They should be referred to the academic dean and then if the dean wants a 3 party meeting ,you are covered by policy and your supervisor .
Sound advice, William. Whether it is the Academic Dean or another person designated to handle such student requests; a third person from the institution must be involved.
Satrohan
I am not opposed to a face-to-face if logistics permit. However, these should be limited to extreme circumstances and they should be held in the offices of the college with an administrator present. By the time an issue escalates to this point there may be some merit in looking them in the eye when you make your point. But it's a tricky interpersonal situation and much care should be taken to avoid the appearance of an "ambush" by either party. This is one instance that non-verbal communication can be valuable
Johnny:
The "ambush" ingredient must certainly be avoided; so should the appearance of "ganging up", or even intimidation. I would imagine that educational institutions have established policies and procedures by which to conduct these sessions in an appropriate manner.
Satrohan
I agree that a third party should be present. It also would be a good idea to have hard copies of all materials that might enter into the dispute...tests, essays, etc. If these could be compared with (anonymous) work by students receiving higher grades it might defuse some of the problem.
As a first step the school should have a clear policy on if and when students meet an online instructor. If they are taking the class locally and within your own school it could make sense to have periodic meetings, which would also encourage the quieter and procrastinating students to work. Otherwise it gets more dicey.
There is no way to make everyone happy. I would be totally against meeting with an angry student. Maybe setting up some type of committee to take a look at that students work and the work of the others in the course to make a comparison as to the content of the course and that individual.
Colleen:
If the dispute is about academic performance, and the instituion has a policy in place that allows for one or more external independent evaluators; then your recommendation should work.
Satrohan
Michele, I agree with everyone else here. Do not meet this student without someone else from the school with you. I'm not really sure what this student expects to gain just from having a face to face meeting. I'm sure whatever you tell this student in person would be the same thing you would tell them via email.
It is always good to have someone from the school attend a meeting like this to assist in the facilitation and be a witness to the conversation. Thanks for adding your thoughts on this Tammy.
I would refer them to the academic counselor. I would not meet with any student from an online course, as it is not part of the course. If the student has a problem with my grading that he can not resolve via email or telephone conversation, then that student will need to speak with someone from the university. If they become disruptive about it, I would contact the university.
I would not meet with the student--and I would contact someone in the administration to help me put an end to the harrassment. An online course means no face-to-face contact, unless there are video components to the course, and all students must be treated the same.
Bryan,
I agree with you. This student sounds confrontational to me, so referring him/her to an academic counselor makes a lot of sense.
Bringing in administration when you are feeling uncomfortable with a situation is always a good idea. You should not have to deal with those situations alone.
Great tip to involve administration in these issues. I usually involve student advising in such matters. Thank you for that.
I know the policy at our university would prohibit this. I think I would direct them to the rule and then also consult with my supervisor in this case.
Amanda,
Yes, exactly right. Then proceed to request to help the student resolve the issue through the correct channels.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
