Grade Appeal

[Temporary_User]

Has anyone on here ever went through the process? Is it worth it?
I go to the UofL, but I assume the process is basically universal.

I received a D in one of my history courses.

[Rathji]

My brother went in to complain about an instructor he had at SAIT, instead of dealing with the issue the teacher gave him an undeserved A so he would go away quietly.

It was then I decided that SAIT was not the place for me.

[maverickstruth]

I started a grade appeal process at U of L when an instructor entered the wrong grade into the system for me. In those kinds of cases, it's definitely worth it! Because it was the instructors mistake, all I had to do was go talk to him, and he submitted the grade change request form for me.

Your first step in any grade appeal is to go to the instructor, and try to work it out with them. I would definitely at least do this step, as it's an unfortunate fact that some instructors will change students' grades just to make them go away. But make sure you come prepared with reasons why you believe your grade should be higher (and not just "because I worked hard!" ), since if you don't you can just make it harder for yourself, especially if you are going to have that instructor again. In a small institution like U of L, this is something to consider.

After that, you can go to your Department Head, or Academic Advising (though AA will be swamped at the moment) if you really want to fight it. How much it's worth it depends on how strong of a case you think you have, and somewhat on the instructor in question. If it's an instructor that has a reputation for being a ###### (and you have a reputation for not being one), you might be able to convince the Dep't Head to look into it. But you have to be really confident of your case if you're going to pursue it that far.

[Temporary_User]

I'll explain my situation a bit to clarify things.

Short essay = 15%
Final essay proposal = 15%
Final essay = 30%
Final exam = 15%
Participation = 25%

I did fine on the two essays, receiving C and C+ as grades.

The problem with my grading, is with my proposal and participation.
The proposal was broken down into 3 sections. proposal, annotated bibliography, and primary source analysis.
Each section was worth 5%.
The proposal I did well on, receiving 4/5
The bibliography, I forgot to annotate (as I know many in the class did as well) so I received a 0. This is where I think I was wronged, to me a 0 would mean I didn't even do the assignment. I think I should receive 1-2 pts or something...
Then I received 1/5 for my primary source analysis. The analysis was supposed to be 1pg. I went over a bit, but felt that was fine. She stated that I only went in to the positives of the source, and didn't bring up any negatives... I think my work was definitely worth 2-4 pts.

Now participation is were I'm extremely angry. I spoke with her outside of class fairly early in the semester about this grade, as 25% is quite a bit. She essentially informed me that she uses it as a "grade leveler" and that I shouldn't really worry as long as I show up and contribute fairly often.
It was a 3 hr long once a week course, which I showed up to 10/13 of the classes. She told me that I only was present for 8/12 discussions. She missed one class, so there wasn't a discussion that day (I showed, a movie was played).
My original grade that I told was 3/25. I immediately emailed her about this thinking it must be a mistake. A day later I got a response saying it was, it should have been 8/25.
I truly believe that she took a day to response and she was grading my final exam then. So she then "boosted" my participation grade so that I pass the class with a D instead of an F which my original participation grade would have left me (possibly knowing that a F would make me appeal)

[Temporary_User]

dbl post..

[Weiser Wonder]

That sucks man. In my opinion, if you get a C on the papers and a C on the exam, that's what you should get in the class. Grading participation is unnecessary, let people participate as much as they need to in order to ensure success.

[simmer2]

I appealed two of my grades at the U of C and it was a worthwhile process. In one of the courses, my grade end up two entire letter grades...deservedly though. It takes more work, and even if the grade doesn't get changed it shows the Profs they should be accountable for their grades. In one of my classes we had to talk with the department head about the grading and the prof ended up getting reprimanded as well.

I would say the Participation Grade of 25% first of all is ludicrous, that tells me she's being lazy. Secondly, reading your justification I think you have a case, for sure.

I would definitely try and appeal the grade.

Did you participate in class at all? Because an 8/25 is a really low grade....if you showed up for 75% of the classes and participated, that should be somewhere in the 16-18 out of 25 I would think.

[OilersBaby]

Your participation grade needs to be proportionate to the level you participated.....so it definitely needs to be higher.

This is one of the things that I found very different in the US when I transferred from the U of A - participation counts a LOT...anywhere from 15 to 25 percent in my classes..and as high as 50 percent in ONE of my classes (it was an online class and participation meant you had to post on the teachers blog and contribute to the online discussion). A lot of profs here in the USA take attendence..couldnt ditch class like at the U of A. I felt babied but it was easier to get points.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by OilersBaby

Your participation grade needs to be proportionate to the level you participated.....so it definitely needs to be higher.

This is one of the things that I found very different in the US when I transferred from the U of A - participation counts a LOT...anywhere from 15 to 25 percent in my classes..and as high as 50 percent in ONE of my classes (it was an online class and participation meant you had to post on the teachers blog and contribute to the online discussion). A lot of profs here in the USA take attendence..couldnt ditch class like at the U of A. I felt babied but it was easier to get points.

Strange. Of all the courses I've taken not once have I been graded on attendance (not counting labs of course). Now, online is a bit different. They do try to get you for some sort of participation a lot.

My freshman composition class consisted of what the professor called 'edit sessions' where the class would get together to critique the work of fellow class members as a sort of revision and improvement exercise. She made it very clear that it was impossible to get an A without participating in these.

I did though. Sometimes quality of work impresses them enough to overcome a perceived lack of participation.

Oh..and I've skipped a ton of classes.

What school did you go to that was so hung up on attendance OB?

[HotHotHeat]

Participation marks are a joke. It's unbelievable to me that 1/4 of a grade is essentially based on your physical presence in class when you're paying to be there. If you pay the tuition, hand in the assignments and write the exams there is nothing else that should matter.

Oh, and essay proposals are BS too. Was this an upper level course?

[Circa89]

I don't understand why you would appeal a D? Isn't that like saying I didn't do bad I just did pretty bad. Honestly why the distinction?
I can see an F versus a D (Pass or fail) or a B versus and A ( I got straight A's kinda thing) perhaps appeal worthy.
Will this make a difference in the Grand Scheme of things of your university career?

[Rathji]

Some degree programs you can only have a cetian number of D's to graduate. Some D's are counted as a fail with respect that you cannot use that course as a pre requisite for another course. In pretty much every post secondary program I am aware of you need to maintain certian GPA to remain in the program.

I am sure it is one of these reasons.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Circa89

I don't understand why you would appeal a D? Isn't that like saying I didn't do bad I just did pretty bad. Honestly why the distinction?
I can see an F versus a D (Pass or fail) or a B versus and A ( I got straight A's kinda thing) perhaps appeal worthy.
Will this make a difference in the Grand Scheme of things of your university career?

Just to expand on what rathji already said regarding pre-requisites and everything:
At the UofC, I believe the cutoff for academic probation is a 2.0 GPA. Depending on how you're doing in other classes, having a D could drag you down below that line and give you a whole mess of headaches.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Hate to be the one negative voice here, but as a University teacher I can maybe offer some perspective here.

It is fairly usual to require attendance for University classes nowadays. In that context, missing 3 classes in a once a week class is kind of a lot. If you were taking my English Lit. Class you would probably have failed the participation section of the course on that basis alone, if the absences were unexcused. Mind you, in my course that's only 10%--I agree that 25% is a lot. But participation is essential in a lot of classes, and often is the primary measure of whether in fact you're learning anything.

Missing three once-a-week classes is the equivalent of missing nine classes that meet MWF. In that sense, it's not that out of the ordinary to give you a low grade for participation. My sense is that an appeals board is likely to feel the same way, and that an appeal will be a waste of your time.

[flip]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

Hate to be the one negative voice here, but as a University teacher I can maybe offer some perspective here.

It is fairly usual to require attendance for University classes nowadays. In that context, missing 3 classes in a once a week class is kind of a lot. If you were taking my English Lit. Class you would probably have failed the participation section of the course on that basis alone, if the absences were unexcused. Mind you, in my course that's only 10%--I agree that 25% is a lot. But participation is essential in a lot of classes, and often is the primary measure of whether in fact you're learning anything.

Missing three once-a-week classes is the equivalent of missing nine classes that meet MWF. In that sense, it's not that out of the ordinary to give you a low grade for participation. My sense is that an appeals board is likely to feel the same way, and that an appeal will be a waste of your time.

You didn't clarify what failing participation is though. T_U says he was there for 8/12 lectures which is 2/3 of the classes.

So assuming he participated in class discussion a 3/25 seems a little steep. I could see 8/25 to 15/25, but 3/25? That seems really out of hand. There is failing, and there is epically failing and I don't thing T_U deserved to epically fail like he did.

Seems like the teacher had it in for him.

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by flip

So assuming he participated in class discussion a 3/25 seems a little steep. I could see 8/25 to 15/25, but 3/25? That seems really out of hand. There is failing, and there is epically failing and I don't thing T_U deserved to epically fail like he did..

Well, going by one of his posts above, he did receive a 8/25. Looks like originally it was a 3, he checked with the teacher, it was a mistake and it got bumped up to a 8.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

To add to that, 8/25 is just about a D. A little better, in fact. When I said "fail" the Attendance portion of the class, I meant that he would get 0/10.

[flip]

Originally Posted by RedHot25

Well, going by one of his posts above, he did receive a 8/25. Looks like originally it was a 3, he checked with the teacher, it was a mistake and it got bumped up to a 8.

Right you are. I didn't fully read his post i guess.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by flip

You didn't clarify what failing participation is though. T_U says he was there for 8/12 lectures which is 2/3 of the classes.

So assuming he participated in class discussion a 3/25 seems a little steep. I could see 8/25 to 15/25, but 3/25? That seems really out of hand. There is failing, and there is epically failing and I don't thing T_U deserved to epically fail like he did.

Seems like the teacher had it in for him.

It seems unlikely to me that the teacher "had it in for him".

Could be that the prof said something like "if you miss 4 of the 12 classes, you'll be lucky to get anything". I know I heard (and suffered the consequences) of that kind of policy.

There does seem to be a discrepancy between how many classes he believed he showed up for and how many she claims he was there. He might have a legitimate gripe based on that.

As for the bibliography, if it was done wrong, it was done wrong. They aren't going to give you freebie points for effort on that kind of thing.

[RedHot25]

Yeah. Grades are always tough, but I echo the posters above (Iowa?) that state make sure you have a good case and are fairly certain of it. I have done marking myself, and that is what I would suggest.