Lecturer constantly super slow with feedback

[QuestionableMouse]

I have one lecturer who is constantly slow getting feedback back to us. I'm still waiting for feedback on an assignment I handed in on 4th Jan. We have the grades and they've been approved/added to the transcript yet no feedback.

I could really use it as I did extremely well in this assignment (88%) and I have another one due in in May that's quite similar so I want to see what I did right!

It's been every assignment with him. It's been over two months! We tried going to the student rep last year and nothing has changed. He's the Head of the course so unless I go to the head of department I have no-one to speak to. Am I being unreasonable for being fed up now?

It's my last semester before graduation and I'm working my arse off to get a first and I feel like not getting timely feedback isn't helping!

Do you have a staff-student committee you can feed stuff to via class reps? My department takes that extremely seriously. Mind you, your situation couldn’t have happened at my institution, as we need to confirm to our admin that we’ve released feedback by 20 working days after an assignment was submitted, at latest.

The student rep feeds back to the staff-student committee and it went no where last year. I'm honestly thinking about going to the department head.

That's rubbish OP. One of my teachers at college was always late with her feedback and it makes you worry, doesn't it? Hope you can get sorted. :)

Then absolutely go to your head of programme if the staff-student committee got you nowhere. I'm honestly surprised this still happens. At my institution, there's so much emphasis on the 'student experience' that getting back student feedback on time is prioritised by everyone.

Actually I'm surprised your lecturer gave you grades, but not feedback how does that happen? What is your subject? In mine (humanities), both are released together you mark the essay (on an online platform) and annotate it, award a grade and write a feedback statement all at the same time, and it's not possible to release a grade without the student also seeing the feedback.

I tell you what is soul-destroying, though -- seeing how many students never look at their feedback. Our platform allows you to see who has accessed the feedback, rather than just glanced at their grade in the grade centre.

The feedback is my favourite bit! I love seeing what my teachers think and how I can improve which is what I think the op wants too.

Well, so did I when I was a student, but I actually counted the numbers who’d accessed their feedback on a core first year module I taught last year. 28 students out of 87.

Go to your dept head, that is appalling. The feedback is more important than the grade in terms of future marks. I would be in s huge amount of trouble if I had taken this long to return feedback. We have a 15 working day policy and have for years.

The module grade is on my transcript yet there's no feedback been released through Canvas. It's literally just a grade.

Then absolutely, go and talk to your head of programme. That's not acceptable by any stretch of the imagination.

It's odd that this is not something that the department regulates. In my institution we have a strict 4 week turnaround for marking and return of work (ie 4 weeks from submission to release of marks and feedback to the students). Staff have to be dead very unwell to get out of meeting this deadline.

I also find this odd. My university also has a 20-day turnaround for providing feedback and this is rigorously enforced. From talking to colleagues at other universities, I thought this was pretty much the norm in the sector.

Staff have to be dead very unwell to get out of meeting this deadline.

And even then, people have been exhumed...

I agree, our place polices the 20 day turnaround very stringently. There's no way anyone in my School would get away with lateness.

I've hidden the assignment question because I don't want outing but you can see here.

Just sent an email to the Head of department. Thank you for the encouragement!

Good luck.

Just noticed the bloody typo in the first post. 78% not 88%!

Thank you! I feel a bit anxious now but something needed to happen.

What does it mean that the assignment was locked on 31st Jan?

It means that student couldn’t submit their assignments after that date, Phone

It means that student couldn’t submit their assignments after that date

Thanks. In that case I wouldn't expect the feedback return deadline to be until 20 working days after that. Odd to grade without feedback though.

It's been more than 20 days for feedback though, hasn't it?

Sorry, oddly invested in this thread! :0

Me too! I think it's because GET STUDENT WORK RETURNED WITH FULL FEEDBACK WITHIN 20 WORKING DAYS has become so much the First Commandment of Academic Life these days, that there's something slightly fascinating about realising not every institution polices it! I've certainly known a lecturer in another department in my school be called in by his line manager to account for why he was maybe 48 hours past the 20 working days...

I mean, it's deeply unfair to the OP, who is clearly a conscientious student who understandably wants feedback before embarking on another assignment -- I'm not making light of that.

It's been more than 20 days for feedback though, hasn't it?

Yes, but the delay is three weeks not as bad as it first appeared.

I don't disagree that it is too long though, particularly when the work has clearly been marked.

Iirc the assignment was locked on the 7/8th then it changed later.

Was that related to late submissions? We have a separate online submission box for late work. The lock dates and dates for return of work are therefore different. Typically the late box opens as the main box closes, and the late box stays open for two weeks after the original submission deadline.

I'm honestly not sure. I can just remember it changing. Mine was all in on time so maybe the late people saw the other bit?