When Failure is Imminent A certain number of students fail classes every session. This is a hard fact. While we do everything in our power to help students succeed in the early weeks of class, some students will arrive at a point of no return where they no longer can pass a class. Our messages now need to shift. Confronting failure is a serious blow to a student’s ego, make no bones about it. How can an instructor mitigate the circumstances and nurture a failing student's willingness to take the class again next session? And feel good about doing it? If you teach a class with a typically high fail rate many repeats and three-peats will share their past experiences with you regarding their failures, while others you discover through TURNITIN when they resubmit her/ her own failing work. A good number of these students can be successful in your class, but it’s often up to you and how you enable their success. A good way to start a dialogue is to ask the student to show you past work along with instructor's comments. This way you have a starting point to help with areas of non-mastery. The sooner you can get a student engaged in proactively learning, the more successful your collaboration.