Need advice to convince someone

[vektor]

I'll keep my story short:

-I got a D in one class 2 years ago in university
-This class is a prereq. for one of my classes next term
-If you get a D you need your prof to sign a waiver to let you in the class
-This is the only class I need for my degree next term
-The professor who needs to sign the waiver is a cantankerous old chinese guy. He's a miserable guy and he's been gone from Canada for 3 weeks and returns Sunday. I need him to sign that waiver, I've been emailing him and he seems like he is going to find a reason to not let me in and if he doesn't that pretty much ruins my career among several other things
-I need him to sign this form on Sunday or my life goes from pretty good to the gutter because I lose everything (scholarship, support etc.)
-how do I convince a cantankerous old Chinese guy to give me a break, does anyone have any advice?

-sidenote: this same class I got a D in was a prereq for several other classes that no other profs even cared about, they just signed the waiver with no problem but this prof who I'm seeing on Sunday has a hate on for life and he has complete control, there are no other people that will help me if he says no. What can I say that will make him not hate life so much to just sign the thing? I'm losing sleep about this and Christmas is pretty much gone if I can't get this done some how. I expect sarcastic remarks but hopefully someone has some helpful advice

[Byrns]

You waited two years to get a waiver you knew you needed signed?

Good luck coming up with a convincing argument.

[jammies]

Are you a hot female? Or do you know one that owes you a really, really big favour?

[evman150]

If he says no, you can always go higher.

People make a stink about this stuff (and stuff a lot worse/sillier/ridiculous) all the time.

[Regulator75]

Go back in time and study harder?

[Rudee]

My parents were strict as a kid as far as my school grades. If I ever got a C or lower I would be grounded. That only happened twice. Reading this post takes me back many years ago to those days. Thankfully, it instilled strong study habits in me at a young age, which carried through to University, where I graduated with honors and have done quite well in my adult life. There's good and bad.

[ricosuave]

[CaptainCrunch]

At this point two years later, I don't think that there is a convincing argument that you can use. If you had it you would have gotten a signed waiver a long time ago.

You're not going to change him mind because of time line.

And his personality and such have nothing to do with it.

[Da_Chief]

This should've been taken care of long time ago, even repeating the course to remove the D. Not smart on your part.

Basically beg him to let you be in his class, I don't see anything you can say since you had 2 years to deal with it.

Mind me asking what class you're gonna take and what was the pre-req?

[REDVAN]

Originally Posted by vektor

I'll keep my story short:

that pretty much ruins my career among several other things
-I need him to sign this form on Sunday or my life goes from pretty good to the gutter because I lose everything (scholarship, support etc.)
-how do I convince a cantankerous old Chinese guy to give me a break, does anyone have any advice?

I love when people claim their life will be RUINED because of someone else not letting them do something they aren't qualified to do. Is it this "cantankerous old Chinese guy"s fault you got a D in a pre-requisite course and have not re-taken it?

Take a chill-pill, relax and enjoy the holidays. Deal with the consequences of your actions later next week, since you've already waited two years!

P.S. I got a few D's in my time (ie/ 5 years ago, U of C science), and I don't recall needing any signatures to take the next class. Maybe it's changed, or maybe not, I still got my degrees.

[MarchHare]

Is there an option for you to take the course in which you originally got a D again, only this time you could work harder and get a better grade?

I don't know what your major is, but if your future career goals entail designing bridges or handling legal cases or operating on patients, I commend the prof for refusing to sign the waiver.

[Da_Chief]

Agreed, your life will not be ruined nor will your career be. Relax, and take an extra semester if need be. You'll be working all your life.

[1stLand]

You should have re-taken the class if it was a pre req.

You have waited 2 years? Procrastinate much?

Be a man.

If the prof says no, then repeat the course.

Your life is what you make of it. A degree or a bad mark does not make ones life.

The quicker you learn this the better off you will be. I once thought a University Degree was a ticket to a better life. Its merely a piece of paper that now sits framed piled underneath a pile of clothes in my closet.

[First Lady]

Reading things like this really depress me. To think that people can have failing grades, get them "waived" to go on and graduate.
How many doctors, teachers, etc get their degrees this way?

I realize not everyone can be on the honor roll, but seriously you should pass the basic prerequisite courses.

/rant

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Reading things like this really depress me. To think that people can have failing grades, get them "waived" to go on and graduate.
How many doctors, teachers, etc get their degrees this way?

I realize not everyone can be on the honor roll, but seriously you should pass the basic prerequisite courses.

/rant

Way to read the thread! Keep up the good work

[psyang]

If I understand your issue correctly, you need the prof of your course next term to sign a waiver allowing you into his class. If so, here's what I would do:

1) Try to build a case around your understanding of the pre-req material: If you took courses (that you passed) that covered similar material, highlight those. If you can see the connections between the pre-req course and the course you are taking next term, explain these connections to the prof, and show that you understand the concepts in the pre-req course that will allow you to establish a foundation for the new course. At this time, the prof only sees a D, and so assumes you will not be able to keep up in the course.

2) Think about why the chinese prof is acting "cantankerously". He may be someone who is used to hard work and good results. He may not see that people can understand the concepts within a course, but still get bad marks (procrastination, bored/unchallenging, personal crisis, overloaded schedule, etc).

Remember, the prof owes you no favors. Begging might make him despise you more. Go in humble, but firm. Understand that it is his right to not sign the waiver - you have to make him see that you are deserving of taking the course.

Good luck!

[Imported_Aussie]

As someone who works at a university, the best argument I would say you can make is to point to other classes that cover more advanced content where you have better grades, and see if that helps your case.
If he says no, you can go higher - department head then the dean of the faculty. They all have the right to say no, and the reasoning is that a D shows you did not acquire enough knowledge to pass the course clearly, and that knowledge deficit could hurt progression in that class. So use an argument around other good results in similar classes and hope for the best.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Way to read the thread! Keep up the good work

Please elaborate? What key point did I miss?

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Please elaborate? What key point did I miss?

See blue

Originally Posted by First Lady

Reading things like this really depress me. To think that people can have failing grades he didn't fail, get them "waived" to go on and graduate he isn't getting a fail or his D waived, just needs permission to join next level class.
How many doctors, teachers, etc get their degrees this way? Most. Hell, even I got permission to skip prereqs to take the higher level course. Shocking! Oh how the system has failed

I realize not everyone can be on the honor roll Truth!, but seriously you should pass the basic prerequisite courses. He did, and as I mentioned, even if he had failed it, it doesn't matter, prereqs are often waived depending on the class content

/rant yay

[Kybosh]

He didn't fail in the sense that he got an F, but he did fail in the sense that he didn't meet the prerequisites to enroll in the next advanced class.

I used to be a university instructor. The best advice listed in here so far is from ImportedAussie. What vektor needs to understand is that all profs/instructors have heard so many sob stories, the odds are immediately stacked against you. Everything at a university is done with documentation. Find documentation to support your case.