Question on grading

[Darth Rosie]

Hey there EWR -- and also Elenasaur! -- , thank you for responding so fast. I polished the translation a bit, it was rather bumpy, I admit, so thank you for pointing that out! Actually she is being paid for writing her PhD and attending these seminars (such as mine) and she wants me not to grade her because she does not want to get a negative grade. But only when grading her I get paid for the work I invested in her paper.

OK, don't want to sound too whiny Thanks again!

[Talkie Toaster]

Just grade the paper, your student needs to learn that sometimes you can't have life handed to you on a silver platter and also it is your money that you lose out on if you don't grade it you spent your own time into this student who then turns around and tries to take money out of your pocket because they are worried about a bad grade. Just grade the paper and get paid for the hard work you invested with this person.

[drusillacakes]

From what I gather, it seems like her intention is to avoid conflict and find a nice way of telling you she's just not going to do what you asked. That said, she's a grown-up, and she's being paid to write her PhD and attend your seminar, so she should think of this as a job. But out of curiosity, what would happen if you didn't grade her? I don't know anything about PhD programs, but I know it's possible in some graduate classes to take an incomplete if the circumstances call for it, and complete it at a later date. Could this be a possibility for her? If it affects you negatively however, I think you should just give her the grade and and let her know. It's nothing personal, and especially if your scholarly reputation is on the line, then you really don't have time to coddle her.

[Darth Rosie]

Thank you all for your input! Actually it would not be completely legal not to grade her, because she did take the course so she should also get a grade. Although individually, of course, I would be able to sign her off. This, however, would be a rather problematic precedent: You fail, you don't get a grade, cause we're oh so nice. It's a question of being responsible for your actions. Does this answer your question, drucillacakes?

We (the board of the PhD-program) decided that we will try to convince her to make the adaptations to her paper. Let's see whether somebody who is not me is able to do that.

And since yesterday I was informed that the sister of my girlfriend has a rather aggressive breast cancer somehow this problem was decimiated in its importance.

Again, thanks you all, it is very helpful to get your feedback.

[Shane]

Sorry to hear about your girlfriend's sister. I hope she fights through.

About that student, I thought she was new to university or something. I hope she's not getting an advantage over the other students, like an extended deadline or something. And I totally get your frustration - she's such a weirdo. (I like her!)

[Skytteflickan88]

No wonder you're pissed.

As the others have said; do your job, grade the paper, get paid, hope she learns to do her job properly.

How did she land that job with this lack of work ethic? She must be a smooth talker. I almost believed her letter, but I think it might just be brownnosing.

Care less about her, more about your family. Easier said than done, I know.