpm with very minimal errors...instructor didn't like my technique. My "pinky fingers" don't bend or flex very well due to having been broken, smashed and/or jammed several times, so my ring fingers have to take up the slack...)

 

[roguerower]

Glad this all worked out for you and CONGRATS ON GRADUATING!!! Mine was at 11 this morning and it feels damn good to be a Hokie Alumnus.