Feb 10 2009
Student Disappearing Acts
Too often, online college students suddenly disappear from their classes for several weeks and suddenly reappear. Keep in mind that if you do this you might not get a warm welcome back.
Why disappearing acts are unwelcome:
- It’s unprofessional. Would you disappear from your job without giving any notice or explanation for weeks without telling your boss? Probably not. So don’t do that discourtesy to your instructor.
- Illness is seldom a good excuse. Unless you’re in a coma, you should find a way to get an e-mail or voicemail message to your instructor. In emergencies, even a friend or family member can write a note to your instructor or advisor.
- It’s impossible to make up the work. Students who disappear for one third of the term will find that it’s impossible to make up that amount of work. So don’t try it. If you’re unlucky enough to get seriously sick, drop the class and re-take it.
- It disrupts the class momentum. Many classes have group assignments and workshops. Students who come and go without notice are hard to integrate into those assignments.
- Learning is a process. If you miss a significant portion of the class, you often miss the building blocks to things that come later in the term. Coming into the class in the middle of things completely undermines the system that’s been carefully developed for optimal learning.
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