” I found fully 1/3rd of students either wouldn’t or couldn’t do the work; if you won’t do the work, you don’t want the degree - go home and save your money.”
Did your institution send them home, or accommodate them so that they would continue to be a revenue stream? I think I know the answer. Failure is not an option if you can still borrow money to give to the university.
Every d@mn one of them failed the class.
Three times in a row I actually flunked the whole class (admittedly very small classes then, but still). Seeing what was coming, I called the dean:
“Looks like I’m going to fail all of them.”
“You give each student individually exactly the grade they earned.”
“Thank you.”
System was set up so all relevant CYA info was recorded. They had absolutely every opportunity & resource to succeed. If you don’t do the work, you can’t pass.
Upon failing, each was given the opportunity to retake the course.
Most of them failed again. (Most notable case: student actually _bought_ answers to the final exam, costing him at least $300. He still failed.)
If. You. Don’t. Do. The. Work. You. Can. Not. Pass.
To clarify:
The school would let you keep retaking the course (AFAIK; I never actually looked up the exact wording). HOWEVER, most students were borrowing a lot to go, and failing required prompt payback of loans. Chronic failure was self-limiting.