Posts Tagged "failing grades"

What You Can Learn From My Advice to the Student Petitioning the ‘Grade Tank’

Posted by on Jul 30, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 6 comments

(Not my usual blogging day, but if you saw last Friday’s post, you already know that the student whose grade tanked is going to petition. Just coming into this unexpected series? Start here and continue here and here. I’m continuing this discussion through one more post because I believe other students could face a similar issue and the add-on advice (that I provided via e-mail) is important to share. What I told the student is universal, not only when challenging a grade, but if you ever have to stand up for yourself. I have had to take this advice, myself. Read on…) Okay, before I get to it, two quick things… First, I promise to update everyone...

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“I feel completely powerless.” More From The Student Whose Grade Tanked.

Posted by on Jul 24, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 28 comments

(I didn’t properly message my stay-cation of last week. I apologize about that! Back to business here, and revisiting the post about the student whose term ended and received a grade that he was not expecting because the prof changed the grade standards. Based on a follow-up comment that just came in, we’re continuing that conversation now. I encourage everyone to please weigh in for encouragement or feedback!) Here were some Twitter comments from the last post: Kathryn Siranosian (@corpwriters said): This happened to my son, too! “The class had too many As” on the final (including his). Samra Bufkins MJ, APR ‏(@Samjb said): No! That can’t...

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Student Question: The Prof Changed the Grade Structure After Class Ended–My Grade Tanked!

Posted by on Jul 12, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 7 comments

A troubling question just came in and I am hoping that my colleagues in higher ed will respond with your thoughts. Here goes… First, the question: “My professor changed the syllabus after the class was over. He said the lab was worth 300 out of 850 in the syllabus, then after the class was over he changed the lab to 170 out of 720 because the average lab score was a 96% and he wanted to lower grades. This dropped me from a C to a D+ and now I’m not passing and will have to re-take the course. Also, right after the exams he told the class that he was adding 5 points to test 1 and a few points to test 2 because scores were low and then after the...

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Students, Before You Do That Assignment Your Way, Read This

Posted by on Jun 12, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 18 comments

Let’s say you were a contestant on The Next Food Network Star. Three Food Network stars—big ones—Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown—are giving you honest, straight-up advice about what you need to do to win over the Food Network executives so you might score your own show. Would you take their advice? Or would you do what you think is right, if you had a differing opinion? Okay, so first of all, yes, I am blogging about reality television… again. This cold-turned-sinus-infection thing is kicking my behind and I’m watching a little too much. Second of all, I couldn’t help but make a correlation between something I saw on this show last Sunday and...

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The Response: Should You Tell Your Professor About Your Anxiety/Depression?

Posted by on Jun 5, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 17 comments

(When we left off last week, a student wrote in wondering if is appropriate to tell a prof about issues with anxiety/depression that could affect class performance. I am simplifying, but here’s the post. Here is my response to the student. I also consulted Jennifer Sandler, who heads up Access/Disability Services at Highline Community College, for back-up).  Dear Student, I’m going to attempt to give you the best advice that I can. Not to get too cheerleader-y on you, but I’d like to first celebrate the fact that you’re moving forward! Many people with anxiety/depression would stay stuck and not even try to battle through it. You are in the...

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