It happens every semester, no matter how many times we remind students our rules.
Once, a student uploaded a zip file containing a blank answer book in our ONLINE exam. Upon seeing his own score of ZERO in the final exam (four days after the exam, and three days after the release of the answer keys), he came back to tell us his story. He apologized for the silly mistake. He still had the correct answer book filled with answers. He wanted to have a chance to re-submit the correct answer book. He appeared sincere and honest. The only problem was, he did not have the screen recording of the WHOLE exam process (from start to end) as evidence. We had clearly stated in our Exam FAQ that we strongly recommend student to record their screen to protect themselves from any anomalies or technical difficulties during the exam. Without screen recording as evidence, we would not accept such re-submission. Consequently, we had to award to him a failure grade.
The failure of the course could mean that he would lose his scholarship. I was sympathetic, but there was nothing we can do. There were rules!
Later, we received an email message from his mom. She re-iterated the honesty of his son and wanted us to give her son a chance. In essence, she was asking us to give her son a special consideration.
No, I could not. Here is part of my reply. (Note: It took me almost two hours to write and polish my reply.)
//
We understand your sadness very well. I am a parent too.
As a parent of only kid, I tend to be forgiving. In contrast, a teacher is like a parent with many kids (1000 of them in semester 1 and 500 of them in semester 2). We have to treat students according to some common rules. Once the common rules are set, all members (teachers and students) have to observe the rules strictly.
To prevent misunderstanding, we have a long list of FAQs about the exam.
We treat students equally. We do not give students special treatment according to their background (nationality, scholarship status, year of study, etc.). We simply follow the rules.
//
To most students (and possibly parents), I look inhumane in adhering to rules -- rigid rules. Yes, we are open to debate on the rules. But, once the rules are agreed, we have to follow the rules strictly!
| 2022-12-30 | I am honest. Why don't you trust me? |
| 2022-12-17 | How many times do I have to repeat before you listen and follow my instructions? |
| 2022-12-06 | Teaching Innovation Award |
| 2022-11-07 | Our expectation: 10 hours per week for 12 weeks! |
| 2022-09-28 | Is it possible to late drop? |
| 2022-06-21 | Why not implement zoom invigilation on top of personalized exam papers? |
| 2022-03-21 | DO NOT PANIC. YOU CAN DO IT. WE CAN HELP YOU, ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! |
| 2022-01-27 | Can you help supervise my project? |
| 2022-01-19 | Please help me to enroll in Introductory Microeconomics NOW! |
| 2022-01-15 | Thank you, for putting in your best effort, thus letting me achieve what I wanted to achieve. |
| 2022-01-06 | It is never easy to face failure, but it can be an important learning experience. |
| 2021-12-30 | University life is not just about getting good grades, but also exploring your limit and understanding yourself. |
| 2021-10-04 | Reasons for disapproving late drop requests |
| 2021-08-04 | It takes two to tango! |
| 2021-08-02 | ECON1210 a killer course? KF Wong a killer? |
| 2021-07-20 | Shock and sad to see student's poor performance in 2021 Spring |
| 2021-07-14 | Cooling-off period |
| 2021-03-17 | Online data are cheap and easy to find, but they have limitations! |
| 2021-02-08 | Mini-projects to build up research ability (1) |
| 2021-01-11 | Be our advisor, please! |
| 2020-12-21 | Why do we need this transparency? For fairness! For learning! |
| 2020-11-23 | You want to build some muscle but do not want to use your time exercising? I can help by exercising for you! |
| 2020-11-18 | Feedback to feedback |
| 2020-11-15 | General comments on participant's performance in a competition |
| 2020-11-04 | Yes, 1200+ personalized versions of the test paper! |
| 2020-02-18 | Let students focus on learning, teachers on teaching, and thus together achieve the intended learning outcomes. |
| 2020-02-10 | Online learning requires Discipline, DISCIpline, DISCIPLINE! |
| 2019-01-15 | Supposedly not difficult to get a B grade. |
| 2018-12-11 | This quality is more important than grades. |
| 2018-11-15 | Late dropping |
| 2018-11-15 | Unreliability of average SETL scores due to the high non-response rate |
| 2018-11-13 | Let go! |
| 2018-10-24 | No, please do not use my lecture time for your society's announcement. |
| 2018-09-26 | Scheduling an appointment |
| 2018-08-27 | None of my business |
| 2018-08-21 | Course evaluation bounds and response rate |
| 2018-08-09 | Be a responsible job applicant |
| 2018-02-10 | No calories browsing.... |
| 2018-01-24 | Would "uncertain" help your postgraduate study application? I would say, CERTAINLY NOT! |
| 2017-09-14 | When helping your friend is NOT HELPING YOUR FRIEND! |
| 2017-09-13 | My life as a student -- AGAIN |
| 2017-09-05 | You like easy grade, easy honor, easy graduation? |
| 2017-07-18 | My Facebook friends, please protect me just as I protect you. |
| 2017-07-12 | An internship |
| 2016-03-01 | You know me. But, do I know you? |
| 2015-12-17 | Why learning fails to happen despite the great design of the course and the great teacher? |
| 2015-10-20 | Can I trust you, my friend? |
| 2015-10-17 | If we have the second chance to "retake", failing or getting a low grade would not be so stressful. |
| 2015-09-18 | My first-hand experience on why learning is not taking place in lectures! |
| 2015-08-20 | Are you sure Econometrics is useless? |
| 2015-05-04 | Eating 100 bowls of rice in a day |
| 2015-01-31 | You say you love me. How can I tell whether you truly love me? |
| 2014-10-24 | I would be happy to write recommendations letter for your PhD or Master application if .... |
| 2014-10-23 | Master of Finance at MIT |
| 2014-10-06 | Are you sure what you saw was black? |
| 2014-03-05 | GOLDEN opportunity -- only to the hard-working students. |
| 2014-03-01 | What to do when your teacher's teaching style does not fit your learning style? |
| 2013-11-28 | A negative experience? Not completely. It can be made into a positive one! |
| 2013-11-27 | Many thanks for your appreciation of my teaching (II) |
| 2013-07-23 | My next stop is Barcelona! |
| 2013-06-01 | Her decision to pursue Master of Finance after her undergradaute study at HKU |
| 2012-11-10 | What should I do at HKU (activities versus study and many other things)? |
| 2011-09-12 | Coach, can you teach me to swim? |
| 2010-02-18 | How government policy with good intention can create frustration and political instability? |
| 2009-12-01 | Cherish our beloved ones who are still around us -- when we still can! |
| 2009-11-27 | Trust your teachers, but don't trust them blindly! |
| 2009-11-26 | You can give me a low score but please write some comments to help me improve my teaching. |
| 2009-08-26 | The similarity in health care service provision and fire fighting service provision |
| 2009-03-23 | Be brave. Visit your teachers. Ask them questions. Your teachers are a lot nicer than you think. |
| 2009-03-14 | How can you verify this is really you -- Dr. Ka-fu Wong of HKU? |
| 2009-03-09 | I dream to work in the business sector. Should I pursue a master degree before I join the private sector? |
| 2009-02-19 | Any economist can predict this... Can you? |
| 2008-12-21 | My students performed poorly in the final exam.
Help me help them.... please. |
| 2008-12-20 | Learning should not end with the final exam! |
| 2008-11-19 | Exchange in Europe can be very rewarding! |
| 2008-11-18 | UC Berkeley is my top choice for exchange! |
| 2008-11-02 | Why did we not have fresh mushrooms twenty years ago? |
| 2008-02-23 | Dialogue is preferred to monologue. |
| 2008-02-13 | If I were a single unemployed old man who lives on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) |
| 2007-12-17 | Is forecasting a pure guessing game? |
| 2007-12-16 | I want zero emission of CO2! |
| 2007-11-30 | How would I choose universities for exchange? |
| 2007-11-28 | Excuse me. Can you write a recommendation letter for me? |
| 2007-11-12 | No pain, no gain! |
| 2007-09-14 | Teaching is to be enjoyed, and so is studying. Grades should only be secondary. |