Anyone ever filed a grade grievance for a college course?

[Goldie]

I know this is way off topic, but I have had problems with one of my prof's all quarter, and I got my final grade today and it is significantly lower than what I typically get.

I don't want to come off as petty or like I'm being a whiney baby, but I got a C, and I carry a 3.6 GPA. So I want to file a grade grievance since I have had concerns that I have been graded unfairly all quarter. I brought my concerns to the attention of the head of the dept. as well as the chair and felt like they brushed me off. I requested a meeting two weeks ago with the chair and the prof, and was just told yesterday that the meeting won't be able to happen until the start of the fall quarter. Which sort of defeats the purpose, because I have the same prof for next quarter as well.

What do I need to have to make this is successful or productive grievance? I've never done this before, so any advice from anyone who has gone through the process would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Drew

Cliff's notes: What do I need to file a grade grievance for a college course, and what information do I need to make it a successful grievance.

[icehog3]

You have the same professor next semester? I would let it go, one C isn't going to bring down a 3.6 by much. But that's me.

[MajorCaptSilly]

Originally Posted by icehog3

You have the same professor next semester? I would let it go, one C isn't going to bring down a 3.6 by much. But that's me.

I agree. You have to choose your battles wisely. Some profs will hold a grudge. If you really want to find out the problem, have a meeting with the prof and make sure you understand what they want from you. My daughter has been in the same boat but understands that she'll be seeing these profs again and uses the phsychology angle to affirm their position as "the boss".

MCS

[darkleeroy]

It depends where most of your grade was pulled down. If he purposefully marked you down in subjective tests (essays, participation, whatever); you're pretty much screwed. If he was marking stuff incorrectly on something objective (anything that has an answer key) you may stand a chance. If he accused you (or a group of you) of cheating, you have to provide the information saying that you weren't.

Most of the time these end up being professor versus student, with an extreme advantage to the professor. Unless you're an athlete, child of someone who gives a lot of money to the school, or famous alumni; you're kinda SOL.

One C would bring down a 120 credit degree from a 3.6 down to a 3.57, hardly enough to make a big deal. If you're doing a 45 credit Master's it obviously would be a bigger but still not as big deal.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Goldie

What do I need to have to make this is successful or productive grievance? I've never done this before, so any advice from anyone who has gone through the process would be appreciated.

Hire a hooker or a stripper, give her his office number, take photos, you fill in the blanks from there...

[HK3-]

Originally Posted by T.G

Hire a hooker or a stripper, give her his office number, take photos, you fill in the blanks from there...

I like the way you think!

[Goldie]

Originally Posted by T.G

Hire a hooker or a stripper, give her his office number, take photos, you fill in the blanks from there...

First of all, that's hilarious.

And I guess as far as just sucking it up, I know that I should, but I feel like that is what has put me in this position already. I didn't speak up all quarter, and just let things roll off my back, because I know I have another 10 weeks with this douche.

But the reason I feel I was graded improperly is because I compared my work with other students who had nearly identical answers and they would lose one point, or none, where I lost all credit for the answer.

On one assignment, he deducted points because he thought I typed the answers to the questions sloppily. It just feels like he is being petty about my grading, and I don't really feel like I should stand for it. It just pisses me off.

Do I deserve an A in that class, not really, but a solid B is what I expected to get. I just averaged all of the average grades for the assignments and it came to a 73% which is a D. The average grade is a D! He grades too hard, and his tests are above our knowledge level. This is an ASL class, so we are learning this language, and he grades like we already know it.

Anyway, I think I will go back and look at all of my homework and see if I can really make a valid argument. It sounds really like I am **** out of luck, which is fine. I always take the diplomatic route and bite my tongue because I know it will benefit me in the long run, but this guy has just pushed me too far and now I feel like being the biggest dick I can be.

I guess we'll see.

[CasaDooley]

Originally Posted by Goldie

First of all, that's hilarious.

And I guess as far as just sucking it up, I know that I should, but I feel like that is what has put me in this position already. I didn't speak up all quarter, and just let things roll off my back, because I know I have another 10 weeks with this douche.

But the reason I feel I was graded improperly is because I compared my work with other students who had nearly identical answers and they would lose one point, or none, where I lost all credit for the answer.

On one assignment, he deducted points because he thought I typed the answers to the questions sloppily. It just feels like he is being petty about my grading, and I don't really feel like I should stand for it. It just pisses me off.

Do I deserve an A in that class, not really, but a solid B is what I expected to get. I just averaged all of the average grades for the assignments and it came to a 73% which is a D. The average grade is a D! He grades too hard, and his tests are above our knowledge level. This is an ASL class, so we are learning this language, and he grades like we already know it.

Anyway, I think I will go back and look at all of my homework and see if I can really make a valid argument. It sounds really like I am **** out of luck, which is fine. I always take the diplomatic route and bite my tongue because I know it will benefit me in the long run, but this guy has just pushed me too far and now I feel like being the biggest dick I can be.

I guess we'll see.

So let me get this straight; your upset with your teacher, yet you have not spoke to him about your grade but rather you went above his head to his superiors. As others have stated "Go talk to him" and be diplomatic when speaking with him. Maybe he is a tough grader and you might have to study harder and be even more prepared for his class. Life's not fare, but you can make it easier if you sometimes take the first step in trying to resolve a conflict. just my

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by Goldie

My wife's uncle is a lawyer, I think maybe we could work something out. He helped me before with the guy we hired to DJ our wedding. I gave him a $250 deposit, and he never showed. We had to get someone else the day of the wedding.

Proving a civil/contract case is MUCH different than proving a subjective case like the your current one. Just sayin'.

[markem]

As a former college professor (and current adjunct professor), I'll toss in my two centavos.

In the end, it depends on the policies of the school. I have never had a department head overrule one of my grades, but I have had the university administration do it (father threatened to sue). It is unfortunate how your last term went. The way it appears to be represented is that you were not treated the same as others and perhaps singled out.

Your school should have a student services or similar department that acts as an advocate on behalf of students. Go talk to them and bring as much evidence as you can. Most schools, and hopefully yours, will run an investigation independent of the faculty member and department head. At my school, the department / professor was never informed when a grade had changed, they had to notice that the grade report changed for the student involved.

If other students are willing to cooperate to prove your case, then I would assume it could happen.

[d'am]

Originally Posted by Goldie

And I guess as far as just sucking it up, I know that I should, but I feel like that is what has put me in this position already. I didn't speak up all quarter, and just let things roll off my back, because I know I have another 10 weeks with this douche.

At a minimum, you're going to need a good explanation for this. If you ignored the grades during the quarter and only bring the issue up when the final grade is delivered, you lose sincerity. Make sure to bring up the discussions you had during the quarter and a good reason (e.g., retaliation) for not bringing it up sooner. Don't act like the final grade was a surprise. It's a simple continuation of a pattern. I know it sounds obvious, but you need to prepare yourself to make those points clearly during the meeting. Good luck.

[mithrilG60]

Originally Posted by Goldie

But the reason I feel I was graded improperly is because I compared my work with other students who had nearly identical answers and they would lose one point, or none, where I lost all credit for the answer.

On one assignment, he deducted points because he thought I typed the answers to the questions sloppily. It just feels like he is being petty about my grading, and I don't really feel like I should stand for it. It just pisses me off.

As others have mentioned, in a subjective grading scenario you don't have much of a chance arguing against him. You may compare your answers to your collegues and think they're basically identical but the differences may be significant to the prof and that's why the grading was so low.

Originally Posted by Goldie

Do I deserve an A in that class, not really, but a solid B is what I expected to get. I just averaged all of the average grades for the assignments and it came to a 73% which is a D. The average grade is a D! He grades too hard, and his tests are above our knowledge level. This is an ASL class, so we are learning this language, and he grades like we already know it.

Your best hope for a grade improvement lies here, if the prof has graded the entire class more harshly than the standard bell curve for the course would indicate the department may choose to adjust everyone's marks to reflect the standard bell. That's still very unlikely since everyone in education knows that you occasionally get a class that under-performs compared to the average. You would probably need to involve a majority of you classmates in the effort and then prove to the administration that attributing the grades to a "dumb" class is invalid. In your case, given that your grade was actually above the class average, I can't see an individual grievance working in your favour.

It's most likely that the prof is just a hard marker, especially if the class average is low. I had several profs like that in uni, they just marked hard and everyone always got lower marks in those courses than they did in the rest of their programs. One of those profs was famous for never once having given an A in his 20 yrs of tenure. It's not that uncommon, everyone just knew that a C or a B in that class was just as amazing an accomplishment as an A+ in most other courses.

It may seem very important/aggravating right now but frankly one grade is irrelevant to your future prospects. Grade schools really only give significant weight to the last 2 years of your undergrad and almost never consider individual courses, especially if the grade is an anomaly. Employers typically care even less about individual grades or even GPA's especially for entry level positions. Your work ethic, how you present yourself and how to fit in with the corporate culture are FAR more important.

[Da Klugs]

I got expelled my senior year because I got straight A's. (True Story)

[sikk50]

I did once at the JC I went to. But my scenario was different. I had broncitis (sp?) and spent a night/day hanging out in the emergency room getting breathing treatment (asthma + broncial infections = death). I missed the final and she gave me an F. I gave her my discharge papers and she said no. Eventualy I worked my way up the chain got to take my final and got a B

I hear you saying a C is lower than what you typically get, but is it lower than what you deserve? Most college professors are very transparent about how they calculate grades. When you calculate your grade yourself, what do you end up with?

If there is a significant difference, I'd bring that to the professor's attention, indicating the formula you used and the scores you plugged in. Ask about why there is a difference, but be polite. If you don't get anything back, then take it one step up the ladder.

[xlc12rf]

Coming from a grad student who works closely with a couple professors...







You're 95% SOL. Especially if you have him again this semester, just bite the bullet.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by xlc12rf

Coming from a grad student who works closely with a couple professors...







You're 95% SOL. Especially if you have him again this semester, just bite the bullet.

Most grievances are a waste of time unless it is a harrassment or some sort of medical issue at hand. I hate to say it, but you are pretty much SOL. My dad is a college professor and he's seen it happen with his colleagues numerous times to no avail.

Since you have him next semester, just drop it so he won't get pissed off at you and grade even more unfairly toward you.

[GreekGodX]

Originally Posted by andysutherland

Most grievances are a waste of time unless it is a harrassment or some sort of medical issue at hand. I hate to say it, but you are pretty much SOL. My dad is a college professor and he's seen it happen with his colleagues numerous times to no avail.

Since you have him next semester, just drop it so he won't get pissed off at you and grade even more unfairly toward you.

This is very accurate. Unless you have proof that your teacher mistreated you due to racism, sexual harassment or some other kind of extenuating circumstance you don't really have a fighting chance. Even under those conditions you better have very good documentation such as a daily logbook of what was said and at what time. The school is going to side with the professor and you're next semester will be hell. I noticed you made a comment that you felt he graded you unfairly. Again most classes I've been in there was a certain time period that you had to discuss changing grades, and I assume this is the same for you. Unless you were graded unfairly due to above stated reasons they won't change it. That falls on your shoulders during the semester. I worked with the dean at my former college and they rarely awarded any grievances.

And like others said you gotta pick your fights wisely. You have him again and you don't want more of a challenge with him. I'd say you meet with him and say you are very serious about doing well in the class. That you would like to work with him in achieving that goal.

[dwoodward]

This actually does happen. A buddy of mine had a friend who filed with his families lawyer against his school. The teacher admitted that he had a stick up his butt from day 1 about the kid for smoking outside a designated smoking area or something. He graded him unfairly and with friends, family, and lawyer he was able to prove it. I don't know what happened to the teacher, but he ended up getting the credit and the class score was made to not affect his high GPA. The teacher gave him a D which was failing for his major which required C or higher.

So, if you have a lawyer, go for it, you can probably prove it if you do your homework. However, if you don't already have a lawyer, it will probably hurt more to get one than to just take the bullet and move on.

[Goldie]

Originally Posted by dwoodward

So, if you have a lawyer, go for it, you can probably prove it if you do your homework. However, if you don't already have a lawyer, it will probably hurt more to get one than to just take the bullet and move on.

My wife's uncle is a lawyer, I think maybe we could work something out. He helped me before with the guy we hired to DJ our wedding. I gave him a $250 deposit, and he never showed. We had to get someone else the day of the wedding.