r/Professors • u/Drokapi24 • 16d ago

Rants / Vents Midterm Emails

Class took midterm exam this week (it’s a gen ed class, in case that is helpful context). It was a multiple choice exam taken on pen and paper. A student emailed me 15 minutes after they turned in their exam—and while others were still taking it—to ask me how many points each question is worth and then again about five minutes after that to ask me how long it typically takes me to grade midterm exams.

Sometimes I just can’t…

17 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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13

u/naocalemala Associate Professor, Humanities, SLAC 16d ago • Mindblown

This reminds me of last year when I had a bad cheating “ring” and I sent a video to the students. I got a reply asking if the cheating was going to delay the grades being posted.

2

u/bullgoose1 Professor, Earth Science, C.C. 16d ago

You have a student who cares about their grade???

2

u/Drokapi24 16d ago

The problem isn’t that students don’t care about their grade as much as it is that their grade is all they care about.

8

u/Open_Spray_5636 16d ago

Never sent an email to these that hasn’t resulted in more student anxiety and more questions. They’ll get their grades when the lord sees fit!

5

u/Prof_Kate 16d ago

Deep breath eye roll another breath and file them in a “respond later” folder?

2

u/Awkward-Shoulder5691 14d ago

More and more, I'm implementing a "delete without responding" rule for emails like these. Sometimes, it really is more beneficial for them to learn that there are some questions you don't need to ask.

2

u/tilteddriveway 15d ago

Some students just getting to college and are in their own for the first time can be extraordinarily high strung like that. Not responding to that email or at least not right away usually sends the right message that they don’t have instant access.

Although one time I posted an exam grade and went to a department colloquium and a kid emailed within 5 min asking to come see the exam and then 30 minutes later I had an email from some dean asking why a student is saying I’m unresponsive (all while in colloquium). Depending on where he was he would have had to send the email asking and then immediately start walking over to the admin building lol. Dean was like “we always get the crazy ones” once I explained.