Have Your Ever "Fought" for Grades?

I am nearly a third of the way through this third semester at UMUC, and the program has been great. UMUC has outstanding professors and the curriculum is fantastic. Part of UMUC's policy is that they make it extremely difficult to get an A in a course because they are trying to fight the perception that graduate programs suffer from grade inflation. Another aspect of their policy is that they only do straight letter grades (no pluses or minuses). For of my first two courses, I received a very high B (88% and 87%, respectively). Another aspect of the school's policy is that every student must take a graduate library course in their first semester that emphasizes the schools excellent library resources and properly researching and citing references; because I started this program via a partnership that my employer has with UMUC, I didn't have to take the library course until after my second semester... and in my opinion this was a big mistake that I believe UMUC realizes because individuals starting the same program through my employer had to take the library course the first semester after my first cohort when through. Lastly, my first course only had a 100 point grading scale with no fractional points offered. So, if I wrote a paper that may be of a 95% quality, I only received 9 points (as each paper was worth 10 points); on a conference activity, I would only receive 4 out of 5 points without "perfection" (meaning only 80% of the possible points). I believe that these factors were worth up to five points in my first semester and slightly fewer my second semester.

It is very frustrating to me. Since I have received two Bs, thus far, I have a 3.0 GPA, which is driving me nuts. I have never been overly concerned with my academic progress, beyond program completion, because I have always done fairly well without too much effort (this has been true from grade school all the way through undergrad). I easily earned a 3.5 GPA in my undergrad studies, only having one course with a grade below a B (damned Calculus). I took a heavy load in undergrad but I never really sweated anything (traditional B&M school, 12-16 credit hours each semester in the evenings after working full-time to support my family). If I were to do it all over again, I probably would have pushed myself to get a higher GPA, but c'est la vie.

To finally get to the point, I am tired of getting Bs... and truthfully believe that I deserved at least one A in the previous two courses, else I deserved two As. I started slowly this semester, but I think I can pull off an A if I put in the work. So from two different regards, have you ever fought to get better grades? I don't really mean an internal conflict... I mean working with your professors or protesting/arguing your grades?

I am looking to discuss my situation with my current professor and let her know that I really want an A and that I would sincerely appreciate solid and timely feedback. She has been rather slow in grading our work, and she missed grading my first paper for whatever reason, delaying he feedback an additional half of a week over other students. It is rather difficult when they space papers out two weeks, but you don't get the feedback for the previous paper until just a couple days before the second paper is due... What success have you had in this regard?

I have already contacted a couple of people at the school about policies regarding revising grades from previous semesters. One path offered was to speak with my previous professor(s) and try to work it out. Another avenue is being researched, currently. Have you ever tried to petition for a grade revision?

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powerfool wrote: »

Have you ever tried to petition for a grade revision?

Yes I have, but only because it was an online World Geography class and the tests had not been revised for the new book, everyone was failing them miserably. They adjusted accordingly.

The grading system you mentioned seems like BS to me. I would not even consider your GPA relevant or mention it on your resume, it is not scored the same accepted way as "most" colleges.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the GPA score. If you are getting A's and B's you are hypothetically better than the C "Average".

lsud00d

Retroactive grade changes become much harder to adjust over time...if you want to fight, put up your dukes now.

I have "fought" for grades, but you need objective logic in a presentable fashion...you should overload the professor with your case and evidence to where they have no choice but to change your grade. And that's IF the professor will even listen to you. If not, go to the department head.

It sounds like to me you are caught in a policy trap that leaves little-to-no wiggle room. I'm not sure of the outcome...just remember
#1. Don't feed the *****
#2. Pwn

powerfool

LucasMN wrote: »

Yes I have, but only because it was an online World Geography class and the tests had not been revised for the new book, everyone was failing them miserably. They adjusted accordingly.

The grading system you mentioned seems like BS to me. I would not even consider your GPA relevant or mention it on your resume, it is not scored the same accepted way as "most" colleges.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the GPA score. If you are getting A's and B's you are hypothetically better than the C "Average".

Well, I am not concerned for work purposes, other than scoring well enough to get tuition reimbursement. This is for A) personal satisfaction, and

further academic work. When schools notoriously inflate grade school grades, Bs are going to look like garbage to other schools. Plus, a specific PhD program I am looking at will waive the masters "portion" of the PhD if I have a 3.5 GPA in equivalent graduate work; otherwise, they would still admit me, but I would have to start over again. Now, if my school deviated from straight letter grades and I was sitting around a 3.3 GPA, I might have some wiggle room in this regard, but I doubt they would do it for a 3.0 GPA. At this point, I can afford one more B and all others will have to be As, or my GPA will not cut it.

It is just aggravating. Actually, it is a bit more than that. At the end of my first semester, I was talking with one of the advisers and she congratulated me for getting a B. Using ellipsis to indicate long pauses, it would be more like, "Well, congratulations on getting a... um... B." It felt condescending, to say the least. We were really discussing performance on that call, I was trying to see if there was a way that I could get through the program more quickly, as we can only take one course per semester, and if I take summers off, it would take three years for the program.... just to add context to that situation.

Deathgomper

It really depends on the professor. Some are open and willing to discuss options, others are stone cold. I haven't "fought" for a higher grade but I have made agreements with my professor like "Can my final exam be weighted more due to the fact I had some family issues outside of my control." In one case during my first attempt at college it was: "What do I have to get on the final to pass altogether."

Usually the professor has free reign unless their actions in the past have gotten them in trouble. If you petition your grades and no one else is doing the same then I wouldn't expect too much to happen. I would try to work with your professor and previous professors, maybe come with an agreement.

I also wouldn't get too worked up about your grades, I have never been asked "what was your GPA?" I know you're not getting what you deserve and that sucks, but I worked so hard trying to get my GPA to a 3.5 and above just for no one to care afterward. Well actually my Aunt Shirley saw my name in the paper for being on the Dean's list and congratulated me but that was it.

Firecell

Yes, I have. If you truly deserve the grade and you know the instructor is in fault, then submit an appeal. I would ensure to have all of the required documentation to back up your appeal, before notifying the university.

All universities have appeals, you just have to search for the form on the website.

NetworkingStudent

powerfool wrote: »

I am nearly a third of the way through this third semester at UMUC, and the program has been great. UMUC has outstanding professors and the curriculum is fantastic. Part of UMUC's policy is that they make it extremely difficult to get an A in a course because they are trying to fight the perception that graduate programs suffer from grade inflation. Another aspect of their policy is that they only do straight letter grades (no pluses or minuses). For of my first two courses, I received a very high B (88% and 87%, respectively). Another aspect of the school's policy is that every student must take a graduate library course in their first semester that emphasizes the schools excellent library resources and properly researching and citing references; because I started this program via a partnership that my employer has with UMUC, I didn't have to take the library course until after my second semester... and in my opinion this was a big mistake that I believe UMUC realizes because individuals starting the same program through my employer had to take the library course the first semester after my first cohort when through. Lastly, my first course only had a 100 point grading scale with no fractional points offered. So, if I wrote a paper that may be of a 95% quality, I only received 9 points (as each paper was worth 10 points); on a conference activity, I would only receive 4 out of 5 points without "perfection" (meaning only 80% of the possible points). I believe that these factors were worth up to five points in my first semester and slightly fewer my second semester.

It is very frustrating to me. Since I have received two Bs, thus far, I have a 3.0 GPA, which is driving me nuts. I have never been overly concerned with my academic progress, beyond program completion, because I have always done fairly well without too much effort (this has been true from grade school all the way through undergrad). I easily earned a 3.5 GPA in my undergrad studies, only having one course with a grade below a B (damned Calculus). I took a heavy load in undergrad but I never really sweated anything (traditional B&M school, 12-16 credit hours each semester in the evenings after working full-time to support my family). If I were to do it all over again, I probably would have pushed myself to get a higher GPA, but c'est la vie.

To finally get to the point, I am tired of getting Bs... and truthfully believe that I deserved at least one A in the previous two courses, else I deserved two As. I started slowly this semester, but I think I can pull off an A if I put in the work. So from two different regards, have you ever fought to get better grades? I don't really mean an internal conflict... I mean working with your professors or protesting/arguing your grades?

I am looking to discuss my situation with my current professor and let her know that I really want an A and that I would sincerely appreciate solid and timely feedback. She has been rather slow in grading our work, and she missed grading my first paper for whatever reason, delaying he feedback an additional half of a week over other students. It is rather difficult when they space papers out two weeks, but you don't get the feedback for the previous paper until just a couple days before the second paper is due... What success have you had in this regard?

I have already contacted a couple of people at the school about policies regarding revising grades from previous semesters. One path offered was to speak with my previous professor(s) and try to work it out. Another avenue is being researched, currently. Have you ever tried to petition for a grade revision?

I have fought for grades and most of my professors were willing to work with me. A lot of students forget that the professors work for the students. I suggest asking students in your classes their opinion on the grading policy. What are their grades like? I have had problems with certain professors, classes, and policies while in school, and student peers usually did offer some good advice.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it sounds like some kind of socialism grading policy. Are they trying keep everyone’s grade the same , no matter how much effort they put forth?

As far as their library being the next best thing to slice bread, I don’t buy it!! I wrote a lot papers in school and Google was way handier than any library book. I’m sorry, but it’s a sign of the times.

erpadmin

powerfool wrote: »

Have you ever tried to petition for a grade revision?

I didn't BUT I did help a friend do it...

My friend had "failed" a math course and called me asking how he could get in contact with an adjunct professor. When he told me the adjunct's name, it was by pure coincidence that I not only knew him, but he was a colleague in my department. I told my friend that I will talk to him since he's in the office today and will advise him to call him. My colleague had shared with me that he was pretty sure his grade would be final, but for obvious reasons, I did not want to get into details about my friend's alleged performance...all I wanted to do was relay a message to him.

Come to find out that my colleague had actually made a mistake and that my friend not only passed, but was supposed to have gotten a high grade! I believe in my friend's case, it was a simple error in data entry. (It happens...)

Moral of the story, hunt down your professor. My friend was lucky that I knew his, because if I didn't I would have advised him to go to the department and have them do it, OR make an appeal to the dean. In my colleague's case, he was lucky too because it never had to get that far. But you have options and it sounds like you're seeking them out. Just know that mistakes do happen.

powerfool

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

As far as their library being the next best thing to slice bread, I don’t buy it!! I wrote a lot papers in school and Google was way handier than any library book. I’m sorry, but it’s a sign of the times.

Google is fine, but it doesn't verify the quality of sources. The school's library has peer reviewed academic work. While I certainly don't promote academic snobbery nor the supremacy of the school's library, it is supremely helpful in writing quality academic work in a graduate program. Based on the school's policy, the school's library is the best source to meet all of your requirements. This library isn't a house of books... it is an online set of resources that include many databases of information available to everyone, usually for a subscription, in one place (included in tuition).

erpadmin

powerfool wrote: »

Google is fine, but it doesn't verify the quality of sources. The school's library has peer reviewed academic work. While I certainly don't promote academic snobbery nor the supremacy of the school's library, it is supremely helpful in writing quality academic work in a graduate program. Based on the school's policy, the school's library is the best source to meet all of your requirements. This library isn't a house of books... it is an online set of resources that include many databases of information available to everyone, usually for a subscription, in one place (included in tuition).

I'm going to have to agree with this. Google, while great, may not always give you peer-reviewed work.

HOWEVER, the smart students aren't reading 300-1000 page academic journals either. That's why alot of those online subscriptions are available to students...so that CTRL-F can be used.

You can't use CTRL-F on real, physical books/journals. And if you try using Google Books (without paying) you will miss pages.

When I use CTRL-F to find a particular topic that I need to cite, I read a couple of pages before it and a a couple of pages after. If it's relevant, then it's used. If it's not, then we move on to the next thing.

That's "the secret" when playing at this level.