Group Etiquette Question

[burbuja0512]

Its been a long time since I had a situation like that but I would try and have a one-on-one with "Jane" and ask her what the issue is.

If she is too distracted to complete her required portion because of external factors, right now it isnt too late to drop the course and take the next one when things settle down. I think you'd have a better gauge if you talked on the phone and determined if she was just freeloading or if it was something legit. Then you could suggest that she isn't really getting her money's worth by not participating, and that the capstone course is important learning etc, infer she should make the right choice. Id also sound disappointed and let her know she is letting the team down.

If she straightens up or drops the course, great. If she continues to be an albatross for another week get the professor to call her and suggest she remove herself from the class.

This is where the dynamic of an online class is weird. We don't really have any way to communicate other than email. I asked everyone to post their personal email in addition to their COSC email, but she didn't and doesn't appear to check her COSC email at all.

So I do totally agree with your approach, I just don't have any way of getting in touch with her other than the COSC email, which she's not using. So, I basically have to choose between giving her credit for the paper by adding her to our list of names, or making a statement on the paper by putting something like: Jane Doe (absent), or just emailing the teacher to let her know our group concerns.