“I’m a professor at a relatively big university in the UK. I co-teach a first-year undergraduate class with a colleague that runs for the entire year across two terms in which I teach for the first term and he teaches for the second (this is normal in the UK). After I was done teaching my portion of the module (what they call courses here), I had a student come to my office during hours with a dilemma.
She said she was having a hard time understanding and processing all the course materials. I asked her if she had done any of the required readings or come to my lectures so I could figure out what she might’ve missed and she said she had done none of the readings and hadn’t come to any of my lectures. When I asked her why she said she was dealing with clinical depression in her first year and that she wasn’t able to attend because of it.
I also dealt with depression when I was an undergraduate and I know how debilitating it can be. I asked her how she felt I could best help her and she said the most important thing to her was passing the course, specifically the end of the year exam that she felt she wasn’t prepared for. Note that at this point the exam was a full 5 months away. Specifically, she asked for a ‘special’ reading list with ‘all the important’ readings on it to help her prepare. Now, the bog-standard response to a student request like this is to say that all the readings in the booklet (what they call the syllabus here) are important.
She more or less told me she wanted a more specific reading list that covered what would be on the exam, which only I know. Keep in mind that the booklet has readings specifically listed in terms of their importance and essentiality to the course.
I felt it wouldn’t be fair to the other students if I gave this student a more specific guide to the course even if she was having mental health issues, because, for all I know, many of my other students might be having the same issues but didn’t ask. In addition, reading stuff ‘just for the exam’ does not build the context necessary for understanding the course material as a whole and I was doubtful that a more specific reading list would help her perform better on the exam. So I said I couldn’t do that for her but I could help her by putting in extra time, through email, meetings, or Skype to talk her through the stuff she might be struggling with in order to get her caught up. I also told her to see if she couldn’t get a mental health concession to potentially make things easier on her, either by extending the exam or giving her more exam time or something.
She seemed upset when I made her this offer and left my office. I’m 99% sure I’m going to get a negative student evaluation from her. Yet, I felt as though I was as helpful and as sympathetic to her issues as I could be while considering the ethical limitations of the help I could give. AITJ?”
Another User Comments:
“NTJ. You did exactly the right thing. You don’t change the course for someone who needs accommodations, and you certainly don’t give them hints as to what will be on the exam. But you do follow your institution’s policy (which you did by suggesting she seek the appropriate concessions, which are usually to extend deadlines or exam time).
Your course, and all accredited courses, would mean nothing if we let people with impairments just pass them with less work, instead of actually supporting them to get the needed work done in a different way (more time, more support, a special room for exams with fewer distractions, etc). Otherwise, you would be essentially lying: giving a passing grade to someone communicates that they learned the material to a certain degree, so don’t give it if they didn’t.
Also, it is not your call to determine what level of accommodations she needs, or other students need them as well or even more than her. That’s why institutional policies exist. You aren’t her psychiatrist or therapist.” marktwainbrain
Another User Comments:
“No jerks here.
If the student gives you a bad review because of this, then my assessment would be NTJ.
Clinical depression… sucks. On top of that being a student, they may not have the perspective to understand why you can’t give them what they are asking for.
IMO your offer was above and beyond. You didn’t just offer what is essentially a sheet (which as you pointed out wouldn’t actually help) you offered to help them with understanding the material.
I hope they seek accommodations from the university, including a late withdrawal if appropriate. (I had that happen – a specific office at the University requested a withdrawal after the usual date because of the student’s MH; they just needed my signature to approve it. Of course, I signed it.)” Kettlewise
Another User Comments:
“NTJ — Simply telling her what’s going to be on the exam isn’t gonna do her any favors long term. I hated doing the readings in university but did well just from attending lectures. Are the lecture notes available online? If she focuses on just those, for instance, she might be able to pass.
Depression is debilitating, but as a teacher or professor, you can only provide so much help without it being unfair to the other students. Suggesting she focus on lecture notes, or a couple of the more essential texts in the booklet might help her on her way, as executive dysfunction can often be part of depression, so she simply doesn’t know where to begin, and instead ends up not doing anything at all.” giovannisguillotine
