It's past midterm — are you keeping up with your schedule? Sure, you might be running at full-steam, but are you set to reach each station (module) on time? Time management is a crucial part of the educational process.
Remembering that education is a process — not a destination — is a crucial element to keep in mind.
If you're behind on your assignments, what do you do? If the train is leaving the station, but you're late to arrive on the platform, is it reasonable to expect that you'll be on it? We're here to help, but it's crucial that you keep a few things in mind — and be flexible with your expectations.
[If the train is about the leave the station, but you're late to the platform, is it reasonable to think that you'll be on it?]
If you miss an assignment, you can't skip ahead. You cannot proceed until that assignment is submitted and you have been able to incorporate critique that you have received. There's a process to it all — and incorporation of feedback and constant improvement is the foundation (see: kaizen). So, you can't submit M4 — and then, without feedback, submit M9. Don't go back and fake it because you'll be sent back to square one and you'll be wasting your time (of which you don't have a lot of at M9).
Don't fake it. You'll be discovered and exposed as a fraud — and that's a hard reputation to shake.
All modules must be submitted to the LMS — in order and in a process — in order to qualify for final assessment. If you get to the end of the class and have modules missing, your semester is incomplete and you will receive a non-passing grade — regardless of the final output. Why? Our classes are about learning, not about production — the final project is the output of the educational process. It's the process that you ultimately need to master (and what you'e evaluated on) — which is why the final project is only a part of your final grade. You need to show that you have mastered the CLOs (Class Learning Objectives) which you do through the iterative process — not going all-in at the last minute. You can't fast track education — it's a step by step process. You can google all of the theories, but the punchline is that you can't skip to the end scene and expect succeed.
So, what do you do?
If you find yourself in this situation, plan for an honest, open conversation with your instructor(s) and your advisor. Be prepared for change as your path has changed.
A change of plans is not the end. Sometimes it's the start of a fresh, new, more-productive timeline. Be open to this.
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FAQs
Q: I've done this in the past and I passed the class. Why can't I do this now?
A: I'm sorry you had that experience — that's not how it should have happened. This also might be why you're having trouble in follow-up classes — you've not had a proper foundation. You'll need to go back and reinforce what you've missed on your own and ensure you're following a productive path forward from this point forward.
Q: But wait, I'm behind several modules — how will I catch up?
A: That's also part of the process: time management and thorough, productive communication* You'll need to communicate with your instructor and formulate a plan to catch up. This is on you. Having reasonable expectations is also part of the process. If you show up to the concert an hour late, you can't expect the band to get back up on stage and play the songs you missed. If the make-up plan is too heroic you might need to consult your advisor and plan to retake the class in a future semester. Often, it's simply not possible to squeeze five modules into two. "No" is sometimes the answer — get used to it. It's not always bad. Sometimes it's the fresh start to a new, more-productive timeline.
* This is a "Can we formulate a plan?" note ... not simply an apology. While we appreciate apologies, they don't get the work done. You need to be productive more than sorry if you want to catch up.
Q: But I need to graduate next semester — what do I do?
A: Graduation is the culmination of an education. It's the end of a process. It's the outcome — not the destination. Education is the goal — the diploma simply proves that you've successfully gone through the process. However, before graduation, you must complete the process first. Not doing that is like taking the cake out of the oven before you've even mixed the ingredients. You cannot graduate until you have learned what there is to learn — and it's a step-by-step process: Type-1, then Type-2, then Type-3... and you incorporate what you learned in the previous step into the current challenge. Don't plan your graduation until you have a working plan to tackle your education — most of you are on a solid, consistent path, but everyone hits a speed bump now and again. If the path and plan changes, your graduation plan also needs to change.
Remember, we're here to help you get an education ... not just clear a couple of classes and get a piece of paper. The diploma is useless in the real work without the education to back it up. Be open, honest, and communicative with us and — if things change on the path to successfully completing a class — expect to make a change to next semester and the semester after that.
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Image: O. Winston Link ... I grew up in a railroad town, so train analogies come naturally — and it comes with a mental catalog of thousands of amazing images. If you're not familiar with Link, check him out.
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