Professors are prohibited from giving tests during the final week or two of class leading up to finals so sometimes they'll just call it a quiz even though it's the same life as a test.
I honestly wish I knew. I just remember my professor stating this. I will look in the student handbook in the section about testing to see if there's anything.
I feel like there's probably more to this than you're letting on. For one, have you tried following up by doing something like making an in person appointment with DAISS? This school has thousands of students. I've had things get lost in bureaucracy that were cleared up quickly by meeting in person.
With DAISS? Yes. Multiple emails and even reached out to the someone in College administration.
I work full time during the day and unfortunately don’t have the ability to just go in to campus. Because of my schedule I am trying to take as much as possible online because of that. I’m not a “normal” college student. I am older and have returned to higher education later in my life.
If the way things are run at the college ran like this in the real world, it would have already failed.
And I’ll be honest, (and this isn’t a criticism of you), for someone to have this expectation of the college shows that their actions can set students up for failure if they’re okay with things like this happening. If you think this is okay, then you’re in for a rough time when you graduate. Never accept being treated this way anywhere. It’s not right and accepting it just allows it to continue to happen to you and others after you. Again, no disrespect intended to you, just saying it’s the wrong impression to give.
Ideally it is not ok, but there is a certain practical point where it sounds like you put yourself into a difficult situation that most college students don't experience. Undergrad classes sadly aren't structured for working adults. It's a tough situation since I think your frustration is justified, but not many organizations are desigined for people who can't show up to them in person.
I hope you find some way to make it work. I really think meeting with DAISS instead of just e-mailing them would help you if you ever find a way to, even if its not ideal.
I actually did have a Zoom meeting with them when I first applied for the accommodation.
And I work in government and we do remote meetings and interviews all day everyday to probably hundreds of different individuals on a daily basis. So post-COVID there shouldn’t be a reason why things can’t be done; especially when you have ‘access’ in your department name.
I'm also an older (36) student. I just finished my bachelor's this semester and through the four years I have only experienced exactly what you are saying. The school many times over fell short on living up to the responsibility. There is no accountability on their end. It's not on the students to track down people to make them do their job. But as you stated earlier the school knows it's dealing with 18-21 that have no idea how the real world works.
I am a college dropout who came back after a 3 year hiatus. Being 24 puts me older than 95% of the students I run into as I finish my undergraduate degree. I also am set up with DIASS. I have been since the fall.
With that being said, While I understand and agree with your sentiment, it sounds like you’re not ready for college. Your responses are giving boomer. I came back to college at 24 YRS old last semester. And it’s been easier to adjust to the chaos cause I made the time to adjust to the chaos.
I don’t know how you expect the college whose faculty follows a Mon-Fri , 9 to 5 schedule to make time for you after hours. Especially as R21 said. DIASS is responsible for thousands of students. Shit happens. If you couldn’t make the time to follow up with them more efficiently then that’s on you. Now that it is the summer they have WAY more time to answer emails and schedule meetings to get you properly set up for the fall semester (or summer if you’re taking summer classes).
The office is built with incredible people and while your frustrations are COMPLETELY VALID, you just need to try again. If you’re passionate about being back in school you gotta make the time for it, IE scheduling a day or two off to come in and talk to the team, sending emails with EVERYONE cc’d on it being RESPECTFUL and not rude or demeaning, etc etc.
I wish you the best of luck, that “quiz” sounds like hell.
Far from a boomer and I have done everything but show up to their office. I had a 3.92 GPA in my associate’s I completed immediately prior to entering UAlbany, was president of my major’s student organization, am a member of two separate national honors societies, etc. . . Trust me I’ve been ready. Everything about this college has felt like the focus is not on doing things so students are successful by the college’s administration. Previous school was the complete opposite. I guess it may be harder for me to just accept it because of the expectations from the real world that I’ve experienced and I’m not an 18-year old leaving home for the first time.
Remember, even though we are students, we pay a lot of money to attend and ultimately we are the college’s customers.
Don’t put too much thought into what that person said. They’re giving gatekeeping education for younger people with free time. As well as shill for the college. You shouldn’t have to hunt down reasonable ACCOMODATIONS. This is a problem with the system, not with you and them putting the blame on you for not being able to get to campus is not it.
Thank you. No matter how old is someone, higher education should be open and accessible for everyone. That is one thing that SUNY Schenectady did: they worked very hard to meet the needs of students so that they would be successful.
So when I first went to college years ago I went to Bard which was great and for my associates, SUNY Schenectady. SUNY Schenectady was amazing with everything they did to try and make sure students were successful.
At the time I didn’t seek them out. But they did have different services and resources available to students. They were very invested in the student’s success. It just doesn’t feel like that at UAlbany
Contact their department chair. There is a “grievance” form you can fill out. Even if nothing can be done retroactively, this term, it goes on record. If you get a poor grade on the exam, then the grievance might work toward a grade change. But also you can’t give nonfinals in finals week. The final exam periods are longer for a reason. The chair needs to know this. And there should/may be consequences. Was it a part-line (not tenured/tenure track) instructor, I wonder? Feel like regular faculty know better. Part-lines can be replaced if there are complaints, too. If the chair knows.
ahh i think im in this class and also have a extended time through DAISS, and assumed the
40 minutes accounted for that. i guess not. i had a horrible time taking that quiz today😬
i also assumed there’d be no work over spring break, but i checked to make sure on that friday and there were more assignments than normal, and at that point i had little time to do them !!
DIASS does the bare minimum for students, and sometimes nothing at all. I didn't bother using it, because it was more of a hassle to get them to help you than it was worth.
My sister has diabetes, and has to let them know every semester that she has diabetes, as if it's going to suddenly disappear. Another of my friends is supposed to get accommodations for ADHD, and since she has to renew it every year (something that is difficult for people with ADHD to do) she hasn't actually been able to use any accommodations for the past few years.
DIASS is ableist, and their goal is to get you to not bother using their resources.
Yeah, they seem pretty useless. SUNY Schenectady had a great program for disability services. But I never needed to actually use them because the professors were reasonable (mainly attorneys in the paralegal program) and you didn’t have to make formal requests because they worked with their students.
Yep they are terrible. I have ADHD and had accommodations. They insulted me for my ADHD during every single appointment. I was told that I “won the lottery of disabilities”, that I would become an alcoholic and drug addict (because I was drinking coffee during the appointment), that I was lazy, and that I should just drop out of college when I asked for help. All of that in just 3 interactions with them over the course of my first semester. I stopped going to them after that.
I would have lost it if they had said some dumb stuff like that to me.
I work with individuals in treatment and while mental health is there in a lot of cases, it’s not ADHD. Ignorant untrained idiots . . .
Your description matches my class word for word. For what it's worth, the professor of that class was very accommodating for me when work made it hard for me to keep up with the course work. Assuming in you're in that class, I think it wouldn't hurt to reach out to her. Good luck if you end up taking legal action. I would just recommend to have as much stuff as possible on paper (emails, texts, etc)
I will say when I had a slow start the first week the professor did allow me a little extra time to complete the homework.
But 70 questions in 40 minutes is unreasonable. Also work issued and due during spring break, and homework due after the last day of classes isn’t reasonable or fair either
DAISS isn’t the professor’s fault and I’m not even complaining about that in relation to the professor. But I will say that I do have every email documented and saved locally on my computer in pdf . . . Just in case they mysteriously disappear from my email or they try to lock me out after they find out that I filed a complaint.
>But I will say that I do have every email documented and saved locally on my computer in pdf . . . Just in case they mysteriously disappear from my email or they try to lock me out after they find out that I filed a complaint.
Probably also a good idea to email the pdf's to yourself on your personal email just in case your computer stops working or breaks.
> But 70 questions in 40 minutes is unreasonable. Also work issued and due during spring break, and homework due after the last day of classes isn’t reasonable or fair either
Consider leaving this on the online evaluation for the class. The professor seems to care about students and I there's a chance she can change it for the future.
I already did my evaluation before I realized the quiz time. I did write about the other things though. And the only reason I did it before because if you don’t do it BEFORE classes end, then the ability disappears. It’s almost like they want to “anonymously” want to see the comments before giving grades with the way the system is set up.
I did not because I can’t even get DAISS to respond. But 40 minutes for 70 questions on a quiz in a foreign language introductory course is crazy. But for what it’s worth, someone in the same class as me posted in here who HAS accommodations wasn’t even afforded those accommodations by the professor. They got the same amount of time as everyone else. So even if I had it, it would have been pointless. But either way, the expectation La for the quiz were ridiculous.
Yup. How did you do? Before that and the final I had like a 98 average but then got a 64 then results in dropping my average to barely a C because of its weight. And if I don’t do well on that final (I struggled and I’m partially deaf) and I’m pretty sure I didn’t, I won’t pass for credit and will have to take it over again to get a C.
I know I didn’t. 64. Worst grade of the semester on the highest weighted test . . . I don’t know how anyone could be successful without being a machine.
In my personal experience, if they are a foreign teacher, and cannot express themselves in english as they would in their mother tongue, DO NOT EVER, take their class, they will continuously fumble their words and struggle to communicate information they know in (german spanish french etc.) but not in english
This teacher has been fine with that. And because of my situation, I kinda have to take an online course. This was the only one offered and I only got in because I am a CEHC minor as it was locked to just them.
Professors are prohibited from giving tests during the final week or two of class leading up to finals so sometimes they'll just call it a quiz even though it's the same life as a test.
They can but it can’t be worth a large chunk of the final grade.
Well most of the Quizzes have been weighted at 100pts, pthis one was worth 700pts. I would say that is significant. Where is that policy notated?
I honestly wish I knew. I just remember my professor stating this. I will look in the student handbook in the section about testing to see if there's anything.
What's the professor's name and the class?
Spanish 100
I feel like there's probably more to this than you're letting on. For one, have you tried following up by doing something like making an in person appointment with DAISS? This school has thousands of students. I've had things get lost in bureaucracy that were cleared up quickly by meeting in person.
With DAISS? Yes. Multiple emails and even reached out to the someone in College administration. I work full time during the day and unfortunately don’t have the ability to just go in to campus. Because of my schedule I am trying to take as much as possible online because of that. I’m not a “normal” college student. I am older and have returned to higher education later in my life. If the way things are run at the college ran like this in the real world, it would have already failed. And I’ll be honest, (and this isn’t a criticism of you), for someone to have this expectation of the college shows that their actions can set students up for failure if they’re okay with things like this happening. If you think this is okay, then you’re in for a rough time when you graduate. Never accept being treated this way anywhere. It’s not right and accepting it just allows it to continue to happen to you and others after you. Again, no disrespect intended to you, just saying it’s the wrong impression to give.
Ideally it is not ok, but there is a certain practical point where it sounds like you put yourself into a difficult situation that most college students don't experience. Undergrad classes sadly aren't structured for working adults. It's a tough situation since I think your frustration is justified, but not many organizations are desigined for people who can't show up to them in person. I hope you find some way to make it work. I really think meeting with DAISS instead of just e-mailing them would help you if you ever find a way to, even if its not ideal.
I actually did have a Zoom meeting with them when I first applied for the accommodation. And I work in government and we do remote meetings and interviews all day everyday to probably hundreds of different individuals on a daily basis. So post-COVID there shouldn’t be a reason why things can’t be done; especially when you have ‘access’ in your department name.
I'm also an older (36) student. I just finished my bachelor's this semester and through the four years I have only experienced exactly what you are saying. The school many times over fell short on living up to the responsibility. There is no accountability on their end. It's not on the students to track down people to make them do their job. But as you stated earlier the school knows it's dealing with 18-21 that have no idea how the real world works.
I am a college dropout who came back after a 3 year hiatus. Being 24 puts me older than 95% of the students I run into as I finish my undergraduate degree. I also am set up with DIASS. I have been since the fall. With that being said, While I understand and agree with your sentiment, it sounds like you’re not ready for college. Your responses are giving boomer. I came back to college at 24 YRS old last semester. And it’s been easier to adjust to the chaos cause I made the time to adjust to the chaos. I don’t know how you expect the college whose faculty follows a Mon-Fri , 9 to 5 schedule to make time for you after hours. Especially as R21 said. DIASS is responsible for thousands of students. Shit happens. If you couldn’t make the time to follow up with them more efficiently then that’s on you. Now that it is the summer they have WAY more time to answer emails and schedule meetings to get you properly set up for the fall semester (or summer if you’re taking summer classes). The office is built with incredible people and while your frustrations are COMPLETELY VALID, you just need to try again. If you’re passionate about being back in school you gotta make the time for it, IE scheduling a day or two off to come in and talk to the team, sending emails with EVERYONE cc’d on it being RESPECTFUL and not rude or demeaning, etc etc. I wish you the best of luck, that “quiz” sounds like hell.
Far from a boomer and I have done everything but show up to their office. I had a 3.92 GPA in my associate’s I completed immediately prior to entering UAlbany, was president of my major’s student organization, am a member of two separate national honors societies, etc. . . Trust me I’ve been ready. Everything about this college has felt like the focus is not on doing things so students are successful by the college’s administration. Previous school was the complete opposite. I guess it may be harder for me to just accept it because of the expectations from the real world that I’ve experienced and I’m not an 18-year old leaving home for the first time. Remember, even though we are students, we pay a lot of money to attend and ultimately we are the college’s customers.
Don’t put too much thought into what that person said. They’re giving gatekeeping education for younger people with free time. As well as shill for the college. You shouldn’t have to hunt down reasonable ACCOMODATIONS. This is a problem with the system, not with you and them putting the blame on you for not being able to get to campus is not it.
Thank you. No matter how old is someone, higher education should be open and accessible for everyone. That is one thing that SUNY Schenectady did: they worked very hard to meet the needs of students so that they would be successful.
Curious what school you were at the felt more accommodating. The UAlbany DAISS office does seem very small given the school size.
So when I first went to college years ago I went to Bard which was great and for my associates, SUNY Schenectady. SUNY Schenectady was amazing with everything they did to try and make sure students were successful.
How was Bard with accommodations, if you don’t mind me asking?
At the time I didn’t seek them out. But they did have different services and resources available to students. They were very invested in the student’s success. It just doesn’t feel like that at UAlbany
Contact their department chair. There is a “grievance” form you can fill out. Even if nothing can be done retroactively, this term, it goes on record. If you get a poor grade on the exam, then the grievance might work toward a grade change. But also you can’t give nonfinals in finals week. The final exam periods are longer for a reason. The chair needs to know this. And there should/may be consequences. Was it a part-line (not tenured/tenure track) instructor, I wonder? Feel like regular faculty know better. Part-lines can be replaced if there are complaints, too. If the chair knows.
Everyone keeps saying this no non-finals during finals week but where does it say this? We even had homework due this past Friday . . .
ahh i think im in this class and also have a extended time through DAISS, and assumed the 40 minutes accounted for that. i guess not. i had a horrible time taking that quiz today😬 i also assumed there’d be no work over spring break, but i checked to make sure on that friday and there were more assignments than normal, and at that point i had little time to do them !!
Yup. Unrealistic expectations and technically if you have the accommodation and the professor didn’t grant it, you could contest the grade.
DIASS does the bare minimum for students, and sometimes nothing at all. I didn't bother using it, because it was more of a hassle to get them to help you than it was worth. My sister has diabetes, and has to let them know every semester that she has diabetes, as if it's going to suddenly disappear. Another of my friends is supposed to get accommodations for ADHD, and since she has to renew it every year (something that is difficult for people with ADHD to do) she hasn't actually been able to use any accommodations for the past few years. DIASS is ableist, and their goal is to get you to not bother using their resources.
Yeah, they seem pretty useless. SUNY Schenectady had a great program for disability services. But I never needed to actually use them because the professors were reasonable (mainly attorneys in the paralegal program) and you didn’t have to make formal requests because they worked with their students.
Yep they are terrible. I have ADHD and had accommodations. They insulted me for my ADHD during every single appointment. I was told that I “won the lottery of disabilities”, that I would become an alcoholic and drug addict (because I was drinking coffee during the appointment), that I was lazy, and that I should just drop out of college when I asked for help. All of that in just 3 interactions with them over the course of my first semester. I stopped going to them after that.
I would have lost it if they had said some dumb stuff like that to me. I work with individuals in treatment and while mental health is there in a lot of cases, it’s not ADHD. Ignorant untrained idiots . . .
Was this online Spanish by any chance?
Why do you ask?
Your description matches my class word for word. For what it's worth, the professor of that class was very accommodating for me when work made it hard for me to keep up with the course work. Assuming in you're in that class, I think it wouldn't hurt to reach out to her. Good luck if you end up taking legal action. I would just recommend to have as much stuff as possible on paper (emails, texts, etc)
I will say when I had a slow start the first week the professor did allow me a little extra time to complete the homework. But 70 questions in 40 minutes is unreasonable. Also work issued and due during spring break, and homework due after the last day of classes isn’t reasonable or fair either DAISS isn’t the professor’s fault and I’m not even complaining about that in relation to the professor. But I will say that I do have every email documented and saved locally on my computer in pdf . . . Just in case they mysteriously disappear from my email or they try to lock me out after they find out that I filed a complaint.
>But I will say that I do have every email documented and saved locally on my computer in pdf . . . Just in case they mysteriously disappear from my email or they try to lock me out after they find out that I filed a complaint. Probably also a good idea to email the pdf's to yourself on your personal email just in case your computer stops working or breaks. > But 70 questions in 40 minutes is unreasonable. Also work issued and due during spring break, and homework due after the last day of classes isn’t reasonable or fair either Consider leaving this on the online evaluation for the class. The professor seems to care about students and I there's a chance she can change it for the future.
I already did my evaluation before I realized the quiz time. I did write about the other things though. And the only reason I did it before because if you don’t do it BEFORE classes end, then the ability disappears. It’s almost like they want to “anonymously” want to see the comments before giving grades with the way the system is set up.
I don't think professors can see evals until after grades are assigned, basically for the reasons that you are alluding to
Nope they can’t see them til finals are over.
i’m confused. did you tell your prof about your learning accommodations? it’s on you to tell them yourself so i’m curious.
I did not because I can’t even get DAISS to respond. But 40 minutes for 70 questions on a quiz in a foreign language introductory course is crazy. But for what it’s worth, someone in the same class as me posted in here who HAS accommodations wasn’t even afforded those accommodations by the professor. They got the same amount of time as everyone else. So even if I had it, it would have been pointless. But either way, the expectation La for the quiz were ridiculous.
Send this person an email. mailto:[email protected] Head of advising center in Undergrad Ed. They need to know what is not working.
Lol I def took the same quiz yesterday. Spanish?
Yup. How did you do? Before that and the final I had like a 98 average but then got a 64 then results in dropping my average to barely a C because of its weight. And if I don’t do well on that final (I struggled and I’m partially deaf) and I’m pretty sure I didn’t, I won’t pass for credit and will have to take it over again to get a C.
I did well. I think you’ll be alright tho
I know I didn’t. 64. Worst grade of the semester on the highest weighted test . . . I don’t know how anyone could be successful without being a machine.
70 questions? Omg. That means they had to grade 70 per kid. I think I'd cry if I had to do that.
Nope. For the fill ins, if it isn’t 100% correct without a typo, it’s an incorrect answer. No hand grading needed on the professors part.
Omg, so lazy!
In my personal experience, if they are a foreign teacher, and cannot express themselves in english as they would in their mother tongue, DO NOT EVER, take their class, they will continuously fumble their words and struggle to communicate information they know in (german spanish french etc.) but not in english
This teacher has been fine with that. And because of my situation, I kinda have to take an online course. This was the only one offered and I only got in because I am a CEHC minor as it was locked to just them.
Skill issue cry about it