A tenured professor at a college in Alabama sends this:
In my office today were three junior football players, all recent flunkies of my freshman level course.
Because of these Fs, all three are facing eligibility problems. (I go to 2-3 games each year, and have nothing against athletes.) They all face these eligibility issues because they only register for 12 hours a semester, and with my F, they now are below the athletic cutoff. This is supposed to be my problem.
In the 2 1/2 years they've each been on campus, they have a total of 60 hours each. They are a hair under halfway through a degree, and not even on target to finish in 5 years. Of course, that's impolitic for me to point out, but nevertheless they were in my office exactly 30 seconds afer the athletic advisor called me to tell me they HAD to pass; it wasn't something that the program or the athletes could accept.
#1 ended up with a 44 average. D is a 60, C is a 70. #2 had a 50. And #3 had a 15. Student #3 was a mystery to me when he walked in, as my records show he attended 5 of my 30 meetings, each time appearing on a quiz day and scoring the occasional right answer.
Where, oh where, am I supposed to find the extra points? Where am I supposed to draw the line?
