What To Do When A Student Misses His Team Presentation?

Here’s a student issue I have not had before.  My students did their team presentations in class last night.  One student did not show up or call his team.  They tried frantically during the evening to call him as they presented last.  Finally they had to make their presentation without him.  One of the other students in class tells me afterwards that he did not show up for another presentation he was to make in a class the day before.

Today he emails his team members with a copy to me:

Hi everyone!! I hope our presentation went well. I apologize for not being able to present my portion. I know you don't want to hear a sob story but I would like to explain. On Tuesday, my car broke down and I had a new alternator installed; however, on my way to school, Wednesday night, my car stalled out again while driving. I must have some other electrical problems or maybe it wasn't the alternator to begin with. I don't know.  Unfortunately, I did not have my phone with me. I had my car towed and didn't get home until around 10:30 or so. Please find it in your heart to forgive me. Again, I am so sorry but this situation was out of my control!!! Good luck on the Final Exam....Thanks.

He then sends this email to me:

Good Morning Dr. Kirk!! I apologize for not being there for my team but my situation was out of my control. Since I researched and put together my portion of the written project, how many points will I receive towards the 100 pt total? Is there any way you could tell me how I stand in class as far as my grade. I am so worried about my grade and feel terrible!! Please advise what I can do!! I am so sorry Dr. Kirk!!!

My first inclination is zero points as the assignment was to make a team presentation on the topic, not just to research it.  And I saw how stressed he left his team mates.  They had to scramble to fill in his part.

Any thoughts from other teachers out there?  What would you do?  I'm also curious what my business readers think about this situation...what would happen if this scenario happened in your organization and an employee missed an important client presentation?

Comments

[Timothy Johnson]

Great post, Delaney. For my classes, it all comes back to the syllabus.

I make it clear to the team that everyone on that team receives the same grade. However, there is also a peer evaluation (worth 10% of the over all course grade). If a student fails his/her team, it can affect them by an entire letter grade depending on the team's reaction.

I also make it clear to teams that they can divide up roles appropriately. Some are better writers than they are presenters. Not everybody has to get up and talk. Learning how to effectively allocate resources is important.

Finally, I make it very clear in my syllabus that every team should have a backup plan and a risk mitigation strategy. Excuses the night of the presentation are not permitted.

These three things generally keep teams out of trouble on presentation night.

[Phil Gerbyshak]

From a business perspective, the answer is simple: did they make the sale or did they not make the sale? It's pretty much all or nothing in business. The only way to get a C would be if the client delayed making a buying decision and scheduled another meeting.

Now if the rest of the team delivered the presentation and this person helped in creating it, and the stated goal was a team presentation using this person's information, you could probably cut some slack. After all, the presentation was "delivered" just not by this student. The question could be asked "Did you buy it or or not?"

Tough call, no matter how you slice it.

[Delaney Kirk]

Thanks Phil and Tim for your input. It IS a tough call...I'll post on what I decided to do later today. Plus, I'm thinking about what additional info I need to put on my syllabus for next semester.