<p>I've had a professor this semester who I took 3 classes with. I like her as a person and she is a great person...but there's a few problems. Long story short, several letters from my classmates have went to the president and the deans complaining about her and nothing has been done. We never learned in her class and most of it was just free-talk (basically her personal life) and I had an A in all of them, until I checked grades.</p>
<p>When I logged onto where she posted our grades she had cut out literally 10-15 assignments per class! I'm talking several page papers, and a lot of written assignments. She never got around to grading them, and I don't feel it's justified I and my classmates spent all that time on assignments for her to just throw out the window because she didn't have time. Because of it I recieved an A, A- and a B+ (I should've had all A's with the other assignments put in) since she only graded our tests and quizzes and it felt like she only gave random grades on assignments (giving a 86% on a reflection from the first week she just now graded with no comments, just the number). She never gave feedback on anything either so all of my classmates are in the same boat as me. Plus she never gave the extra credit I did. So, what do I do since the assignments would've given me an A? Plus she gave me an incomplete on some papers we have to do for the school (she's my advisor). Because of it, I'm not allowed on the Dean's List despite my GPA being high enough. I can understand this happening in a large school, but it's a very small school where everyone knows everyone.</p>
<p>I've argued my grade before and once the teacher admitted she made a mistake, the other time I asked her to send me what I was missing and I'd find it for her and never responded.</p>
<p>If the dean of your school will not do anything, escalate the issue to the ombudsman at your school. It is their responsibility to deal with disputes like this.</p>
<ol>
<li>Hint her if she bumps you up you won't tell other students. Or else she'll be afraid that everyone will storm her room and ask her for grade changes.
2.Don't accuse her. Ask her why the grades were given. </li>
<li>Be firm. Make a stand. Don't leave her office until you feel satisfied that the issue is resolved.</li>
</ol>
<p>Act like you're confused, not angry. Say, "I don't understand," and that sort of thing. Ask her to tell you where you went wrong in your papers, and if she can't tell you anything, ask why you didn't get a better grade. Ask her which assignments you were missing, and if some were, whether you actually turned them in or not, fix it. Ask her if she graded the assignments that didn't get factored in, but don't say that you want grades for them included so you can get your A. Say, "Oh, and I was just wondering how I did on the ___________ paper." If she didn't ever bother to grade it, then there's a problem. Finally, if she changed her grading system from the way it was on the syllabus, you have every right to be upset. Syllabi are contracts between a professor and students. If all else fails, go visit the dean in person, and take it from there. Don't take her class again if she is allowed to stay. Maybe you should also change advisors. An A- and B+ aren't awful if you absolutely have to keep them, but I understand it if you actually deserve the A. However, if you are just speculating as to what your grades were on those other assignments, maybe you just didn't do as well as you thought. Did you actually turn in those forms that you had to have for the Dean's List? Because if you didn't, it's your own fault you aren't on it.</p>
<p>She did change her syllabi (and yes I turned in everything, most of them were turned in well in advance). On it it specifically stated that the papers would be worth certain percentages as well as all the forum posts we did (and there were 15 or so in one class). For the papers she did grade most in one class and she specifically told us, don't worry about this one section and not to fill it out. She just now graded all of them, so there was no chance to see if we were making a mistake and see how we could improve and indicated I didn't fill out the section she told us to ignore. </p>
<p>I just looked again and she didn't even grade our final major project in my one class that was supposed to be a sizeable chunk. I would change advisors, but I did have another one in the department until I randomly got an email stating she was now my advisor with no choice. I did a lot of extra credit/work in her classes (i.e. helping create the preschool room, going to events etc) so I did go above and beyond.</p>
<p>Sounds like an issue for the Dean of your school. Seriously, you deserve to have your work evaluated, it's part of her job. I'd be super ticked off if a prof didn't bother to look at a paper or project I spent a lot of time and effort on.</p>
<p>She must be tenured if she can get away with so much crap like that. Usually there's not a whole lot you can do to get them in trouble.</p>
<p>Try asking for feedback on your project- see how she reacts. Both of you konw it's a big factor in your final grade. If she comes up pretty much blank, then you know she isn't putting enough effort in your class. If your overall GPA is fine can suffer a little, then let it all go. </p>
<p>INSIST on switching advisors. If you're a sophomore, declare your major NOW if possible. If you still are a freshman, and the school gives you no choice, try looking to another professor as a mentor and just use your current advisor to sign off things, and be willing to take more responsiblity to checking your progress towards your degree. Been there a bit.</p>
<p>Well I'm a senior so my major has long been declared. I was switched to her because enough education majors were in that major. So I don't know if they'll let me at this point. I did email her about the feedback but I haven't heard back.</p>
<p>Try going to visit her instead of just e-mailing if you're still at school now. It's easy to ignore someone over the internet, not so much when they're in the same room as you. I would call the dean, definitely, if she does not respond to you within a timely manner and you cannot go see her. You and other students deserve to have your work graded fairly. Since you're a senior, if you can't change advisors pretty easily, you may just want to stick with her. It's not like she has much left to sign off on for you, and you're probably already signed up for classes next semester. Just out of curiosity, have you taken classes with her before this semester? Was she like this then? Maybe she's going through something in her personal life, which might explain things a bit better, while it is still inexcusable. Let us know how things turn out.</p>
<p>Well I emailed her and she says she'll change one of the grades but the rest is a waiting game. I'm off campus so I would see her otherwise, but that's not possible now. I haven't had her before since this is her first semester, but if she's still around next fall I'll have her again. Thanks for the advice.</p>