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16 replies

Need help - want to know how your colleges handle this

H HitaHomer1100+ posts
Son is playing at an average DI with average academics. Here is the situation: Some of the teachers will not excuse absences for baseball games. Son has a class that the entire grade is Friday quizes. He missed the friday before spring break and the teacher will not let him make up the quiz. He asked the teacher a week in advance if he could take the quiz before he left and the teacher said no. At this point it is not effecting his grade that much. But, his roommate is close to flunking a class b/c a teacher will not let him turn in work or make up work from the days missed for baseball. My son even asked the athletic academic advisor to talk with the professor of his class and the answer from the prof was "under no circumstances can he make this up". My concern is whether this is going to be an ongoing problem. Is he going to be a senior and not graduate b/c some teacher won't let him make work up etc. Both these boys are good students.

Has anyone else had this problem and how to handle it. Do you go to AD, Should the head coach handle it? Do we, as parents, step in and complain??? Any advice would be welcomed.
An expert at anything was once a beginner.
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EH Emanski's Heroes1,000+ posts
Going forward I would have your son work the advisors and athletic department before choosing which classes to take. It is often fairly well known which professors will work with athletes and which are less flexible. Avoid these situations if at all possible and if there is no way to avoid these professors, talk to them early to see what can be done. In my experience, most professors will let you take exams/quizzes early (although that's apparently not true in your case).
H Homerun041,000+ posts
I agree with RZ, have the Ath Dept handle it.

It does not help now. but the athletic advisor should have known about professors who don't support the athletic programs and hopefully you can avoid them or take the class during off season.

Communication with the professors early in the course is the key, if you find a professor who does not support the athletic schedule, pull out of the class early and find another class/professor that will.

Good Luck!
Last edited by Homerun04
CollegeParentNoMoreCollegeParentNoMore1,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:
Going forward I would have your son work the advisors and athletic department before choosing which classes to take. It is often fairly well known which professors will work with athletes and which are less flexible. Avoid these situations if at all possible and if there is no way to avoid these professors, talk to them early to see what can be done. In my experience, most professors will let you take exams/quizzes early (although that's apparently not true in your case).


I am in agreement here. The problem happened when the kid signed up for a Friday class - where was the counsler and the coach? I seriously doubt the AD will be able to do anything unless he/she has a good relationship with the particular professor and is willing to go to bat for the student.

Based upon my son's experience not all counslers and coaches are created equal when it comes to academic advising. Some schools do a great job while other schools make you wonder how they were able to tie their shoe laces.

My advice is to have your son drop the class or badger the professor, in a positvie manner, until he gives in.
Last edited by CollegeParentNoMore
H Homerun041,000+ posts
Early communication is the key!

You really can't avoid conficts with college baseball, with some programs playing Tues and Weds games and obviously Thursday travel days and Fri-Sat-Sun games, you are going to have conflicts.

Most classes are Tue-Thurs or Mon-Wed-Friday, so you are never going to avoid the conflicts, so you need to be up from with the professors and see if they will work with you way ahead of time or get out of the class.

My two cents...
RJMRJMHSBaseballWeb member since 2007
If classes are T-Th and M-W-F it's impossible to avoid having Friday classes. The player can't load up on T-Th. He has to be done with classes very early in the afternoon. When I played ball we were given lists of professors that were known to be sports unfriendly and those who were good to the athletes. There are professors who hate that athletics receive more visibility than academics in the community and take it out on the athletes.
Last edited by RJM
TPMTPMHSBaseballweb Member since 2003
This is a good topic, because it is a very important question that needs to be addressed during the recruiting process. That academic advisor should be aware of prof's requirements.

All student athletes need guidance in this area, if you find out the support isn't there, I would question the athletic program and their commitment to being a student first.

FWIW, when son was in school, he was only excused and allowed to make up work when he turned in a sheet to be signed that he would have to miss class for baseball. The sheet is returned to the academic advisor to know he had prior approval.
coach2709coach270910,000+ posts
Check in with the school and see if they have any type of policy towards athletes. My college had a policy that athletes were allowed to make up work if the athlete took care of it ahead of time. It's not real fair for one professor to have a set of rules that another professor won't but it's also college so they get to have more freedom in doing whatever they want.

Also, ask the other guys on the team and who they took.
H HitaHomer1100+ posts
Thanks for the comments. I was wondering if this was a problem elsewhere. Personally, I do not think the Academic advisor has done a good job in many aspects. And, it is very hard to get him. Son knew about this on Monday prior to leaving Friday and could never catch the advisor in his office - finally had to e-mail him. I agree, this guy should have a list of prof.s to avoid - no evidence that he does. Son had a big test in another class that same Friday but the prof. let him take it before he left. I agree that academics are important, but there is no away around it - if you are an athlete, you will miss some class.

Son did take a couple on-line classes thru his school. Basically you lon on and watch the lecture, turn in homework and take tests on line. He has deadlines, but there is some flexibility and he can watch lectures and read notes even when he is on the road. That also enabled him to get out of class earlier. That has been helpful.

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