Taking college classes online is becoming more and more prevalent. It's more convenient for both teacher and student and no one has to pay for gas. The drawback is a student has to be diligent in logging in weekly and doing the work. There are usually weekly discussions that are required. There are papers and quizzes that must be taken. There is a final that has to be completed.
Just because a student pays for an online class does not, in any way, mean they are paying for a grade just for signing up. Unfortunately, I have seen that more semesters than I care to.
No one is entitled.
I recently received an email from a student that was confused :
"I can not find my English on my blackboard today.. logged in a few times thinking there was a error with blackboard.. everything else is loading except this class..."
Yes, that is how I received the email.
We are in Week 9 of 15; more than halfway home. This student has not done any of the assignment (there were 2 papers) nor has this student participated in any discussion. In fact, the student had not logged into the class in over 27 days. As per the policy by the college and in my syllabus (which is clearly stated in a couple of sections), the student was withdrawn with an F for the class.
The WF (as it is listed on the transcript) does count for a grade. It is weighted just like a regular F. The W part shows that the instructor was forced into the situation of having to withdraw the student.
Teachers do not want students to fail. Reminders were posted. Those reminders are automatically forwarded to the student's email. Even if they forgot to log in for the past few days, they would have received an email.
Most teachers are like me. We are diligent in checking every couple of days to make sure there are no questions posted in the virtual office. We check at least weekly to see how often students are checking in. All directions are clearly posted with easy to follow wording. There are examples and rubrics posted. I even post words of encouragement so students don't feel quite so alone in the virtual atmosphere.
You can lead a horse to water, ...
You know the saying.
