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.

[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]

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...

[MajorCaptSilly]

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

[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

[holli4pirating]

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.

[HK3-]

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! :tu

[Starscream]

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.

:tpd:
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.

[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]

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.

[Goldie]

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.

[GreekGodX]

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.

[BlackDog]

If youi've got him again next semester, it may be more beneficial to sit down with him now and find out where your "shortcomings" are, so you can "improve" them for next semester.

[dwoodward]

Just don't bother if he will make you pay up front. It's very hard to prove these kind of things. I don't know why anyone would go through the trouble, but I suppose if I ever felt I was graded unfairly, I would want to fight it too.

It's pretty sad in this world how much impact a piece of paper can have on any business/association. It seems that when a customer has an issue places like to brush it off, when the customer comes back they get brushed off again, but when a letter headed paper comes thru the mailbox, suddenly its a big enough deal to be taken seriously. It's morally wrong in my opinion.

Good luck to you.

[357]

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.

Very DB thing to do. We reserved a musician and then his number changed. Couldn't get a hold of him so we found another. First guy showed up 20 minutes before the ceremony. My best-man thanked him for showing up and gave him $40 for his trouble. At least he showed.

[jledou]

If youi've got him again next semester, it may be more beneficial to sit down with him now and find out where your "shortcomings" are, so you can "improve" them for next semester.

:tpd: 100% Talk to them, they are human and when you show interest or a willingness to change they will tend to look at you different. College isn't the only place you will have to work with people you don't like to get by ... some of us get to call them Boss.

[Gophernut]

:tpd: 100% Talk to them, they are human and when you show interest or a willingness to change they will tend to look at you different. College isn't the only place you will have to work with people you don't like to get by ... some of us get to call them Boss.:xxx

They have egos too, and like it if you're presenting yourself as someone who is looking for help.

[Bill86]

I've found that saying ANYTHING to the teachers puts you closer and closer to the firing squad. Teachers aren't very nice people and love to make your life a living hell. Especially if you have him/her next semester.....just suck it up or try to switch teachers.

[pnoon]

I've found that saying ANYTHING to the teachers puts you closer and closer to the firing squad. Teachers aren't very nice people and love to make your life a living hell. Especially if you have him/her next semester.....just suck it up or try to switch teachers.
Really? That makes as much sense as saying "All kids named Bill are a$$holes"

fwiw, my daughter is a teacher and is very nice
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[GreekGodX]

fwiw, my daughter is a teacher and is very nice
Posted via Mobile Device

Noooo can't be true, Peter :) I just read that all teachers aren't very nice people and love making life a living hell. That means your daughter who is a teacher is not very nice. And if she is nice then she isn't a teacher :r

[CasaDooley]

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 :2

[icehog3]

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.

[Ashcan Bill]

Really? That makes as much sense as saying "All kids named Bill are a$$holes"

Posted via Mobile Device

Ahhhh. I've been stabbed. The pain. :r



My wife teaches part time at the college level. She has kids that don't show up all semester, miss assignments and tests, Google/copy all their homework, and then complain to the Dean when they fail. It ain't always easy on the other side either.

[pnoon]

Ahhhh. I've been stabbed. The pain. :r



My wife teaches part time at the college level. She has kids that don't show up all semester, miss assignments and tests, Google/copy all their homework, and then complain to the Dean when they fail. It ain't always easy on the other side either.

Nothing personal, Bill.

Besides, you're no kid. :D

[Ashcan Bill]

Nothing personal, Bill.

Besides, you're no kid. :D

Stabbed, followed by a low blow.

That's it. I'm going to go smoke one. :D

[xlc12rf]

I think there is a distinct difference between a "college" (say a Community college), and a "University". If the professor in question has a Ph.D. a large majority of them are as described in this thread. In my department of 14 Professors, I have only dealt with 2 of them who are understanding and supportive of the student.

It sucks, but that's kinda how it is. Stroke their ego to get your way.

[Starscream]

I think there is a distinct difference between a "college" (say a Community college), and a "University". If the professor in question has a Ph.D. a large majority of them are as described in this thread. In my department of 14 Professors, I have only dealt with 2 of them who are understanding and supportive of the student.

It sucks, but that's kinda how it is. Stroke their ego to get your way.

Mark (markem) stated that he was a college professor. Both Dokk (The Professor) and Jeff (The Dakotan) on this board are professors. My father is also a professor. I think I would reword that statement. I know plenty, plenty, plenty of people who hold Ph.D.s and are great people. During my entire experience at my university, I only met a slight few who had major egos.


BTW, I'm a teacher too, and I am mean!:) It is my job to make my student's life a living hell. (That's a joke.)

[Goldie]

Kevin (Casadooley):

I mispoke. I did bring my concern to his attention early in the quarter and he told me that I Was wrong. Flat out, right to my face, that I Was wrong.

Two weeks ago I got pissed off again by a grade I received on two assignments, and I brought it to his attention. While I was in mid sentence, he turned away from me, and went on to the next student. And it was so blatantly obvious, that even the next student said something to me about how rude it was.

So that is wen I went and spoke with his boss. I apologize for that oversight. I did not jump the gun on him, I tried talking to him twice, and got no where, so that is when I decided to take it further. I meant more along the lines of, didn't say anything to his boss until recently.

[markem]

Deep breaths gang. Let's try to stay focused on helping Drew with his specific problem. Broad generalizations are not going to help.

Good luck Drew. Hope you are able to get this resolved before the start of term.

[bobarian]

An advanced education is part of your life experience. While a grievance may get you temporary satisfaction, it may also dig you a deeper hole. This will not be the only time in your life where you will feel you were under appreciated or mistreated. Sooner or later you will come across a boss, supervisor or other superior who may exhibit the same behavior.

You will NEVER be able to convince him he is wrong. But by talking with him about his expectations you may find a way to succeed in the future. Look forward and not back, the next class is more important. A single low grade will only show as an anomaly if you pass the next one with flying colors. :2

[Goldie]

Well said Bobarian.

And I know what you mean about feeling unappreciated and mistreated. I got laid off from my job last March. A job that I thought I would stay at for a long time.

So I know how it feels, and I know that I need to keep my eye on the big picture. I will talk to the prof's boss tomorrow and see if I can actually talk to the prof one on one. Well, he's deaf, and I don't know the language well enough to have a sit down discussion so we will have to have an interpreter present. But you get the idea.

Thanks to everyone who gave their time and feedback. I hope this will work out in the long run for me. One bad grade won't kill me, but it hurts on the inside (as lame as that sounds).

[357]

Well said Bobarian.

And I know what you mean about feeling unappreciated and mistreated. I got laid off from my job last March. A job that I thought I would stay at for a long time.

So I know how it feels, and I know that I need to keep my eye on the big picture. I will talk to the prof's boss tomorrow and see if I can actually talk to the prof one on one. Well, he's deaf, and I don't know the language well enough to have a sit down discussion so we will have to have an interpreter present. But you get the idea.

Thanks to everyone who gave their time and feedback. I hope this will work out in the long run for me. One bad grade won't kill me, but it hurts on the inside (as lame as that sounds).

Pride is tough to swallow. I'm not saying that in a condescending or negative way, but believing you're right and having to accept another answer is tough sometimes. Whether you're right or not isn't the point. Often in the workplace you'll find that you can bend over backward to show evidence that a decision to be made should go in a certain direction. You can prove it beyond dispute, and your boss will still go the other way. It is tough to swallow, especially when you know it means more work/PITA for you. Just chalk it up to a learning experience. Learning to deal with a$$holes in a position of power if you must, but a learning experience nonetheless. At least he won't be your boss for the next 10 years. Find out what he wants/expects and do your best to appease him. It'll help your grade next semester, and move on.

:2

[jkim05]

My friend wen through this with a professor, and he had her again as well. She failed him on his final paper for an education course because she disagreed with his papers main point. Even subjective things such as papers have to be graded fairly based on some kind of rubric. They compared his paper to the rubric and gave him a much higher grade. That being said, going from a C to a B/A is going to be much more difficult than going from failing to passing because there is less at stake from the administration's perspective. Your school should have a documented process for requesting a grade review, but you should carefully consider all options including speaking directly to the professor, and all consequences. It may actually help for the next semester as the administration is much less likely to be sympathetic if you don't file a grievance for this past semester but then seek to do so for the fall semester. If you feel you were genuinely graded unfairly, and you think the teacher was beyond a reasonable range of bias in terms of grading, you shouod complain, you may not be the only student with that problem.

[Darrell]

fwiw, my daughter is a teacher and is very nice
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She must have acquired that trait from her Mother. ;)

[pnoon]

She must have acquired that trait from her Mother. ;)
That. AND her good looks.
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[CasaDooley]

Kevin (Casadooley):

I mispoke. I did bring my concern to his attention early in the quarter and he told me that I Was wrong. Flat out, right to my face, that I Was wrong.

Two weeks ago I got pissed off again by a grade I received on two assignments, and I brought it to his attention. While I was in mid sentence, he turned away from me, and went on to the next student. And it was so blatantly obvious, that even the next student said something to me about how rude it was.

So that is wen I went and spoke with his boss. I apologize for that oversight. I did not jump the gun on him, I tried talking to him twice, and got no where, so that is when I decided to take it further. I meant more along the lines of, didn't say anything to his boss until recently.

Now I have a better understanding of the situation Drew, thanks. I don't know that I can add to any of the good advise given here except to say good luck and remember that your diploma won't show your GPA on it, but it will let others know how hard you worked to get it.:tu

[d'am]

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.

[Drazzil]

There are a number of questions that need to be answered:

1. Is this professor tenured? If so, drop the grievance right now. Even if it comes out in your favor, IE The dean TELLS the instructor he/she was wrong, it is still totally in the professors ball court as to whether to do something about it or not.

2. Do you have this professor next quarter? If yes, then drop the issue, lest next quarter you have a bullseye painted on your forehead.

3. Will it matter in the long scheme of things? If no, drop it.

4. Do you have physical copies of your work in which you can prove that you did well in certain assignments? If yes, approach the professor privately, professors do not like having their math screw ups made public. But since you already appealed you will need as much physical evidence as you can get.

[mithrilG60]

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.


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)

[Goldie]

I contacted the prof who was going to facilitate the meeting and grade grievance for me, and said I wanted to hold off.

I wanted to take the opportunity to sit and speak with my prof first. I think giving him another chance face to face is the right thing to do.

I just got a little heated when I saw my grade.

[darkleeroy]

I contacted the prof who was going to facilitate the meeting and grade grievance for me, and said I wanted to hold off.

I wanted to take the opportunity to sit and speak with my prof first. I think giving him another chance face to face is the right thing to do.

I just got a little heated when I saw my grade.

That's a smart, remember, the difference between a 3.5 and a 3.6 GPA matters in only a handful of places; and even then gaining an great internship would do even better for you. Start networking now, while you're in college and the job search would be easier in the future.