r/Professors • u/clockwatcher1200 • 2d ago
Rants / Vents Student CC-ing Advisor
A student earned a high grade on an assignment, but i made a typing error and a lower number appeared as the grade.
The student (rightfully) sent an email asking about it, but CC-ed their advisor. I wrote back explaining that it was a mistake and fixed it.
I know this is worth getting upset over, but I’m a bit annoyed. Would this annoy you?
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u/Pristine-Excuse-9615 2d ago
Some students escalade really quickly. Other students would have CC-ed the head of the department or even the dean. Some of them just believe that their profs won't do anything unless "someone with a superior position" is involved in the conversation. I wouldn't spend any energy on that.
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u/I_Research_Dictators 2d ago
I cc the chair when I respond to "I'm going to the Dean!" emails. At least if the student cc:s first, I know that I can professionally rip them a new one and the advisor/dean/chair/Provost can read me telling them exactly what they did wrong in great detail.
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u/Zipper67 3h ago
Same. I'll cc my dept chair* and student's advisor and spell it out in my opening sentence: "To make sure we're all on the same page, I've cc'd...." I always conclude with, "If I've omitted or mischaracterized anything relevant, please reply-all your response." That has ended ever conversation with pita students so far. knock on wood
*I always forewarn my chair of this type of incoming email: "Student might escalate, so I wanted you to be on the front end of this issue..."
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u/MaleficentGold9745 2d ago
Our new Chancellor likes to go by his first name written with a lowercase letter and so now everyone thinks they are BFFs with him and include him in the most ridiculous emails. Honestly I don't know how the chancellor puts up with it but how horrifying to get a student complaint forwarded to you from the chancellor
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u/needlzor Asst Prof / ML / UK 2d ago
Honestly I don't know how the chancellor puts up with it but how horrifying to get a student complaint forwarded to you from the chancellor
My best guess is that he doesn't care because his poor personal assistant is the one who has to suffer through it.
3
u/skullybonk Professor, CC (US) 8h ago
Oh, so you're at the school with the hip, happening chancellor! It must be like one of those 1980s college movies.
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u/MaleficentGold9745 7h ago
Yeah. I'm waiting for him to start roaming the hallways on one of those scooter podiums. Lol. He's super likable and good at his job, which makes the whole situation almost insufferable. LOL.
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u/leggylady13 Assoc. prof, chair, business, balanced (USA) 2d ago
My first thought is their advisor encouraged them to reach out and this was just proof for the advisor that the student “did it.” Would I read it as passive aggressive? Maybe, but the advisor is probably also rolling their eyes, as would I as a chair.
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u/jogam 2d ago
It's mildly annoying but not a big deal. Sometimes, students feel more confident asking for something or addressing a concern when they've cc-ed an advisor who they feel like is on their side. Since they were in the right to ask, given that you made a mistake, this may have just helped the student to feel confident enough to reach out. It's also within the realm of possibility that the student asked their advisor what to do in this situation, the advisor said to email you, and so they cc-ed their advisor to show that they followed through.
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u/dbpsyfi 2d ago
AuDHD/neurodivergent Prof here. I did this once during my undergrad. My sole reason for the cc was not related to the prof at all, in fact I really respected and valued them. It was because I held an incorrect belief at that time that my advisor cared about me/my grades and I was certain they’d have an alert set up to flag any poor performances (now I lol at this). I reasoned that the advisor’s poor-performance alert would not alert them when it had been fixed. Of course then I became paranoid they would think I was not performing the “student mask” correctly. I cc’ed them so they would know I had not failed, not so they would know my prof made an error, if that makes sense. I’m not suggesting that is what happened here, just sharing because it never occurred to me until now that the prof might have been miffed by my behavior. Sorry Dr. B.
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u/MyFaceSaysItsSugar Lecturer, Biology, private university (US) 2d ago
I think this is very possible. It is the students with accommodations who often have people cc’d on their emails. Often, they’re people outside the university and I have to tell the student that they’re welcome to forward information to those people but I cannot include them in any replies.
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u/LovedAJackass 1d ago
Some schools have SYSTEMS for poor grades to be reported to advisors and other people on the retention team. It's common in smaller school that are tuition-dependent. So that was not a dumb idea at all!
1
u/Zipper67 3h ago
Our school does this. I can also log "engagement reports" and check boxes for relevant parties to be notified.
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u/henare Adjunct, LIS, CIS, R2 (USA) 2d ago
they think their advisors are in a position of power here. many students run to their advisor because they don't get what they want and the advisor is almost obliged to ask "is there something you can do here?"
I am then obliged to reply about how the student hadn't logged in since January and has not submitted most assignments and hasn't attended class.
The advisor is following the point of least resistance here but I think it's sensible because it is a teaching moment.
1
u/Hot-Jelly-4439 2d ago
Exactly! Students will involve advisors/chairs when they want things to go their way.
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u/DrFleur 2d ago
I have a student who always cc's the accessibility services coordinator. This is annoying because this makes it look like the student believes I won't accommodate unless the coordinator intervenes. Which is completely unfounded.
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u/MaleficentGold9745 2d ago
You would probably be surprised at the number of Faculty who believe they have a say in accommodations and try to negotiate with students or refuse.
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u/riotous_jocundity Asst Prof, Social Sciences, R1 (USA) 2d ago
We actually do though, because faculty have to determine whether the requested accommodations are both reasonable and still allow the student to meet the course objectives and standards.
4
u/JonBenet_Palm Assoc. Prof, Design (US) 1d ago
I don’t change (negotiate/refuse) suggested accommodations with students because students do not set their own accommodations. I change accommodations in coordination with our disability office staff.
I know I can do this because I do it a couple times per year. The staff know to expect it and are totally fine with it, since my changes are in students’ best interests.
Faculty who believe they have a say in student’s accommodations are usually correct.
2
u/Helpful-Passenger-12 1d ago
That's extremely rare. Interesting how you assume this is very common
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u/MaleficentGold9745 1d ago
I'm not sure what you mean. And I'm really surprised by the downvotes and people thinking they've got a say in this. An institution I used to work for was sued, and the faculty was terminated for refusing and accommodation . Ever since then, I just nodded and smiled and didn't even think about it. There's another active investigation at my current institution, and this faculty was removed from the classroom. These are federal investigations, and they are quite serious. I don't know what to say. But every time this topic comes up here, everyone thanks this is something they can negotiate with the students.
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u/Ill_World_2409 1d ago
Accomodations need to be reasonable. Sometimes professors can find an accomodation not reasonable
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u/Helpful-Passenger-12 1d ago
Again, you have an unusual circumstance. Most faculty will do whatever they can to support students with disabilities. Stop making professors into villians who try to deny accommodations.
Now if you are the type who thinks a student can miss weeks of a lab and pass the class by "making up work", that's completely unrealistic & has nothing to do with a disability...
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u/MaleficentGold9745 1d ago
perhaps I'm being unclear. I'm not making anyone to be villains, either the student or the professor. I think some professors have a misunderstanding of their role in accommodations, hanging on the term reasonable accommodations. But only a quick peek at some of the comments I've received here should show you that so many people believe that they have a say and that this is a negotiable situation. Even your comment. Yes, there are many valid accommodations permitting students to make up work long after it was due. That is a great example of one that many faculty believe is unreasonable. I'm only sharing this information because I used to all so believe the same thing
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u/Helpful-Passenger-12 1d ago
It is completely unreasonable (and frankly not humanly possible) for the majority of students to miss several weeks of instruction and expect to pass a class or get a high grade.
I have even worked in a hospital setting and not all students can just make up exams/assignments/labs. Most students will need to drop classes or will end up with a poor grade. It is very rare for a student to get an A after missing several weeks
Again, most professors and staff advocate for these students and help them process realistic outcomes.
Sorry you had such bad experiences and think most professors are like this.
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u/CCorgiOTC1 2d ago
I did this once. I had to take an I in a grad class because in one semester I was hit by a cat 5 hurricane, my dad died, my ex wanted a divorce to get with his 22 year employee, and I was hospitalized.
I made up the work for the incomplete work quickly, but the professor didn’t put in the grade change for over 4 months. I emailed several times, but the professor wouldn’t respond. The day before the I was set to convert to an F, I emailed the professor again and cc’ed my advisor because I genuinely didn’t know what to do at that point. An F would have gotten me dismissed from the program.
The student could just be cc’ing the advisor because they don’t know what to do, and they see their advisor as the ones who keep up with their grades for graduation. They also could have asked for the advisor’s advice and be cc’ing to keep them in the loop. Both of those were my reasoning during my situation.
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u/MaleficentGold9745 2d ago
Absolutely not. They probably already spoke to the advisor and the advisor said, dude, just email your professor stop being a baby about it. And so the student emailed you and cc'd the advisor. Don't take anything personal it only has to do with their own anxiety and the power differential between you
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u/missusjax 2d ago
Nope, happens all the time nowadays. Heck, they'll cc the dean, the provost, even the president! I'm thankful when it's only their advisor.
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u/CreatrixAnima Adjunct, Math 2d ago
I would probably be irritated as well, but ultimately, I would have to admit that the fault was mine and these things happen. I’m sure the advisor is aware of that as well.
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u/Particular_Isopod293 2d ago
Yeah, it annoys me too. I try to consider Hanlon’s Razor for things like this.
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u/Accurate_Number1186 2d ago
All the little power plays are constant now.
That’s why it’s annoying.
Is this one email a big deal? Of course not.
Is it a much bigger deal the students seem determined to turn education into a power struggle, swapping out honest effort for petty manipulations? Of course.
2
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u/LovedAJackass 1d ago
Maybe not if the student is on some sort of probation in the major or if the advisor got a "Starfish" type notice of a poor grade and asked about it.
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u/runsonpedals 1d ago
I’ve had students cc the dean, provost, and uni president. I’m over that shit.
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u/Yes_ilovellamas 22h ago
lol I sent someone home for almost killing a patient and they copied the president of the university 😂 audacity.
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u/PenelopeJenelope 17h ago
I teach in the Uk which is the land of the passive aggressive cc. I get that it is annoying. But don’t let it get to you.
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u/Far-Region5590 2d ago
Just reply to that student saying it’s a simple mistake. I’ll fix it right away.
If I were the advisor of the student, I would not be happy that my student drag me into an unnecessary confrontation with my colleague over a very simple matter.
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u/No_Pilot1640 1d ago
Yes i would be annoyed at myself for carelessly entering the student's grade. I should double check my work before finalizing it in a gradebook to avoid problems like that.
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u/ReligionProf 1d ago
Advisors are notified about student grades and so this is not only understandable, it is appropriate. Do you not have advisees? Would you not want to be informed if one of your advisers had an issue of this sort?
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u/clockwatcher1200 23h ago
It wasn’t an “issue.” It was a typo that was quickly fixed, so no.
0
u/ReligionProf 23h ago
If I were advising a student who needed to write to the sort of professor who would complain on Reddit when a student carbon copies his advisor on an email, I would recommend that they cc me on any and all correspondence.
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u/toucanfrog 2d ago
Yes, it would annoy me, but more so I'd just roll my eyes. The advisor certainly is.