Failing a college class

[ACG]

I am going to fail macroeconomics. The final is Tuesday night. I will fail even if I get an A on the class.

Should I take the final?

I know if I take it again I will do fine. I work 40+ hours of a week, have children. I would have struggled with this class even if I had taken it at the age of 18 or 19. It just isn't my subject and more importantly it is the type of class that takes a lot of concentration for me.

It is a necessary class so I will have to take it again.

[goldfinch]

It would be good if you could avoid having the fail on your transcript. Any way to drop the class at this point? Another thing to do is talk to the instructor and ask if you should take the final as life intervened you are are going to fail the class anyway. If you ordinarily couldn't drop the class maybe the instructor could intervene to let you. I have this vision of the instructor letting you drop the class if you pass the final.

[ACG]

You can not drop a class during finals week, this week.

The instructor will not intervene. Not his personality. And as a side note, why should he? People should know there isn't always a safety net out there.

As a side note I am going to night at school. Have a good job in management, lots of job experience, just no degree.

[westtexas]

If you have to take the class again, and it will be the same professor next time, I would take the final. That way you can get a rough idea what questions the prof likes to ask and in what manner. It's like taking a practice SAT or LSAT or NAVLE or whatever. Use it as a tool to find where your weaknesses are, that way when you take the class again you know exactly what you need to study up on and when you need to ask questions. Also, if you study hard for the final and shoot for that A, imagine how much easier the class will be next time around because you've already committed that information to your brain.

[badger]

this is going off on a tangent a bit, but I have noticed a couple of my friends who feel they are somehow at a disadvantage or inadequate for not having a degree, even though they are both in well-paid jobs. I keep telling them that a degree isn't necessary, but they both regret not having pursued a degree.

I'm the opposite. I have a degree but stuck in a dead end job.

[shootingstar]

Well, true a degree isn't everything.

It's what one does from the degree onward, the taken for granted discipline of studying for 3-4 years and graduating. They are still good skills for life.

I currently work for a large municipality and many employees for internal emails, have with their electronic signature, their job positon, dept. ...and their degree initial.

OUr organization is so big that one is not certain of other people's area of expertise.

It makes some difference in our organization.

I had the strange experience of dealing with an employee in our dept., where I was trying tactfully to document/report service statistics..etc. She absolutely refused. She was doing a great job, pulling in revenue for our dept. but we needed actual service counts to do future service staff forecasting and work volume planning. I explained this and also gave examples from other organizations.

I've neve had this response ..at all from other staff in other organizations for the past 25 yrs. I have worked for over 8 different employers.

All of these other staff were formally trained/educated in (in libraries, engineering, etc.). They all knew the value of documenting service statistics. How valuable to track customer feedback, etc. This is taught formally taught in coursework and demonstration how a dept. must survive with objective data.

This person had only high school level education. I found later ...long after she left our organization from my manager. It explains alot of unfounded fears.. (our dept. is growing, so she had no reason to fear....) I may be wrong but conducting survey tools and quantitative research analysis with collected primary info. is learned AFTER high school in coursework.

By the way, my manager had advised strongly that she take some formal coursework. She refused.

[Owlie]

I hated econ.
I would say that you should take the final. If it's the same professor (or if it's taught so that all instructors use the same material and exams), then you know what to expect next time. Also, it shows that you tried hard, and professors like that.

*And yes, I've been there. I failed calc II the first time I took it. I needed a 99% on the final to get a D... The second time I finished the class with only a couple percentage points shy of an A.

[malkin]

You sound very level headed and 'grown up.' I was neither of these as an undergrad or grad student. (and probably not now either, if you get right down to it)

I think you'll be fine whether you take the final or not, but getting a look at it seems like an advantage if you'll be taking the class again.

[szsz]

The instructor will not intervene. Not his personality. And as a side note, why should he? People should know there isn't always a safety net out there.

I love that you said this. Many of my students don't have this understanding and as a prof of a "gateway" class it is an important lesson to learn before the stakes get higher.

Take the final. It shows that you care and it gives you good experience.

[soprano]

You need to check the academic policies at your institution. At many schools, if you retake a course, the final grade for that class that will be shown on your transcript will be altered to show the better grade.

Go and talk to an academic advisor or your dean. Be honest about your situation and don't cry or tell a sob story. If something came up during the semester that prevented your from turning in your homework or studying enough (like a sick kid, injured spouse, increased hours at work, etc.) you might be able to ask for an "Incomplete" grade that would give you more time to turn in assigned work. The thing here is that if you need help, you have to ask. The worst thing that anyone will say is "no."

And, if you fail a class, it's not the end of the world. If your other grades are good, one failing grade will not ruin your transcript, especially if you retake the class and get a better grade. If you are already working in your field, future employers may or may not even be interested in your transcript or GPA. They want to see that you've finished the degree.

Either way, show up and take the final. Adult students stand out from the crowd, and professors talk to each other. You don't want to be the student who they remember because she gave up when the going got tough.

[Catrin]

You might even surprise yourself and not fail the test Regardless, your best bet is to show up and take the test. It will give you a leg up for the next time you take it and it does look good that you put forth the effort. I am sure that all professors appreciate adult students...

[pll]

My advice, as many here, would be to take the final. Failing a class is not the end of the world (I have done it) and many faculty members, if not all, have the greatest respect for people taking classes and working a full time job.

A degree might not be everything, but it can help in promotions. It is also a personal accomplishment one can be proud of. ACG: I'm sure you will ace the class next term.

[jusdooit]

Definitely take the final. And yes even study for it. It is easy to get overwhelmed as an adult student, sometimes other life responsibilities can make it difficult to study. You don't say how many hours you're trying to carry but, I would also try to retake the course when I can take it alone. That way you'll be able to really concentrate on what is a difficult course for you.
Hang in there..........it's worth it. I got my B.S. at the age of 43. No regrets.

[Crankin]

My son walked in graduation in May 2005, with one class left to take. He had a decent job waiting. He was in an apt. and working in the city, 4 days after he came home. He signed up for an on-line course to finish, during the next fall semester. At this point, he had around a 3.6 average. He had taken an on line class during the previous January term, while he was commuting back and forth between home and Amherst and he got an A.
He failed the class. He just didn't do some of the work; the allure of the working life/having fun was too much. I was furious and refused to pay for another course. He let another semester and summer go by, and we were increasingly concerned he would never graduate; but he signed up to take intro to exercise physiology on line in the Fall of 06, and he managed to pass that, I think with a B. He finally got his diploma in February, 2007 and he still graduated with honors. He got a new job in Sept. 2010, and I don't think the F hampered him in any way. So, I doubt this would affect you.

[shootingstar]

Obviously this is a mandatory course, AG. Best of luck.

I nearly failed my first year economics course, it was mandatory.

What really ticked me off, was that I had to repeat lst year French at university because 2nd university couldn't accept my mark and course content from the lst university when I transferred between 2 universities after 2nd yr. It was mandatory to have foreign language to graduate with English degree. (It's actually an excellent requirement for deepening linguistic and literary appreciation.)

But what did I get out of it? By some miracle I did pass the federal govn't exam for French written skills at the basic level.....25 yrs. later. It was several hrs. long. I did some few days of studying prior to test.

I must have remembered something.