Below are some issues that frequently arise in lower-division courses and recommendations from the department's Undergraduate Program Committee.
Coordinated Courses
- Instructor wants to change some of the homework or worksheets provided for a coordinated class.
RECOMMENDATION: An instructor may add a few problems to the common homework set, being conscious of student workload, but shouldn't eliminate any content. Course coordinators can revise assignments between quarters based on instructor feedback, provided revisions do not alter content. In general, deviating from the core coordination in 1xx/2xx courses is discouraged. Consult with the course coordinator if in doubt.
Requests from Students
- Student asks you to sign off on a conflict with another course.
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend that the student take the course in a different quarter. Even if there are recordings that might take care of missed lectures, there could be exam conflicts that both instructors will need to accommodate. - Student asks to be allowed to complete in-class activities at home.
RECOMMENDATION: Unless the student has a DRS accommodation for in-class activities, if in-class participation is required, students are expected to participate in class. Build into your syllabus some grace (e.g., allow 2 missed activities per quarter to be missed without penalty). Apply the policy uniformly. - Students request video recording of lectures.
RECOMMENDATION: It is up to each instructor whether or not they want to record their lectures. In rooms with Panopto automated lecture capture, it is easy to do and can be helpful when students must miss a class. If you are aware of a good set of recordings, you can also link to them from your course page. Some instructors also post detailed lecture notes in lieu of recordings. - Student requests a regrade.
RECOMMENDATION: Either instructor handles all regrade requests with input from graders or graders deal with regrade requests with clear instruction from the instructor and specific rubrics that are communicated to the student. Regrades should be granted uniformly and fairly when mistakes are made but not in response to student pressure.
Missed Exams/Work
Include your policies for missed exams and late work in your syllabus.
- Student misses a midterm exam.
RECOMMENDATION: Excuse the absence, no questions asked, and weigh the other midterm and/or final more heavily. In the case that a student missed the first exam and asks to miss the second as well, recommend dropping the class. (A few instructors are willing to negotiate make-up exams. There is no departmental support for this. Instructors must make all necessary arrangements.) - Student misses significant work (one midterm + several homework assignments).
RECOMMENDATION: Encourage the student to drop the class and try again in a subsequent quarter. - Student asks to be allowed to complete some late work.
RECOMMENDATION:- Do not accept late work but build into your syllabus some grace for missing work: e.g., drop the lowest 2 homework scores or allow a student to miss 10% of the total number of homework points for the quarter without penalty to their grade.
- For classes with Webassign, some instructors allow students to request an automatic extension of a few days with a small penalty to their grade. Others prefer a 24-hour penalty-free grace period and handle requests for longer extensions on a case-by-case basis.
- Student misses the final exam.
RECOMMENDATION:- For 12X classes, have the student petition to take the make-up final. (https://math.washington.edu/common-finals#alternatives)
- If there are other sections of the course, you may be able to arrange to have the student take the final with another section (with permission of the other instructor).
- If the student is otherwise doing satisfactory work in the course, you may grant an Incomplete. To complete the course, the student must take a final exam by the end of the following quarter. This may be a make-up final that you administer yourself or the scheduled final exam in another section of the course, with permission of the other instructor. Once the final exam is complete, file a change of grade.
TA Issues
- Student approaches instructor with complaints about TA.
RECOMMENDATION: Instructor speaks to the student and TA separately to determine whether any action is necessary. Instructor may consult with the TA Advisory Committee and/or direct the student to Student Services. - TA does not reply promptly to emails, misses scheduled meetings.
RECOMMENDATION: If talking to the TA doesn't resolve the issue, inform the TA Advisory Committee, the Graduate Program Coordinator, and the Director of Student Services.