Avoiding Academic "Double Jeopardy": Exam, Attendance, and Academic Integrity Policy Changes • by Justin Turner, PhD (Associate Professor of History, Eastern)

The biggest changes I've made to my classes over the last ten years are in class policy and application.  So much of my original structure and approach came from my own college experience, which was at a four-year, on-campus, liberal arts college populated by "traditional" college-age students.  This resulted in much more of a "sink-or-swim" approach to student success in my early teaching career.  I thought my job was to teach community college students the same way I was taught—to expect the same results despite our starting from very different places.  

I've since learned better.  I now view the job as a bridge to the four-year, on-campus experience, rather than an attempt to replicate it.  To that end, I’ve changed several policies.  One example is in my exams. I've always had three major exams during the semester, but about five years ago, based on an idea from a colleague, I started dropping the lowest grade from students' final averages.  I had noticed that, particularly for first generation students, the initial exam often didn't go well.  Some students would withdraw immediately in fear of failure, others would show great improvement, but their final averages would still be weighed down by that first score, even though it didn't reflect where they were at the end of the semester.  Now, with dropping the lowest exam score, students get the benefit of a safety net, and a failing first exam score no longer seems like a death sentence.  I've been amazed at how many students have failed or nearly failed the first exam, but have gone on to earn A's in the course on the strength of their second and third exams. While there's something to be said for consistency, improvement is ultimately what we're after in education, isn't it?  

I've also changed how I use attendance.  Formerly, I would assign a portion of the grade to class attendance, and deduct points from students as absences accumulated.  Over time, I came to realize that this was essentially double jeopardy.  My exams very much reflect what we cover together in class, and students who miss class regularly (many of whom for reasons beyond their control) already have to work harder to stay on pace.  By also deducting points from their grade due to absences, it felt like I was piling on.  I've since switched from a punitive attendance policy to an incentive-based one.  Students with perfect or near-perfect attendance qualify for bonus points at semester's end, but there's no grade penalty for students with more absences.  Attendance has improved since I made this change a few years ago, as it seems the positive reinforcement of extra credit has been a better motivator than the negative reinforcement of deducted points.  Even better, students with extenuating circumstances who end up missing multiple classes can still get back on track and finish the course successfully.

I've also changed my approach to academic misconduct.  Again, my own college experience shaped my initial approach.  I went to a college with a very strict honor code; we faced expulsion if we were caught lying, cheating, or stealing.  Early in my teaching career, I insisted on the highest academic penalty allowed by Suffolk—class failure—and on the first offense.  While I still believe in the seriousness of academic misconduct, I've come to better understand that not all of our students understand this at first.  Though I've kept the threat of course failure intact in my syllabus, to hopefully convey this seriousness, for many years now I've given first offenders a stern warning and a zero on the assignment in question, but the opportunity to remain in the course if they pledge to do honest work going forward.  I've yet to have a student commit a second offense, which has been very encouraging, and a lot of good students who had a momentary lapse of judgement have avoided a permanent black mark on their transcripts.

I’ve found that all of these changes have benefitted the students and given them a better opportunity succeed in my class.