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[mickeymantle]

I want to thank all the posters for their replies....The message I included constituted the essence of the student's email.  In addition, I calmly replied by stating that I was willing to meet with hu during my office hours this semester.  Once I was willing (naive) in thinking that explaining grades logically to students by email.  But they usually don't want a logical explanation; they want you to change the grade by (their) emotional fiat.   I also had to worry about FERPA requirements.

So now, if they are serious, they can show up during my office hours.  This way I can keep control in an environment where students seem more capable of firing off emails than in actually doing anything face-to-face.  It's like getting used to students walking by you and talking about intimate details of their lives on their cell phones.  One has to adjust, but in a way that's comfortable.

Finally, I have been 0 for 5 in these situations.  We shall see with this student.  Cheers!

[kedves]

Finally, I have been 0 for 5 in these situations.  We shall see with this student.  Cheers!

Mickey, what happened in the previous situations?  Does your chair or dean not back you up?

Good luck.

[prof52]

I'm really sorry to hear that you've encountered this.  You could always tell your student that it's not your fault that s/he did so poorly in his or her other classes that s/he now needs a high grade to bail him/her out of trouble.

Or not. 

[mickeymantle]

I'm sorry, I should've made it clearer.  Five times a student has asked questions about their grades, and I've "invited" them to my office hours.  They never showed up.  I did have one really nasty situation many years ago as an adjunct.  Several members of one of my sections protested their final grades.  The chair, who'd just laid me off along with some other adjuncts, just caved in.  What the heck?  I wasn't returning.

[southerntransplant]

This has happened to me a few times. I'll run into a student the next semester and they'll ask me why they got a particular grade. I tell them to make an appointment and I'll gladly show them their final (I keep all final exams). When I get to the office, I'll paw through the exams, find the one under dispute, and put it on top of the stack in the desk drawer so I can find it easily, as I'm sure the student will be contacting me forthwith...

No one has ever contacted me again.

[eeekolye]

It is definately tough when they appear in your office. I'm certainly sympathetic when they start crying because they are half a point/10 points/10,000 points away from med school/a great job/their dream graduate program. And I have a box of tissues handy for the week after the final exams.

It's been pointed out by the experienced voices on this forum already and I'd "chime" it: students earn grades and we report those grades back to them - a distinction that they sometimes find hard to understand.  It's unfair to their classmates - present and future - to change a grade based on a verbal or emotional appeal. I just can't justify it without putting a dent in my academic integrity . Hold your ground and be sympathetic - but firm - especially if you're new. Eventually the numbers of attempts/appeals will drop off over the years as your reputation for being approachable but firm is established.

One "concession" I've made is to offer to write a letter for students who are very close to a particular grade - e.g., they missed an A by one point -stating they were close/right at the cut off and that we don't do "grade inflation". A few have taken me up on the offer but it's difficult to tell what impact that has subsequently had...

I'm sorry, I should've made it clearer.  Five times a student has asked questions about their grades, and I've "invited" them to my office hours.  They never showed up.  I did have one really nasty situation many years ago as an adjunct.  Several members of one of my sections protested their final grades.  The chair, who'd just laid me off along with some other adjuncts, just caved in.  What the heck?  I wasn't returning.

My sympathies, but it sounds like you're now in a better place! I had a similar experience a few years ago with a very large class who through sheer weight of numbers managed to convince the course director to make weighted points into actual points (so instead of, e.g., 25 points being a 5% weighted contribution to the final grade, they became real points and ended up as a >12% contribution). I went home and chewed the furniture in fury....I'm just about over it now and the Course Director and I have worked past it...

[mickeymantle]

Yes, I'm beginning to wonder if technological advancements really do make our lives easier.  Not only must I encounter student emails, but also a barrage of electronic mail on university issues I really don't feel like discussing right now.  But then there is the delete button.

[melba_frilkins]

Yes, I'm beginning to wonder if technological advancements really do make our lives easier.  Not only must I encounter student emails, but also a barrage of electronic mail on university issues I really don't feel like discussing right now.  But then there is the delete button.

I think email means that we get more complaints, but of a less intense nature (i.e., not live in person or by phone).

[caravaggiojr82]

I'm old enough to remember when there was no such thing as email (or fax machines, or cordless phones, or computers...), and email has made it way easier for people--students or anyone else--to bring stuff to my attention: therefore, people--students and anyone else--find that they have more stuff they want to bring to my attention (the easier it is to get to the store, the more I feel like shopping, etc.). The thinking is, "I'll just drop him/her an email--no sweat." I remember when, if I wanted the whole department to know about something important, I had to sit at my desk and type (on an IBM Selectric typewriter) out a memoranda. Then, I had to "run off" copies on a pre-historic copy machine. Then, I had to manually place these memoranda copies in my colleagues' mailboxes. But now, there's the department list serve--to which I can send emails from my BlackBerry. In short, email has made it easier to communicate, and therefore, people find they have more they want to communicate. Maybe it's a wash?

[the_honey_badger]

As a TA I almost kept a guy out of the Rose Bowl---the Dean changed that grade personally because my supervising professor wouldn't!

Last year I had a student claim I'd single-handedly kept him out of med school with a B- in freshman *history.*

Nope, said I, one B- in a freshman humanities survey is going to do that. Look at your g.p.a, your science courses or your MCAT score. No, he replied: "it was that single grade that kept me from a 4.0 and I got EXCELLENT Grades[sic] on the MCAT. My admission coach said that if you change the grade I'll get in on the next cycle."   

Oh, your "grade" was (in all caps) "excellent" but you don't know the terminology? Hmmmm....So I looked him up since his graduation date was only a year old and lo and behold....Johnny had a 2.9x gpa upon graduation.  He'd even repeated Biology 101 to get a "C" the second time.

I suggested he appeal to the Assoc Dean who, btw, was a former colleague and I knew would have fun with this whole b.s. story.  Reportedly he did because Johnny's "admission coach" had him do this for every B- grade or below and at least three of us turfed him over to the Dean's office and Old Johnny thought (get this): he could appeal all of them at once and "get the Dean to help him out."

(my favorite true grading story ever!)

[mystictechgal]

As a TA I almost kept a guy out of the Rose Bowl---the Dean changed that grade personally because my supervising professor wouldn't!

Last year I had a student claim I'd single-handedly kept him out of med school with a B- in freshman *history.*

Nope, said I, one B- in a freshman humanities survey is going to do that. Look at your g.p.a, your science courses or your MCAT score. No, he replied: "it was that single grade that kept me from a 4.0 and I got EXCELLENT Grades[sic] on the MCAT. My admission coach said that if you change the grade I'll get in on the next cycle."   

Oh, your "grade" was (in all caps) "excellent" but you don't know the terminology? Hmmmm....So I looked him up since his graduation date was only a year old and lo and behold....Johnny had a 2.9x gpa upon graduation.  He'd even repeated Biology 101 to get a "C" the second time.

I suggested he appeal to the Assoc Dean who, btw, was a former colleague and I knew would have fun with this whole b.s. story.  Reportedly he did because Johnny's "admission coach" had him do this for every B- grade or below and at least three of us turfed him over to the Dean's office and Old Johnny thought (get this): he could appeal all of them at once and "get the Dean to help him out."

(my favorite true grading story ever!)

The real pity here does need to go to Johnny.  He was undoubtedly paying his "admissions coach" and wasn't even smart enough to know he was being taken for a ride.  IMO, his "admissions coach" needs a bigger slap upside the head than Johnny did.  Evidently, s/he either failed the Ethics 101 class or passed the Situational Ethics portion of it with flying colours.  People like that need to be drummed out of business.

[mickeymantle]

I remember like it was yesterday whining to a counselor in college about how "unfair" a friend of mine was being and the counselor said, "Look, Mickey, you're a very smart guy, but you also need to be a person of honor."  That really caught me short, but I knew afterwards he was right.

Today, of course, the student would mostly like sue the counselor for intentional infliction of emotional distress. 

The all-time worst situation I ever faced with a student was when I returned papers during a final examination.  Ms. Snowflake didn't like that she received a C plus and actually started screaming at me in front of the other students.  After that I vowed never to return papers during such a situation.

[spyzowin]

I remember like it was yesterday whining to a counselor in college about how "unfair" a friend of mine was being and the counselor said, "Look, Mickey, you're a very smart guy, but you also need to be a person of honor."  That really caught me short, but I knew afterwards he was right.

Today, of course, the student would mostly like sue the counselor for intentional infliction of emotional distress. 

The all-time worst situation I ever faced with a student was when I returned papers during a final examination.  Ms. Snowflake didn't like that she received a C plus and actually started screaming at me in front of the other students.  After that I vowed never to return papers during such a situation.

I learnt the same lesson the same way.

Now, I tell them. "Since some of you will probably be upset at your poor performance in the last essay, I am not going to return them until you hand in your exam."

That way I can stress to them for the millionth time that I did not "GIVE" them the grade.

[kshenko]

...And double worse when you allow the cheating student pass with a C, instead of giving him an F altogether, and he complains about not getting a B.

OMG, I am currently going through a similar situation.  Last term, I had a very active student who made a lot of contributions in class--but she averaged a B on her exams and papers.  So, using "class participation" as an excuse, I bumped her up to an A-minus...

...and guess what, she has been complaining for the last 3 months.  She knows what she got on the exams/papers, but she is somehow convinced that I am being unfair and that she deserves an A.  So, she has contacted the Dean, the Provost, and even the Board of Trustees, saying all sorts of things.  Of course, as much as I hate my admins, they have been pretty good about referring these cases to the proper office without getting involved (we have an academic appeals office).

[nebo113]

...And double worse when you allow the cheating student pass with a C, instead of giving him an F altogether, and he complains about not getting a B.

OMG, I am currently going through a similar situation.  Last term, I had a very active student who made a lot of contributions in class--but she averaged a B on her exams and papers.  So, using "class participation" as an excuse, I bumped her up to an A-minus...

...and guess what, she has been complaining for the last 3 months.  She knows what she got on the exams/papers, but she is somehow convinced that I am being unfair and that she deserves an A.  So, she has contacted the Dean, the Provost, and even the Board of Trustees, saying all sorts of things.  Of course, as much as I hate my admins, they have been pretty good about referring these cases to the proper office without getting involved (we have an academic appeals office).

No good deed goes unpunished.