Grade Appeal Battle! Duking it out with Prof.

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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<p>Need rebuttals and argument ideas. Please help! </p>

<p>I made a new username so my dad (fellow CCers) doesn't see this, hence the low post count. On my real username I have about 200ish posts.</p>

<p>So here is my situation,</p>

<p>I took calc during the winter intercession (6 weeks). I ended up with a 71.8 percent overall. According to the prof.'s syllabus, a 75%+ ensures a C anything between 70-75% "may receive a D if I feel they did not put forth adequate effort. Also any student who does not score at least a 60% on final will receive a D." </p>

<p>I scored a 65% on the final, perfect attendance, and 95% on homework (she drops lowest 8 homework btw). And she dropped the lowest test score and replaces it with my final</p>

<p>Before you quickly pass me off as a slacker, I have a 3.8 gpa on all course besides math. Math isn't my strong suit. In addition my mother (only working family member) lost her job during the intercession and that placed a lot of stress on me. </p>

<p>So here's the tricky bit,</p>

<p>I want a C so that my transfer admission acceptance doesn't get rescinded. She is determined to give me a D.</p>

<p>As a compromise she offered me a retake on the final. I accepted thinking it would be basic demonstration of calc knowledge. However she gave me a tricky and difficult final and I ended up with a 60%, I needed an 80% to pass. </p>

<p>I argued on the "adequate effort" part on being vague. She said that was for students who started bad but redeemed themselves at the end (which is bs i think). I should fulfill the adequate effort requirement because of my near perfect hw and attendance, which showed that I tried. This is my main argument.</p>

<p>I also told her about my situation with my mom and my acceptance. She said she couldn’t grade based on circumstances. Which I understand but couldn't the same thing be said about people with disabilities? They get special treatment. Not trying to be ignorant just an observation. </p>

<p>So after reading this any possible new arguments that I can make against her?</p>

<p>I have filed a formal grade appeal, which would go through the vice president and president and eventually the board of trustees.</p>

<p>Thanks for helping fellow CCers.</p>

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<p>What a *****, like is her giving you a C really going to affect her life as much as its going to affect yours? I really hate stubborn teachers like that, and on that note I really don’t have any advice because from the sound of it shes going to do what she want’s. What I can say is next time go to ratemyprofessor.com & read the warnings for teachers like that! lol</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

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<p>Doesn’t sound like you’re UC bound.</p>

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<p>so you didn’t earn the grade, but you think you’re entitled to it? I don’t feel sorry for you at all. Good luck reapplying for fall 2012.</p>

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<p>why didn’t you just retake the class during spring semester?</p>

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<p>I got into a UC already fyi. I read that its possible to get rescinded over a D, but SB generally still accepts you. </p>

<p>mmm. I think i earned the grade. A 70% is passing in my classes. Her “adequate effort” clause is misleading borderline lying or fraud in this case. 70-75% based on adequate effort? If showing up to every class and a 95% on hw then idk what else is adequate effort. And if by adequate effort she means trying on tests then we won’t be here speaking right now.</p>

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<p>If the appeals process doesn’t work, contact your state legislator. They have special legislative contacts with both UC and the CCC system–the UC one is named Happy something, haha.</p>

<p>Sometimes a few calls from a state assemblyman’s office can grease the wheels, even if it couldn’t do anything officially.</p>

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<p>blkbox, but there is not a set standard for a C or a D…it’s simply based on what the professor “feels.” So, why shouldn’t the OP argue against what she “feels” with what he feels? If there was a set percentage assigned to a letter grade, that would be a different story, but I personally don’t think it’s fair when professors employ such arbitrary grading methods.</p>

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<p>If the grading wasn’t “fair” to begin with, you should’ve switched/ dropped the class in the beginning. You went along with it, and now that it’s not going in your favor, you’re starting to complain.</p>

<p>That’s all that’s happening right now.</p>

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<p>Has it ever crossed your mind that is is the only class available to me. Have you ever thought about the California state wide…oh no how about the U.S. budget crisis. Classes are limited and I needed this class to transfer. I though the grading was fair. Try defining “adequate effort.” </p>

<p>If you don’t have suggestions like nick_scheu feel free to not comment on this thread. This thread will serve future students too who are in the same position as me. Or maybe even you goingmeta if you ever encounter an “unfair” prof. </p>

<p>Thanks nick_scheu. I appreciate your help.</p>

<p>Anymore?</p>

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<p>sounds pretty messed up to me dude, i really hope you get the C</p>

<p>i just recently passed a calc class during my winter quarter with a 83% (B) and 70%+ was a C. I can’t really think of any calc professors at my CC that would give a D for a 70% lol. Best of luck to you man!!!</p>

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<p>what is more important to you? your grade or one semester longer at CCC? you should have figured that one out when you saw the syllabus.</p>

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<p>I don’t think it’s an unfair decision, but it is an arbitrary one (as powerbomb points out).</p>

<p>The way I see it, the syllabus (effectively a contract) said that 70-75% was either a C or a D at the professor’s discretion. If that holds, OP is SOL. However, I’m not sure such a policy would hold up under scrutiny. It gives an awful lot of power to a professor–two students who earned the exact same percentage could receive different grades. The decision would really come down to whether the professor likes the student or not. </p>

<p>Of course this happens every day, particularly on subjectively graded assignments like essays. Here, though, it’s blatant. I don’t see how a professor could justify giving two students with the same score different grades. The professor could build in a purely-subjective “participation grade” to get around this, but it sounds like that wasn’t a factor here.</p>

<p>If I were making the decision I would overrule the policy and apply the standard grade breakdown–70% is a C. In the future the professor could add a 5% participation grade. If a student had 74.5%, but the professor didn’t feel like the student put in enough effort, s/he would remove those five percentage points, dropping him into D territory.</p>

<p>The way I view it, the professor had the right to do this under the “law” (i.e., the syllabus), but that law might be “unconstitutional” (i.e., in violation of college policy or guidelines).</p>

<p>Just so you know, though, grade appeals very rarely work in these situations. I think there are some instances where a professor enters the wrong grade for you, but then is unable to correct it him/herself. So you appeal, with the professor backing you (iirc… Could be wrong on this). It’s very rarely successful if the professor opposes you.</p>

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<p>A buddy of mine was in almost the same situation last year. He failed his Calculus II class the spring before he was supposed to transfer, but UCD allowed him to take the course over summer school and he ended up getting in! So you should still have hope, even if the grade appeal doesn’t work out for you. If UCD allowed him to do that, I would imagine some of the other UC’s would do the same–obviously not UCB or UCLA though. You should look research your options now so you can rid yourself of the anxiety. Good luck!</p>

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<p>QFT. 10 char</p>

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<p>“I accepted thinking it would be basic demonstration of calc knowledge.”</p>

<p>"Doesn’t sound like you’re UC bound. "</p>

<p>ngghhhhhh</p>

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<p>Which CCC is this? PM it to me if you like. I’m interested in doing a little research on this (specifically, any college policies governing grading).</p>

<p>Also, are you a minority? Do you publicly practice a polarizing religion? If you can find another student with a lower (or equal) score who received a C, you might be able to make a discrimination argument.</p>

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<p>In the syllabus it says that between 70-75 you may receive a D but I dont see how this guy deserved the D</p>

<p>95% on h/w
Did alright on his tests (C average?)
Got a 65% on final which is above the teachers requirement of 60%</p>

<p>If I were you I would pull up the college grading guidelines… 71% is definitely passing</p>

<p>To get even with this professor you could also sign that muther****er up with a crap load of spam mail/magazines. Also put a post on craigslist saying that he’s looking for homosexual encounters with multiple participants late at night at his address. (if you have his address)</p>

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<p>

w^f. Lmao!!!</p>

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<p>OP, if it says on the syllabus that a 70% - 75% is a “D”, then your grade is pretty much set in stone…I mean, you were given a chance to do another final, which you’ve stated got a lower score than what were supposed to get to pass the class, and you also can’t call her grading policies bs since it is her grading policy. Basically when you’ve entered the class, the syllabus is a written contract telling you that you understand what you’re in for, so you probably could try to call up the UCs for some help on this one. Worst case scenario is that you’ll probably have to stay another year in CC.</p>