professor being a jerk about illness

[PlantinMoretus]

So, 4 days before a major assignment was due, I came down with the flu.  I did what I could but I could not complete the assignment on time.  Per the rules, I obtained a medical certificate.  But per the rules, it's the professor's call whether to give me an extension, and he's pushing back.  Grrrr!

 

So far I have an A in his class, I'm a mature student with a full-time professional job (I took two sick days off work as well), does he REALLY think I'm just slacking?  

 

Now I'm just waiting to hear back from him, I've got a splitting headache, and I'm angry.  Not giving me an extension won't make me work any faster because it won't make me healthier.  It is what it is.

 

 

[TakeruK]

I'm sorry to hear about the crappy situation! That sucks

 

If you are looking for suggestions (ignore this if you aren't!), I would hand in whatever was completed by the deadline (if it hasn't already passed) and then also hand in the fully completed assignment at whatever date you think the extension should have been granted to. Since you took 2 sick days off work, I would say that a 2 day extension is probably the right amount (unless there is a different extension policy in place). Get this fully completed copy date stamped. For example, you could email it, or hand in a hard copy to the department office and ask the secretary to date stamp it and put it in your prof's mailbox. Maybe take a picture too, to prove this happened.

 

With the assignment handed in, then you can officially fight the prof's decision to not grant you an extension, if you wish. It might take a lot of time and you might end up getting a final grade that is based on the incomplete assignment, not the fully completed assignment until a final decision is made. But if the prof will not agree to mark the late assignment instead, you might have a case if you escalate it. You would probably start with either your Faculty's ombudsperson or your student society's advocate or ombudsperson. I don't know all the details so I can't even say if you have a case, but it might be a good idea to bring this to the aforementioned people because they would know if your situation warrants their time.

 

In summary, if you want to argue this further with the prof, I would first work to finish the assignment within a couple of days past the due date and get it documented. Document all of your correspondence with the professor and your doctor as well. Make sure you get any other assignments for other classes completed on time too. Then, take all of your documentation and bring it to the prof and ask them to grade your "late" assignment instead (or to not impose the late penalty if one exists). If they still refuse, then I would decide whether it's worth my time to escalate it further. 

[PlantinMoretus]

Thanks.  This is good advice.  The deadline is between 3-4pm this afternoon.  He hasn't gotten back to me so I'm just going to go down to his office and check in, ask if he'll accept what I have today (which is pretty substantial, just not polished, e.g. point-form notes, one important section is actually quite solid).  And go from there.  With any luck I'll be struck by a bout of hacking coughs while I'm in his office - for dramatic effect of course.

 

I'm also working on just accepting whatever he decides with grace instead of crankiness.  Wish me luck on that one!

[Eigen]

From the professors standpoint, I'd imagine the pushback about an extension is that you could have had the project/assignment done before you got sick- ie, it wasn't a test that you *had* to miss because you were sick. 

 

I think TakeruK's advice is very good, but I just wanted to give you the other perspective. 

 

From a professional work perspective, it's why we always shoot for hard deadlines earlier than needed. It's not possible to take, say, an NSF progress report for a grant, and say you need a few extra days because you were sick right at the end, and need a bit more time to work on it. 

 

You also wouldn't tell a client that you don't have x, y or z done on a major project by the deadline because you were sick the last couple of days before they needed it- you're expected to plan in some portion of a "life happens" delay in there, or at least I think it's wise to do so. 

[PlantinMoretus]

Yes, I see your point.  Though ironically, I have a deadline this week at work too, but so far no one has commented on my lack of "life happens" planning.  And sometimes I'm the client and the vendor gets delayed by stuff like this, and we just roll with it! 

[TakeruK]

I agree with Eigen that if this was a project with a long timeframe (e.g. several weeks to a month), then I would be less optimistic that you'll get your way and that you should have planned a "life happens" in the deadline. But I have had major assignments assigned with a due date of a 5-10 days, so being sick for a couple of days is a significant chunk of that. I did note that I don't know if you have a valid complaint since I don't know the details!

 

Also, sometimes other people will just roll with missed deadlines and/or don't say anything, but they still can be disappointed that the deadline was not met. Personally, as a client, I have changed my "service provider" (just to use general terms) and/or gave poor recommendations to others seeking the same service because of missing multiple deadlines due to things that, in my opinion, should have had "life happens" contingencies. 

[PlantinMoretus]

He has given me till Thursday at noon, which I guess will have to do.  He tried to lecture a bit and I pretended to give a toss but my real feeling is SCREW THAT NOISE.

 

The program markets itself with a lot of guff about how great it is for people with full-time jobs.  If you're slinging that, you can't bag on your students with full-time jobs for expecting to use their weekends to complete their assignments.

 

So glad this course will be over soon.

[Loric]

You get to write it in his evaluation. Remember that.

[lewin]

I teach and give my students extensions without hassle when they have proper documentation. But the sense of entitlement in this thread, by some, is off-putting. Accommodation isn't something that's owed to you, it's a compromise between professor and student for everyone's sake.

 

I get that life happens, but students should realize that every single deviation from the class procedure, however justified or reasonable, means extra work for the professor or TA's.