Comments below are from an email from a student for whom I’ve filed a complaint with the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Board for suspected cheating. I filed a second complaint with the College Behavioral Response Team for shouting and cursing and demanding, in an abusive manner, for an A in a class where the student seemed to be doing passing work.
The student believe that being abusive would improve chances for an A in the course. The student’s sophistry (revealed in comments) is not unusual nor was the student’s irrational behavior. Years ago, I developed a protocol for dealing with students who cheated because of Colleagues who inspired and supported students to cheat. More about this later.
Dear Professor Morris,
I want to apologize for raising my voice yesterday in your office. [Actually, it was a hell lot more than raising a voice]. I never wanted our meeting to come to where it did, I was expecting a quick easy meeting to sort out my final grade and unfortunately that was not what it was.
I hope you can understand where I am coming from. As an “A” student getting a “C” is upsetting enough but especially one that I feel I did not deserve. I worked hard in your class only having one absence, always being on time, handing in all assignments on time, following steno guidelines, coming to class on time with my USB and steno, completing all readings and receiving back grades that read “A’s. [Not true. Not even close.]
This semester has been a rough one for me, between the amount of classes that were missed because of holidays and the storm forcing me out of my dorm for two months, living out of a suitcase, and sleeping on friends coaches which extended my commute. [I won’t dispute that] On top of this I also have an internship three full days a week, have a job, and am a full time student. The one thing I prided myself on through all of this was being able to maintain an “A” average through all my classes.
If my paper is not “A” worthy, that is understandable but the grade I received, handed out by you in class was an “A”. I was hurt, shocked, and offended of what I believed was an accusation that I altered my grade. [She wasn’t accused of cheating then. She was told that there was a serious discrepancy and that she would have to re-do the assignment, which had been previously graded with a Temporary B. She went ballistic, that’s no exaggeration, and when she started cursing and demanding an A in the course even though she hadn’t completed all the assignments, she was told to leave my office and to “watch your mouth.”] I would never do that, that is immoral and not the kind of student I am. I have no idea why this paper reads an “A’ if it is not actually that grade but this is the grade I received. I am also upset that I am getting all this information the final days of school, after believing that I was doing great in your class and now hearing that I apparently am not. If I was doing so poorly I was not aware or notified of it. [That’s not true]
I will be handing in my final work in a folder under your door today. My steno will be in it, all my grades and even a rewrite for the paper that had an “A” on it, since that is what you told me you would like me to do. I am also attaching my final article the optional one) to this email.I would appreciate, if possible, to hear back from you before the end of next week of my newly estimated final grade. [She had been earlier told that a rough estimate of her grade was a C+, taking into consideration that she had two assignments that needed to be redone because they had been temporarily graded Temporary F (TF) because of poor quality.]