A week ago I took a test. When I got it back from my teacher I found he had made errors in grading. His policy allows for 1 week to make review and corrections. I actually did so in about 5 minutes after receiving it and showed him in class along with a letter describing the errors. A few days go by, and he calls me into his office and says that he is giving me credit for a large portion that he missed, but wouldn’t give me credit for another part, saying that he thinks I wrote in answers after the fact. Fact is I didnt, and so my grade suffers because he isn’t aware of how bad his mistakes are. This teacher is 74, and not playing with a full deck. So I am implicitly being accused of cheating without the formal university proceeding. After lengthy argument he wouldn’t budge, and I am left now with professor that isn’t honest and careful in grading.
I have started the process of going to the dept chair and asst Dean, but my experience with the university is that they don’t always act for the benefit of the student.
Should I prepare for something more serious? Do I also start talking to other people in the university about his conduct? What should I do? I know its just one test, but the element of trust now with this teacher.
you start the process with the department chair; keep a written/email record of every step and communication. Just follow the chain of command. One tip-- don’t refer to his age or ‘not playing with a full deck’- it’s not your judgment to make. Stick to the facts. Do you have any homework assignments done before the exam that reflect the same content to use to demonstrate that you do have the knowledge and skills to have answered those questions correctly?
Yes I have a project where he counted off for details he didn’t read about or skipped over. I’ve already been to the department chair once this semester about it, and was told simply to “ask more questions to make sure I understand what he wants”
To me it’s the principle of the matter. I didn’t cheat, and during conversation he tried to down play the issue with things like, “it’s not a lot of points” and mentoning there would be scales.
This is actually my second degree. I’ve seen bad professors before. I learned after my first degree and years of work that 1) I shouldn’t have to put up with it 2) universities can’t get away with injuring someones academic record whether inadvertently or on purpose.
You are 100% in the right. You’ve made your case and probably planted in his mind that you didn’t cheat and are offended by the accusation. Politely ask your professor to photocopy your exams in the future if he doesn’t trust you so that you can bring back misgraded exams in the future without being accused of cheating. You are a senior in what is widely known as the hardest major. In the scheme of things, worrying about this can’t be worth your time given the actual academic pressures that are upon you. I’ve told my kids to take the view that grades are an approximation to the truth, and she be viewed that way. While there are examples where you are cheated out of points, you’ve must have had professors who were in fact overly generous. Key your eye on what you need to do moving forward.
My professor has now filed a report to the dean for non academic misconduct for accusing him of behaving unethically.
And now the Dean will not talk to me until the administration discusses my options. What options could they be referring to?
Your original complaint was that the professor had made mistakes in grading and then you ramped up the accusation to an accusation of the professor’s ethics. And your previous work experience has taught you that this is the pathway to success?
Yes. Sometimes mistakes are just mistakes. Sometimes professors give students too many points, but we don’t see those students insisting on a re-grade.
You are mistaken. I never ramped up on any accusations of ethics to the school. Maybe on here, but to them I simply said mistakes were made, and and I wasn’t comfortable with moving forward as is. That’s required by university policy.
You may be willing to compromise your integrity to get by, but I’ll have this professor again next semester, and it doesn’t make sense to let his mistakes continue. I also have a problem with the implication of being deemed a liar, and cheater by someone that isn’t doing his job. Ezekiel 25:17
Ezekiel: 25:17 “I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I take vengeance on them.’”
You do know you are not the Lord, right?
Pulp fiction reference, sorry
“The path of the righteous is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men…”
I sure hope you didn’t make that biblical reference in the context of any discussion have had with anybody on your campus, because that’s what Samuel L. Jackson said in Pulp Fiction before he killed people. One can easily think your intentions are similar.
No. I would rather just go back to studying and move on. But it’s one thing to get paid to take crap, like in a job with a bad boss, and another to PAY for it. l’ve learned enough of those life lessons after nearly a decade in business.
Also, please understand something. I sent a letter of concern to the department chair. The chair in turn forwarded my letter back to my professor, who then retaliated by filing a misconduct report because he didn’t like what I said. The chair basically stabbed me in the back, and now I have an angry professor already seeking retribution. Both acting unprofessional. And I’m supposed to let that go? Really?
The chair didn’t stab you in the back. Whether you sent your message in an email or on a sheet of paper, the chair followed up on your note. Following up is part of his or her job.
if you are a teacher and that’s what you consider professional behavior when a students been accused of cheating, I would hate to be your student.
From your posts here, I don’t think this is going to end well for you.
what isn’t going to end well?
The resolution of the situation. You act as if you are in the driver’s seat, but you’re not. I think you need to back down.
I see what you’re saying, but I feel like it’s been escalated to a point that if I don’t stand up, I risk being harmed in the future by this professor. There’s no desire for more than correcting a grade and having my work checked by a third party. I feel like backing down to a professors intimidation only perpetuates a dynamic. Will it be easier to let it go? Probably, but then what happens if it happens again?