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**</p>
<p>Is it A or B??</p>
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**</p>
<p>It’s both. I sent the first email during mid-February. I sent another email a week later because he wanted me to update him if he did not find it by a certain date. When I heard nothing, I sent another email.</p>
<p>Hard to believe this professor does not have a phone number nor office hours. Search it up on your school website.</p>
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<p>Well…if he didn’t respond to you at all…how did you know he wanted you to update him by a certain date? This makes no sense.</p>
<p>Two words. Personal responsibility. Another cheap life lesson for you. If it might be imporant, keep a copy. With computers today there is no excuse. Quit expecting others to CYA.</p>
<p>Thumper and barrons, I sent the update (second) email as he told me. However, I have never heard from him since. This was almost two weeks ago. Barrons, please do not lecture me. I have paper files on my computer that date back to freshman year. For some strange reason, I did not have the most revised version of my paper on my computer. I sent a simple request if he still had my paper from last semester. I sent him a third email. I have yet to hear a response.</p>
<p>are you sure this professor knows how to email, or even picks up his emails? I am just wondering because I know some older professors who do not use computers, period. he may not even know you are asking for this paper back. if he is a professor at your school he must have office hours, use them. do not assume anything when you meet with him, just simply ask if he has the paper and if you can have it back or a copy, end of story. when are this professors classes, perhaps you need to wait outside the door and “catch him”. is he on hiatus? it sounds strange that you have gotten no answer nor have you seen him.</p>
<p>Grasshopper, sometimes no answer is an answer.</p>
<p>I don’t understand how you can have this problem.</p>
<p>You are seriously telling me this professor does not have a phone number? Tell me your college and the name of this guy and I can probably find out his info for you.</p>
<p>Secondly, don’t be a wimp. Walk up to him and ask for it directly.</p>
<p>As I see it, you have two options.</p>
<p>One: You can show up during offfice hours week after week. Sooner or later he will be there and you can ask him face-to-face. </p>
<p>Two: you can treat this as a lesson to make certain that you keep copies of your ALL of final work and move on. You’ll be able to reconstruct what you did well enough.</p>
<p>I agree that it would be polite and appropriate to give you a response. But unfortunately that isn’t happening. Face the reality: you cannot control what this professor does. You would file a formal complaint–for what? That he did not respond to your e-mails? You will never get anywhere with that. IMO no university authority or court would punish a professor for failing to respond to e-mails. And that whole idea will waste a lot of your time and not get you what you are asking for, which is a copy of your paper. You’ll still have to reconstruct your paper or use another. Do you think he would EVER give you your paper if you file a complaint against him?</p>
<p>What IS in your control is either to let this matter tie you in knots, get you upset, occupy your time, and interfere with your current work–or to learn what there is to be learned and move on. </p>
<p>My advice is to learn what you can and move on.</p>
<p>ADad, the reason why I did not resolve this issue any sooner is because I tried to focus more on my current schoolwork. I would not let something like this interefere with my studies. I would send the occassional email hoping that my professor would respond back, but most of my attention and motivation was spent on contemporary and future matters. Since I have some free time, I will confront the professor. Thank you.</p>
<p>OK, but I would not use the term “confront”. </p>
<p>You have a simple request, which you are making in a polite manner. He either can accomodate you or he cannot. If he cannot, it is too bad but life goes on. It is just unfortunate that the one time that you are not fully backed up, you have this problem.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would confront him. Not that hard.</p>
<p>Tennis,</p>
<p>Some professors don’t return papers. Guess what, they do not have to nor is he obligated to. </p>
<p>Stupid question (because hind sight is always 20/20) why did you not request your paper last term when you were taking the course with the professor. This also reflects a lack of due diligence on your part. Is there a departmental mail box where stuff is left off for students? Have you checked it?</p>
<p>Worse case scenario, what is your plan B in the event that the professor no longer has the paper or knows where it is (which could be a strong possibility? Complaining to the chair is not going to really help your cause, because the first question you will be asked is why didn’t you get the paper last term? No one really wants to clean up the mess of others. Don’t burn bridges that you may have to cross again.</p>
<p>Sybbie makes a very good point–think carefully about the impression you are making with the professor and the department, especially if you will ever need recommendations or be taking classes from that department. While it may well be that the professor has not been courteous or helpful by not responding to you when a simple “I don’t have it anymore” would have been all he had to say, the fact that you no longer have a copy of your paper doesn’t exactly reflect well on you.</p>
<p>The best advice you have been given is to visit his office during office hours. Politely reintroduce yourself and make a polite request then. You might ask the departmental secretary when he most likely attends his office hours. If he doesn’t attend his office hours on a regular basis (every one misses sometimes), then that is something that is maybe worth a polite inquiry to someone higher up the ladder. But remember–he is a full professor and it’s not like the department is going to discipline him or anything.</p>
<p>It might be best just to drop the matter and get on with your life. And if you want to, give him a poor review on “rate my professor”</p>
<p>“Don’t burn bridges that you may have to cross again.”</p>
<p>Very good advice IMO.</p>
<p>And remember: if you see him, your appropriate response to him IMO is simply “Thank you very much”, or “Thank you anyways.”</p>
<p>You’re right, “confront” wasn’t exactly the right word.</p>
<p>But I will still stop by his office, act cordially and even apologize if I offended him in any way. I want to move on, and this is one way.</p>
<p>Ahhhhhh you dont have to bring up that you may have offended him! (unless its really obvious you have … but i dont see how sending three polite emails would cause offence). You could just totally not be on his radar, it most likely really is not anything personal. Someone in his family may be ill or he has to get a paper in for a conference etc etc etc…</p>
<p>Just stay calm and breathe deeply before you knock on his door so you are not too flusterd. I hope you manage to find him, i know it can be hard to track profs down sometimes :)</p>
<p>I agree. You have nothing to apologize for if you haved merely sent him a few polite and reasonable e-mails.</p>
<p>tenis, do you have any other papers you can use? Or do you need one with comments written on it?</p>