I just got a 2/10 or 20% on my participation grade in one of my classes. I know that i was not participative like talking or asking questions during class, in fact i did not talk at all during class. But i have perfect attendance in this class except for one snow day and i emailed him prior to class that i cant drive in the snow. and i always take notes on the chapter powerpoints during the lectures. the thing is that half of class were never there (it was a morning class), they only showed up on important dates like test, quiz or presentations, but i made it every time. And only a couple of people regularly participated in the class and the rest was pretty much silent. the syllabus says attendance alone is not considered active participation, and i knew that so i was expecting around 6 or 7 on the participation, not a 2. i have talked to a couple of other people from the same class. they regularly attend class but NEVER talk during class either but one got a 3 and one got a 5. this person who got a 5 in fact missed a bunch of classes due to sickness, and she was late a couple of times. I don’t see why I deserve a 2 while these others got a 3 and 5. i have emailed my professor but he just copied and pasted the syllabus in my face instead of explaining what made the difference between a 2 , 3, and 5. had he given me a 3 on the participation i would have gotten an A for the course, and a 2 drops it down to a B, and this is the only reason that i can think of why he gave me a 2 because he did not want me to ace the course. i have a’s on all three tests and 3 quizzes, and written group project and presentation. even though i got a’s in all of these big assignments this participation is giving me a B. i would understand it if the two other people had gotten a 2 or below, but i just don’t get how they got a higher participation grade than I did when they were no more participative than i was, and they also think i do not deserve a 2. I guess there is nothing I can do about this? I know a B isn’t end of my life but the quality and quantity of effort Ive put into this course definitely deserves an A, and this is my last semester and I have never gotten below an A in college so this will bring my 4.0 cumulative gpa down to a 3.96 which just bothers me too much as this was not even the most difficult course im taking this semester. i usually get 80%+ on participation in other courses with the same amount of participation (excellent attendance but not talking, but not on my phone or anything). is this professor unfairly discriminating ?
First thing’s first: Step back, breathe, calm down a bit.
Going solely off of what you’re saying, it does sound like the participation grading is rather arbitrary. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask exactly what factored into your participation grade. But also, don’t automatically assume that the professor was purposely out to lower your grade. Sure, it might’ve happened…but most likely not. No one really knows except your professor, but don’t assume that that was the sole reason why he gave you that grade.
How did you word the email? If you worded it politely and in the context of asking what the reasoning for your particular participation grade is, I don’t see a problem with it. If you worded it as asking why you didn’t get as high as other people, I can see why the professor might be annoyed. So how did you word it? That could explain part of why he responded the way he did.
Overall though, I say to take this as a lesson: If participation is part of your grade, make sure you actually participate in class to ensure you get a decent grade for that portion of the class. Other people’s lack of participation doesn’t excuse your lack of participation. Yeah it sounds like this professor gave fairly arbitrary grades in this case, but you don’t know the full story on the other people’s grades either. And of course we don’t know the full story to say how fair the grading actually was.
You knew your responsibilities and made a poor assumption about the role of attendance in your participation grade. When you say, “I don’t see why I deserve a 2 while these others got a 3 and 5,” that is the end of that story. You are not in a position to see why. You could easily have selective memory about other people’s behavior. They could even have ADA accommodations you know nothing about. Even if your professor goofed, that’s a reason to bring someone else’s grade down, not to bring yours up.
Get over this. And next time you’re given a syllabus, do what the smart kids do. If they don’t like the rules, they find another class. That’s a big part of the reason professors give out a syllabus in the first place.
A bit of advice to the OP: paragraphs.
Is it possible that participation is not solely class based and that these students engaged with the prof via email or office hours?
If your email was worded even close to this post, I would’ve sent you the syllabus too. You’re upset and rambling, and sound VERY accusatory. At the end of the day, you KNEW attendance didn’t count as participation. That alone is enough to tell me that you should be grateful he gave you anything above a 2.
Secondly, I find it hard to believe you know of every time these other students were in class. Maybe push down your own attitude and then politely request the professor reconsider HIS EXPLANATION. You certainly aren’t entitled to a better grade, so don’t bother asking for that.
Let me begin by saying I appreciate where you are coming from. My middle child is very intelligent but hated participating in class, from a very young age. She actually took a risk in choosing her college because it featured small classes where she knew she couldn’t hide.
Without comparing your performance to anyone else’s in the class, you need to make the case for why you were a valuable member of the learning community. Right now, it sounds like you are a “free rider,” who might have wonderful things to contribute, but you’re not contributing them for whatever reason.
But email is absolutely the wrong way to approach the prof. A “2” (out of 5?) indicates that s/he has no idea who you are or whether you were there. What you need to do is GO TO OFFICE HOURS AND SEE THEM IN PERSON. At least that attaches your face to your name. You should have done this weeks ago; try it now as a last-ditch effort. Maybe, just maybe, the prof will remember that you were there and attentive.
It may be too late for this class, but take the lesson forward with you.
thanks for everyone who’s been commenting on this post; i have given up and i’m not trying to get an A in this class, i was just a little confused on the prof’s logic or basis of grading.
For those of you who are worried that my email to the professor might have sounded like my original post- of course not. i read over my email more than 10 times to make sure that i did not sound aggressive, rude or impatient. i didn’t really take the time to do that for this post though.
and i knew some of the people were not in class or were in class because the attendance rate for this class in general was very low and these people are from my group project so i know them pretty well and i know it when they’re not there.they also believe that i dont deserve a 2/10 but prof’s opinion can differ.
I am in fact going to his office to talk to him soon, i just didn’t do that yet since i found out my grade today. but i’m not trying to raise my grade or anything. i just want to hear where he came up with the point deductions so I can be convinced since the syllabus does not provide sufficient info about participation.
I keep getting alerts on this thread and turns out im not able to remove the post. and i just don’t want people to keep commenting even after the semester’s over and the issue becomes irrelevant. unfortunately this was my last semester so I guess i can’t take this lesson for any other classes in the future but yeah thanks guys for the advice.
If it stated attendance did not count for participation, and you never spoke in class, sounds like the professor was generous with his 2. Sounds like a zero to me.
A participation grade is going to be based on just what it says: active participation at some point in the class. Otherwise, it would just be called an attendance grade. You never said a word, so you didn’t participate and probably got the grade you deserved. Never automatically assume an instructor will be lenient on anything spelled out in the syllabus.
Even a potted plant can have perfect attendance.
In college, the syllabus is the “contract” for the class. So if the syllabus says " attendance alone is not considered active participation" and you " in fact i did not talk at all during class" then logically you will not get a good participation grade.
I do have questions:
- Did your professor post your grades for participation at any point during the semester?
- Did you look at them?
- If so, why didn’t you go to office hours and talk to your professor about what you could do to improve your participation? Or to make it less scary for you?
@bopper i wish there was a way to freeze the thread since this topic is not relevant anymore as i’ve said in the previous post… but to answer your question the prof did not post the participation grade during the semester. he posted it after our final grades were out, so yes when I saw it for the first time I emailed him and made an appointment with him.
@Booajo although this thread is not relevant anymore, just fyi the syllabus said attendance does count toward participation so basically it was attendance + class participation. and i’m not complaining about it anymore.
guys please look at my previous post left on 5/4 8:57 pm. this topic is outdated and irrelevant and i’m not coming back to this link to look at any more of the comments so whatever you comment will not reach me so you’ll be wasting your time! thank you
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I can understand wanting to know what went into the participation grade (with what weight) since the syllabus said that not just attendance factors into it; that implies that attendance was in fact a part. If attendance was an important part of participation, maybe OP would’ve got a 6 or 7, but if the professor explained that attendance is a minor part of participation and in class discussion is weighed heavier, then maybe the 2 is more justified. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the grading is “unfair” per se but I personally would actively seek out clarification.