Putting A Grade On Professionalism In Class

I've had some issues this semester with getting students to come to class on time and to come back from break on time. Most of the students are good about this but a small percentage don't seem to get it and then are "surprised" at the end of the semester even though it says in my syllabus that excessive tardiness will result in the loss of points.

In the spring I've decided to approach this a different way. I'm making professionalism worth 5 percent of the students' total grade. I'm planning to put together a spreadsheet where I can check off those who engage in professional behavior as defined below. This includes stapling papers they are turning in to me instead of the "dog ear" approach.

As my students are mostly management majors, professionalism is a good skill to learn; however, I think it is important to any discipline. I'm planning to give them feedback after three weeks as to the number of points they've earned just by behaving as a professional would and am hoping this will encourage appropriate behavior for the rest of the semester.

The wording I'm planning to use is:

In the work world, professionalism is very important. We will follow that model in this class. This means on time attendance each class period, returning from breaks on time, turning off your cell phone, treating your classmates and professor with respect, and turning your work in on time (stapled if appropriate!). You may earn up to 5 points per class for professionalism.

Any thoughts from other professors? Have you tried rewarding for professionalism?

Comments

[richard]

The B-School here has instituted a student dress code for some courses, as well as internships etc., and of course the Law School has long had one for courtroom classes. I haven't heard if that has had an effect on professionalism in the classroom or not, but it should, by itself, raise the atmosphere a little.

Frankly, though, a little more professionalism from the faculty would probably go farther than a student dress code. Meetings now are routinely interrupted by faculty answering cell phones, wandering in and out of the room, etc.

Good luck--I'll be interested to hear your results!

[Dr. Delaney Kirk]

I agree, Richard. We are role models for our students. Yesterday I attended a graduation ceremony for my university and while all the business faculty looked very professional, I was a little surprised to see what some of the Arts & Sciences profs were wearing (maybe they had to do a little gardening on their way??)

[C Jongeward]

A grade for professional behavior in the classroom? I think this is a timely and terrific idea. There are a few college instructors in some poorly performing community colleges who have vague classroom rules printed in their course summaries. I am taking a class at a local community college where the instructor is not in control of her classroom. Students talk among themselves while the lecture is in progress, students come in late, leave early, and are regularly stepping out into the hall to make phone calls. It is a distracting atmosphere that is not mutually respectful. It burns me up when a student will sit right behind me in class and carry on a personal conversation with the student seated next to them. It's distracting, unprofessional, disrespectful of my student rights, and it's disrespectful to the instructor. My teacher needs to lay down the law instead of being so non-confrontational. It you don't post and enforce classroom rules, the students will assume that there really aren't any rules. Then the class becomes total bedlam. Thank you for sharing your terrific ideas with us on this forum.

[Dr. Delaney Kirk]

Many professors have policies on their syllabi but don't enforce these because they are uncomfortable with conflict. I agree with you that this is disrespectful, both to the professor AND to those students who want to learn. Thanks for commenting.