Counseling Students
Is it ever acceptable to stop attempting to reach a student who is in crisis or risk of failing?
I agree that it is appropriate to try to continue to contact the student. I find that if the student knows that you are understanding and flexible and will work with him/her that the student seems to want to continue with the course and complete it.
Pam,
Personally I would say if the course is 50% complete than that is too late. It should be up to your school's policy on the matter. I would think somewhere between 10-25% of the course has passed would be the max. anything over that is too much. They miss more than the content, they miss the interactions, etc. Although this could differ with different courses, schools should have clear policies on this matter.
Herbert Brown III
I tried for weeks to contact a student. I had no luck. In week 4, the student contacted me stating that they had been out of the country and wanted to try to catch up. How late is too late to begin the course. This was an 8 week course.
kelia,
You will get many answers here, but as an educator I personally believe you should continue to try to reach them. Sometimes there are alternative offices (registrar, financial aid, central advisors, etc.) that can help you to reach these students. Many times they have personal life issues that arise that cause them to drop off and you might not hear from them again. If you continue, even once a week, to try to contact them in a non-obtrusive way then they know you care about them and are trying to help. The acceptance of that help is up to the student.
Herbert Brown III
