Advice please....(a little long)

carrie123

carrie123

Cathlete
Sorry to bother anyone, it's just I am at the end of my rope here...

Not only am I end the last semester to recieve my BBA I'm also anticipating starting my Master's program immediately after...and with no room to spare...

OK with that said, I am having a very difficult time understanding my professor. This is his first year teaching right out of school. He's been in this country for only one year now. He cannot speak English very well, South Korean. It's not that I don't study and do the work, it's just I don't know what to study, I can't understand him. I am on the Dean's List and have been for the last 3 years, that says alot. Now I'm getting F's only in his class.

For example, on a homework assignment, he made a mistake and gave us the wrong excel formula to calculate bond pricing. That part of the homework consisted of 20%. He kept saying, no worry, no worry...

I kept saying can we get it corrected? He said, no worry...

Now three weeks later after a 7 hour mid term, and 5 other homework assignments, I have a F average...WHAT THE ?!?!

We have gone to the Dean,(we because everyone has the same problem) and no luck. He cannot replace the teacher, no one else will come in, in the middle of the semester.

Please, if anyone has any advice, I welcome it with open arms.

There are no tutors available...I already tried that...

If I don't pass this class, I don't graduate and can't move on to acceptance into Grad. school. Even if I squeak by, my GPA will have taken a nose dive, and I still won't be able to go on to Grad. School...

<<<ALL BECAUSE OF A LANGUAGE BARRIER>>>If I had to go to another country they would expect me to speak their language...esp. if I were a teacher...x(

Carrie;(
 
Have you discussed this with your advisor too? What about the VP of Academic Affairs or equivilant? It's evident to me that you need to kick this up the chain of academic command, preferably as a group. The more of you who speak up in a unified voice the better.
Your other option wuold be to drop the class....not the best option given your time frame but if you are getting no where by talking to the administration it may be better to take this course over the summer either with a different prof or through another institution (is distance learning an option?) There was a big debate on this within the State University of New York system. Many students has the same frustrations. as you. Best of luck and let us know how this all turns out.
 
Carrie, how fast can you learn Korean? Kidding!! My advice would be to write a letter to the Dean. I know you've already spoken to him but sometimes things seem more dire in writing. Point out your excellent academic record (if you can get other students to join you on the letter, all the better). Explain that you understand he cannot replace the teacher; however, this is not your problem. Your problem is the fact that you are going to fail a class simply because the provided professor was not able to meet a basic language requirement. Tell him if you do fail, you and others will be seeking legal and/or financial redress. If you can, cc the letter to someone above him (Board members, university dean, if this dean is just the department dean) and make sure he knows you've CCed the others. Then, I would send it to him certified mail. I know this all sounds harsh, but your degrees are on the line here. Also, I had to do something similar once with my grad school (though not over language) and it worked like a charm.

HTH!

Sparrow


My garden is filled with papayas and mangos
My life is a mixture of reggaes and tangos
Taste for the good life, I can live it no other way
- Jimmy Buffett
 
I think Sparrow gives great advice here. I also think there is something really wrong with the dean for not stepping in if so many people are having a problem. If it was me, I would probably drop the class and make up the credits somewhere else (it's still only fall semester, so can you pick up something else in the spring or over the winter break? then that wouldn't impact your walking in the ceremony next May).

Frankly, if you have to drop the class, I'd STILL do what Sparrow suggested and also indicate that you'll be seeking financial redress since obviously it's too late to get any refund of tuition.

God, that's so annoying and frustrating and I think the dean is an idiot. I really feel bad for you.

I hope it works out!
Marie
 
Thank you for all the great advice. A group of us, (the whole class) got together with the assistant dean today and put everything in writing. She will have a talk with the professor, his mentors, and whatever else she sees fit. She will also be sitting in on the next few classes. I hope together we will be able to salvage what's left of the semester, cause Grad. school starts JAN. 15, 2007... Right around the corner...


I especially like the idea of requesting, what was it, financial redress, and cc higher up...

Maybe, I think I should give the assistant dean a chance to do whatever it is she can do first, before taking it up the ladder...
I really hopes she finds another professor...

What do you think?

Carrie
 
Carrie, my DH is a college instructor. He said what Beavs said. Go up the chain of command, preferrably in force. DH said go to the Academic Vice President, or whoever is above the Dean. He also wondered if you had communicted with the insructor about how he is grading the class. Will he grade on a curve? He needs to make this clear to the class. DH also said there is no problem with replacing a teacher half way through the semester. He's been in situations where senior staff has had to replace newer faculty who turned out to be less than stellar at their job. Remember that you are the client. You are paying for your education.
 
Robin, thank you so much for your advice. I think I will contact the Academic Vice President and find out my other options. He made it clear that there will be no curve.

He also helped a fellow student with her take home test, (tutored her through it from her home email/chat). I don't know but last I checked that's really an unfair advantage for the rest of us. She however come to find out recieved a 91%, which would of blew the curve out of the water anyway. There were only 26 students in the class to begin with. 11 dropped already. Out of the 15 of us left, only 1 passed.

He emailed a couple of the other students to redo a couple of questions on their take-home part of the test so they could get more points,which would have been nice, (thank goodness they saved and printed the email) but the next class he said because the students said they were able to do this, it could get him in trouble, and they weren't supposed to have said anything and that he was going to have to "re-evaluate" their situation in his class. He said this to them in front of the rest of the class. We just looked in aw, no could believe he just said this...

He also accused two other students of cheating, one got a 51% and the other got a 47%, they swear it's a false accusation. They are adults with families and jobs, who live about 1 hour apart from each other. They don't know each other, except from school...

It seems to me that he thinks he's in trouble and is trying to discredit the class...

No one was able to ask questions about the test, we never are able to, so we preceded on listening to the lecture, and someone asked him a legitimate question, he got a little frustrated as she kept trying to re-phrase her question so he could understand her, and he scratched his fingers down the chalkboard...No matter how the problems sliced it's still comes down to no one can understand him nor him us.

It's 8 weeks into the semester and we have only covered chapters 1,2,3. I really wish your DH could view the homework and test he is giving out. It's just plain odd... We are expected to still be on chapter 3, a couple weeks from now. He refusesto use the book, so all we have are his lectures to go by and it comes down to no one can understand him and he certainly doesn't understand us...

I woke up this morning and had to think if it was only a bad dream, but no such luck, it's real...a real

Thank you so much Robin, I'm sorry my update is so long and well vent-like...

Carrie


;(
 
Carrie, DH also said there is a law that requires college instructors be able to speak English. He's not sure if it may just be a state law and adds that it has been bent a lot, but it may something to look into.

DH said they have had trouble with Korean instructors at his institution too. They saw questions from students as a sign of disrespect for their knowledge and teaching ability. There were cultural problems that never arose with teachers of other nationalities.

Good luck.
 
>He also helped a fellow student with her take home test,
>(tutored her through it from her home email/chat). I don't
>know but last I checked that's really an unfair advantage for
>the rest of us. She however come to find out recieved a 91%,
>which would of blew the curve out of the water anyway. There
>were only 26 students in the class to begin with. 11 dropped
>already. Out of the 15 of us left, only 1 passed.
>
This sounds like misconduct to me. Definitely something that should be taken up with 'higher ups.'

Is there any way to take this course as an online course from somewhere else and get the credits transfered (this is such an exceptional---in a BAD way---situation that I would think that the administration could give you a waiver to do that. And then have the grade for the online class count as the grade for this bogus class. Just a thought.
 
On a humorous note, Chappelle Show fans may be reminded of Mr. Roboto, Least Understand Player Hater from Korea. That was my favorite episode....
 
Hi Carrie,

Wow...this is such a bummer. I agree with others that you, and other students in the class who are getting shafted, should definitely write a letter to some higher ups about this. I'd send it to multiple people - Academic Dean, VP, chairperson of this guy's department. IMO, it also wouldn't hurt to stop in to the Academic Dean or VP's office to see if you can get an appointment with him or her to discuss it.

Since it is rather far into the semester, is there another class that you've already taken that could be substituted for this one to meet your graduation requirements? I'd asked the Dean about that. You shouldn't be held responsible for this guy's screw ups. Especially since your grades have been really good so far, that should speak for something.

I can definitely feel your pain about the language barrier, especially with a higher level class. In my senior year, I had to take a high level math class with a teacher who spoke very poor English. She was a very nice person, very fair, and did her best to help, but the inability to get clear answers to questions made for a very frustrating semester. Thank goodness for my tutor!

Good luck with this, and keep us posted!
 
Outrageous!!! I agree with the advice you have received. However, if all else fails, at the very least, the grade should not count. They should use a pass-fail system for this class, or just eliminate the grades entirely until they get things straightened out. Whatever else may happen, you should not stand for a decrease in your GPA.

-Nancy
 
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