For my first proper post as Director of Undergraduate Studies this year, I thought I’d write something big, bold, and eye-catching … something that would really grab the attention, stir the pot, get some clicks etc. etc.. And what could be more glamorous than the topic that got us into teaching and academia … Keeping Records!

No wait, come back …

In all seriousness, this is an important aspect of our work as teachers, but it’s also one that is easy to neglect or fall behind on. Yet if we don’t keep up records of attendance and grades, it can come back to bite us. Problems occur when there is any dispute regarding student attendance issues and/or grades and there aren’t up-to-date records. There have also been issues (admittedly worst-case scenario) when faculty have had to step away from teaching for a period of time and someone has had to substitute for them. It’s hard enough to pick up someone else’s class, but if there are no records to work from it gets close to impossible. More mundanely, it is a truth universally acknowledged, good records make figuring out final grades so much easier (and quicker, and who doesn’t like quicker at the end of a long semester).

The department has a few (not many!) grade books, so if you hurry you can pick one up (the hope is that the college will be ordering more). If you’re not so lucky, Staples has these. And let’s face it, any notebook is a grade book that just hasn’t reached its potential yet …

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