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I was absent when the midterms were handed back for a course and now the semester is almost over but I need the midterm to study for the exam (as neither a copy of the test nor the solutions are available on the course website). I emailed the professor but he asked me to check with the TA and the TA says they are not going to be on campus. The exam is in a week from now.

What options do I have? Would it be helpful to for example contact the department chair or someone in authority even though there may be no obligation to return the exam or send a scanned copy?

blahdiblah
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    Is the exam in a university office? If so, a staff member could, with permission, deal with it. The professor could require the TA to take action also. – Buffy Apr 11 '22 at 20:19
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    It is good to make your question explicit here. I added my best guess. – Buffy Apr 11 '22 at 20:20
  • Usually the professors take it home but I am not sure and I can email them to ask if it is in a university office. –  Apr 11 '22 at 20:22
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    Did you ask for your own exam back, rather than just a copy of the exam? If you didn't explain the reason you wanted it, your professor may have assumed you needed your specific exam, which might not be something they can obtain. – Bryan Krause Apr 11 '22 at 20:50
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    I did not specify that. I would rather have my own exam but a copy of the exam or of the solutions would be helpful. But the exam was in person and they may object to sending a copy of it by email because it could be easily shared. –  Apr 11 '22 at 20:54
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    Does your class not meet again before the final? – Azor Ahai -him- Apr 11 '22 at 22:00
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    @user389532 It would be better not to assume that they are not willing to give a digital version. If they did not want the test questions to be easily shared, they would not have allowed students to take the exams home; it takes mere minutes for any student to scan/take pictures of the exam and share it with others (this happens extremely frequently). On that point and assuming it is not violating any policy, you could also ask classmates to see if any of them would be willing to send you a digital copy of their exam. Some would not be willing to do so, but there would be some who would. – 2ndQuantized Apr 13 '22 at 16:06

3 Answers3

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I was absent when the midterms were handed back for a course

This is not the fault of your instructor.

I need the midterm to study for the exam

You would like a copy of the midterm to study; you do not need it.

The exam is in a week from now

Presumably, you knew there would be a final exam when the course started, so this is not new information to you. Therefore the timing and the inability of your professor or TA to obtain your exam in that short time is not their fault.

Would it be helpful to for example contact the department chair or someone in authority even though there may be no obligation to return the exam or send a scanned copy?

No, I do not think that would be helpful, I think that would be incredibly rude. You are in a situation of your own making. You have a want, not a need, for access to your previous exam, which you are expressing far later than you should have if you thought this was necessary. There is a oft-repeated phrase that addresses this situation: "Poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine."

I don't think your professor or TA are doing anything intentionally to prevent you from accessing the exam. It seems that the copy of your exam, likely the only copy, is simply not in a location that either of them can access before your final exam, which is not surprising given the compressed time frame until your final, and the long time elapsed since the midterm.

I think it would be reasonable to let your professor know that the TA was unable to access your exam in time to help you study, and to ask instead for a fresh copy of the midterm, and perhaps note that you'd appreciate an answer key, too, if available. I think it's fine to CC your TA, too. It's more likely one of them has an easily-accessible copy of a drafted exam than your specific copy. I would recommend an attitude of appreciation for whatever they are able to obtain for you, and appreciation for their efforts to try to help even if they are unable.

Bryan Krause
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    How do you know there has been a "long time" since the midterm was returned? – Azor Ahai -him- Apr 11 '22 at 22:01
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    @AzorAhai-him- That's a good point, I don't know that for sure. – Bryan Krause Apr 11 '22 at 22:07
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    Seems a bit harsh. IMO the TA had a responsibility to make sure all were returned if any were. Perhaps the prof also. – Buffy Apr 11 '22 at 22:12
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    Contacting the chair might not imply a complaint & so not rude, but rather a request to see if a staff member can solve the problem. The chair has the authority to "make it so". – Buffy Apr 11 '22 at 22:15
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    @Bryan Krause I didn't say it's the fault of the instructor - I am not trying to assign blame but to know what can be done now. I had to self-isolate due to COVID symptoms and couldn't attend most in person classes. –  Apr 12 '22 at 00:17
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    @user389532 Understood; ordinarily, escalating a situation to a higher authority is done when you have a complaint to make. I disagree with Buffy that this is something done in the normal business of things, and I think even if you didn't intend it, it would be perceived as such. – Bryan Krause Apr 12 '22 at 01:11
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    Knowing that it's due to covid isolation, that's the sort of thing we need to work together to solve; covid isolation or rules may of course be why the TA isn't around. IMO that common difficulty is what you should base your approach on – Chris H Apr 12 '22 at 08:35
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    @Buffy What, they should send a lawyer to your door to force your exam into your hands and tell you that you've been served like in a movie? Or they should treat it like the nuclear football and carry it on their person at all times in case the OP calls for it? The OP had the opportunity to get their exam back before now. Given the relatively low consequences of this (OP will have to study out of the book?), this seems like a relatively mild lesson in being an adult. – user3067860 Apr 12 '22 at 14:51
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    @BryanKrause this is not an answer. It is simply you ranting about how it is his fault. Andrew did not ask you to tell him how he messed up. He asked how to get the midterm, so that he can study for the exam. – JoshL1516 Apr 12 '22 at 16:57
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    @JoshL1516 My answer is twofold, one "don't do" and one "do": 1) Don't escalate this as if it's your professor's fault, because without further information to the contrary I don't believe it is, and 2) Ask for an unmarked exam and/or key, because it's far more likely that such a document is easily accessible digitally. There is also a bit of implied advice 3) study for the exam without the midterm, as basing their study on the midterm is just a desire by the OP and may not even be the most effective way for them to study. – Bryan Krause Apr 12 '22 at 17:00
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    @user3067860 As I mentioned earlier I was unable to attend the classes and the midterm was handed back fairly recently. Also, there were no in person or virtual meetings with the TA (we could only get in touch with the TA by email) so there was only one opportunity to get the exam back, the day it was handed back. –  Apr 13 '22 at 00:22
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    @user389532 Those details are not mentioned in your question, and are still a bit vague ("fairly recently"?). – Bryan Krause Apr 13 '22 at 00:27
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    @user3867860 hits the nail on the head that this attitude from faculty and TAs toward students is meant - in a penalizing way - to "teach a lesson about being an adult". The irony is that if an adult missed an opportunity to obtain a document of importance and later requested it with a week to go, it would be unusual to be so uncooperative over the issue. This reads to me more like a TA being lazy than a student being irresponsible. – psithurism Apr 14 '22 at 20:53
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    @psithurism It's not clear to me that anyone is being uncooperative at all: the professor directed the student to the person who has the exams (TA), the TA will not be at the location where the exam is located during the next week. Consider that the TA is probably also a student and may also have exams occurring at the same time. They could also be traveling on business, pleasure, or family emergency. Could they have done something differently to prevent this situation from occurring? Yes. Is complaining to the department chair going to get OP their exam back? No. Do they need the exam? No. – Bryan Krause Apr 14 '22 at 21:16
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    @BryanKrause I agree that this isn't a situation that will be resolved by going above the professor's head. Whether the student does or does not need the exam is for the student to determine, but I see no reason not to take them at their word that they do need it (perhaps time management demands efficiency or they don't understand where their gaps in comprehension lie). It isn't that I think the professor is being uncooperative, but that the notion of "this is your problem and you'll be lucky if I lower myself to help you", is an uncooperative attitude. As is the TA offering no solution. – psithurism Apr 14 '22 at 21:23
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    @psithurism It's not punishment, it's just natural consequences. If you touch the hot stove you get burnt. If you leave something until the last minute then the person you need to do it might not be available at that time. Why is it somehow the TA's job to brainstorm ideas for fixing the OP's problem or be available on short notice? (Note that the OP doesn't need the midterm "within a week", the final is in a week. The OP needs the midterm in time to study for the final, so....) Does your bank or your doctor open on a day they didn't plan to because you need some document? – user3067860 Apr 14 '22 at 22:03
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    @user3067860 well, actually, both my bank and my doctor are available digitally any day of the week. Same for almost any service I pay for. TA-ing is a job, with a paycheck to match. In the real world where we adults live, sometimes work does require you to provide certain deliverables to your client and in this case the client is the student. Not to mention, the student was in Covid isolation. I guess we fundamentally disagree here, and it doesn't seem as if continued discussion is going to bring us to consensus. – psithurism Apr 14 '22 at 23:19
  • @Buffy, no, it is spot-on! I always have a statement in my syllabus that a student is responsible for any missed meetings or materials. They have to learn to take responsibility for their learning. – Debora Weber-Wulff Apr 15 '22 at 13:37
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    @psithurism Yes, being a TA is a job with a paycheck. When I was in graduate school, I was paid to work 20 hours ever week. It was made very clear to me that I shouldn't work more than 20 hours per week. Between instructional hours, office hours, grading, prep time, and meetings with faculty, my 20 hours often got eaten up pretty quickly. I was not (generally speaking) required to meet with students beyond the time already allocated for them. – Xander Henderson Apr 15 '22 at 15:47
  • @XanderHenderson And that time may be allocated between multiple courses. – Bryan Krause Apr 15 '22 at 16:21
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    @BryanKrause Exactly. I made my schedule available to my students at the beginning of the quarter. If they needed something from me, they could track me down during office hours (when I definitely could help them), or try to track me down before or after a class (when I may or may not have been able to help, as I might or might not have the papers they wanted in my possession). Outside of those hours, students might be able to track me down, but they should have no expectation that I am available, that I have any obligation to help at that time, or that I have what the need in that moment. – Xander Henderson Apr 15 '22 at 16:25
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I would email the professor and CC the TA, say that you checked with the TA but unfortunately they won't be on campus, is there another solution? At that point, the professor will decide between different options, such as (a) finding someone else who can help, (b) asking the TA to go to campus, (c) telling you that you're out of luck. At least by having both of them on the same email, you put all the information and relevant people in one email thread, which increases the chance you will get a definitive response (even if it is not the one you want).

I wouldn't try to go "above" the professor. This is an administrative issue that the professor can handle. Trying to involve the department head is very unlikely to change the outcome, other than making your professor annoyed. (Unless there's some written department policy about you being entitled to get your midterm back before the final exam -- but even then, try to resolve it with the professor teaching the course first.)

Of course this doesn't help in this situation, but for next time you should be proactive about getting the exam back earlier if you were absent the day the exams were handed back in class.

Andrew
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    You're cutting it fine for time (hence why it's important to be proactive), but an option (d) could be to get the TA to post it to you if they have it with them off-site – Chris H Apr 12 '22 at 08:32
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    Involving the department head in a minor administrative problem (which was largely caused by you) does seem like a great way to burn through some goodwill ... – xLeitix Apr 13 '22 at 15:43
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    This is the way I'd recommend, as well. You could also offer to pick the exam up at the TA's residence, in a pinch. If your instructor and TA remain uncooperative, I'd suggest reaching out to your classmates to see if anyone would share their copy so you can study. – psithurism Apr 14 '22 at 20:46
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Another option is to contact some of your classmates, preferably ones who know the material well and did well on the midterm, and ask if they would be willing to share their exam with you. That should be about as useful to you as having your own exam back.

Good luck!

Dan Romik
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