Student excuses show poor time management

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by Aksinya Kichigina 

Reporting Correspondent 

akichigi@jccc.edu

Forgetfulness, parking struggles and illness, whether real or fabricated, are the most common excuses that faculty members hear from the students who are late, miss deadlines or are absent from the class. Jeffrey Couch, the program director for the Global English Institute, shared the most popular excuse that he has heard from students of his class.  

“I think the most common excuse is sickness. Whether somebody is telling me the truth or not, the fact is that they get six absences, which are equivalent to two weeks of class. And I think it is very generous and fair,” Couch said.

Couch feels sympathy during extreme circumstances. However, no matter what a student’s excuse is, Couch again reminds them about the fact of having six days of absence.  

However, there are some other interesting excuses that students make in order to avoid any penalties from the instructor. Adjunct Associate Professor of English Susan Peters shared a story about a student who found an excuse of not completing a test on time.  

“I had a student this morning who said that he went up there to a testing center but did not have his student ID, so they did not let him take the test,” said Peters. With Peters, if a student misses a test, the student has a week to get to the testing center and take the test. If they fail to do that, the student receives a zero.

Even students admit that sometimes, the reasoning they give professors may not always be truthful. Student Sam Moore has given fictional reasons to professors in the past.

“Usually I say that I forgot or I have a family member who is sick, like a cousin or nephew, and I have to take care of them,” Moore said. He also mentioned that the reasons he provides usually are not real, and that the reasons are convincing and typically won’t be questioned too deeply.

Excuses that students usually come up with also might relate to time-management skills. Some students are not familiar with the proper way of managing their time during the school year, and they might forget about their homework or become distracted with something else. Mariella Rainwater, adjunct assistant professor at the Academic Achievement Center, helps students plan and regulate their time during the week.

“It is important to manage your time so that you can complete everything you need to get completed — your homework, work, outside things that you are doing. All of these things take time, and if you don’t plan appropriately, you won’t be able to finish,” Rainwater said. “I believe that proper time management does lead to success. And if you don’t have enough time to manage work and how many hours you are taking, you won’t succeed.”

For more information regarding the Academic Achievement Center, visit their website or visit OCB 304.

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