To prepare college students for the “real world,” professors set strict deadlines, with harsh consequences for students who miss them. Repercussions range from a drop in a letter grade to a “0” depending upon the professor. The reasoning behind such restrictions is usually the same: in life, extensions won’t exist.
In the world that professors are preparing us for deadlines won’t be for papers, but most jobs still revolve around strict deadlines set for important reasons. None of these deadlines are negotiable. The safety of a patient dictates a doctor’s responsibility to timeliness, the validity of a story dictates that of a journalist and many other professions are restricted by similar obligations. These people cannot choose to ignore deadlines.
However, it seems there is an unspoken exception for professors. Regardless of circumstances, most professors do not comply with this standard. Whether relating to posting grades, returning assignments or answering emails, professors take liberties with their turnaround rates.
Students raise objections about professors’ right to hand back assignments and grades on a seemingly arbitrary schedule. Some of the objections include: needing to know one’s grade in order to calculate averages, using feedback to better one’s future grades or just to avoid anxiety related to the waiting on grades. Since punishments cannot be imposed on professors, students are forced to accept these terms and whatever effects come with them.
Unlike most students, I feel that it is within a professor’s rights choose to post a grade today, tomorrow or six weeks from now, to return a test or not or to answer an email slowly if it is at their earliest convenience, not that of the student. Not only did they spend multiple years enduring similar or more extreme deadlines, but they also create deadlines that are reasonable and based on years of experience.
I think that getting an exam back two classes after taking it is no more beneficial than getting it back seven classes after having taken it. What will that test do for you now that you have taken it? That’s right: nothing. Professors acknowledge this and work accordingly.
As well, students often use getting their grades as a crutch. “If I got a ‘B’ on the most recent assignment, my grade on the next test isn’t important,” or the converse “If I got a C on the last test, I need an A on an upcoming project to get a ‘B’ in the course.” It should be a student’s goal to simply do well, regardless of past performance. Weighing old grades can often cause a sense of apathy among students, causing great grades to become just good enough.
I feel that I am busy as a student, but I wouldn’t compare my schedule to that of a professor. Grading seventy essays takes much longer than writing one. If we are given two weeks, on average, to write a paper, why should a professor return it to us in a fraction of that time? We cannot put ourselves in their shoes in order to better understand what it requires to be a professor, but every professor has been a student and can therefore relate to our situation.
Generally, I have found my professors to be reasonable in assigning work and in returning grades. In situations where professors are taking longer than expected amount of time, I have never found that one wouldn’t update me on my grades or offer me feedback face-to-face. The ways that students can get their grades are not limited to having them posted on Blackboard. While some professors make use of Blackboard, many have never posted any materials for their classes on it. Sitting down with a professor and having a conversation about one’s grade may be an old method, but it is effective. The time it takes to get assignments and grades back isn’t important when considering the merit of the professor or the quality of the class. Professors return work on a time schedule that works for them, while doing their best to keep us in mind.
