next »

[luke_cage]

I just took over chairing our department and I have already had 2 students complain about their grades from other faculty.

My inclination is to be sympathetic but tell the student I am not in a position to try to persuade the professor who observed the student for an entire semester that they should change the grade based on my observation from a conversation. Unless the student can provided documented evidence of a grade miscalculation or unfair treatment I won't intervene.

I will be on the look out for patterns of complaints about grades for particular classes/professors and investigate those more thoroughly and if there are some inequitable treatment or egregious demands on the part of the professor. In those cases I would bring my perceptions to the attention of the professor.

 I'm wondering if more seasoned chairs have any suggestions/comments?

[helpful]

I am not a chair, but our institution has an established procedure whereby, if a student makes a formal written request for a grade change, the chair asks another professor to look at the papers and exams the student handed in and will evaluate the grade independently (without knowing what the current grade is). The chair also warns the student that such an evaluation might result in a lower, not a higher, grade and that is a risk the student needs to agree to take in pursuing a grade evaluation.

[johnr]

Helpful makes a good point.  Every university that I've been affiliated with has a clear set of guidelines regarding grade challenges; a set of procedures that must be followed.  The chair's duty, then, is to point out those procedures to the student and then to follow those procedures to the letter if the student proceeds with the challenge.     

[rugger101]

I would be very careful dealing with these kinds of requests.  Unless there are clear grounds to grant such a request, you could be opening a Pandora's box of grade change requests amongst the student body.

All of these requests that come before me have generally fallen into the category of "Prof. X grades too hard."  Yet when I've examine grading policy and grade distributions, the student was treated fairly.

[polly_mer]

I agree with Johnr and Helpful that the first step is to check the university guidelines on a grade appeal.

The second step is to walk the student through what that process is.  I was very pleased to read through our policy and find out that the grounds for a grade appeal are pretty strict.  The student has to base the appeal on something verifiable like "instructor did not follow instructor's own guidelines for grading assignment" or "instructor graded individual student's assignment differently than other students' same assignment" or "instructor did not follow syllabus in terms of weighing individual assignments for the final grade".  There are no grounds for "unfairness" in terms of kinds of graded assignments, degree of difficulty of assignments, weighing of the assignments, or other things that students often bring up when complaining that they didn't get the grades they wanted.

[larryc]

I would be very careful dealing with these kinds of requests.  Unless there are clear grounds to grant such a request, you could be opening a Pandora's box of grade change requests amongst the student body.

Yes. You need clear guidelines incorporated in some kind of handout. The guidelines should put the burden of proof on the student. Require students to document in writing how their grade was miscalculated according to the rules in the class syllabus. The handout should include a list of "reasons" that are not acceptable for asking for a grade change, and these should include personal hardship, complaints that the class was too difficult, etc.

When students complain, you ask them if they have met with the professor yet. If they have you give them the handout and be friendly and helpful. You will never see 9/10ths of them again.

[geonerd]

I am happy to see this thread. I was thinking of starting a thread on this topic.  I am a program coordinator, and am involved in a grade grievance. Our university policy has several steps of "informal resolution" before the process moves to the realm of the university-wide grade grievance committee. The student had a legitimate complaint about a specific assignment. The chair, me, and the faculty member in question reached a resolution, and the student's final grade moved up by half a letter.  The student is not satisfied and is now requesting piles of documentation for every point awarded/subtracted for the entire semester, which student expects the chair and I to assemble immediately. It feels like a fishing expedition. Chair and I have been traveling and haven't discussed it yet. I'm torn.

I see three options: 1. Chair and I forward student's request to the instructor. 2. Chair and I advise the student to send the request directly to the instructor. 3. Chair and I interpret the "informal" phase to be over, and kick it up to the Dean for the "formal" process to begin.

Any advice on how to proceed?

[larryc]

I vote #3.

[clean]

Any advice on how to proceed?

The advice for the OP is critical here too.  Our policy is filled with deadlines.  A student has so long to bring a complaint, and that begins several other clocks. 

The burden of proof is always on the student. 

Here is a portion of my syllabus that will address this issue. It wont save you from dealing with this issue, but it will/may save you from this last minute prayer.

Exams are closed book unless otherwise stated.  Exams will be returned to the students.  Exams are may be reviewed in my office during scheduled office hours for two weeks after the exam.  No changes in test grades will be considered after that time.  If you believe that an exam was graded incorrectly, address that soon after the exam, do not wait until the end of the course to improve your grade. 

[anthroid]

I always tell students that, other than clear mathematical miscalculations (which faculty are always eager to correct in my experience), there are two, and only two, legitimate grounds for successful grade appeals:  unprofessionalism on the part of the professor (documented special treatment for some students, for instance) or unfair treatment (other students were allowed extensions while the aggrieved student was not).  The process in most places is:  student MUST talk directly with professor face to face; student, if not satisfied, must write a letter (a real paper letter) to the chair outlining the grounds for appeal and providing proof of the grounds, copying the professor; the chair investigates by talking with the professor, the student, and other folks as needed trying to mediate a solution; the chair decides on the merits of the case.  If the student is dissatisfied, the department academic appeals committee meets and considers the evidence and makes a determination, and that is where it is supposed to end.  If the student can demonstrate some kind of malfeasance on the part of the committee, the student is entitled to appeal to the university appeal committee.  I almost always back the professor.

I have found that most students collapse after writing the letter to the chair and receiving the response, though in one very memorable instance, the student bypassed me entirely and just wrote to the governor.  It didn't work, BTW.

[neutralname]

Whether the faculty member under discussion is FT, adjunct, or a grad student teaching a course can make a difference.  I've known a chair to tell a grad student to change a grade, and the grad student has had no choice. 

With FT faculty, if they don't approve a grade change, it ain't gonna happen. 

With adjunct faculty, I encourage the student to meet with the faculty and try to come to an agreement.  I've never had occasion to overrule an adjunct about a grade.

So basically it is going to be very rare.  You really don't want to encourage it.

[sibyl]

First of all, I always try to keep open mind and open ears when the students come a-knockin'.  Often they just want to vent.  Within certain limits, I am more than happy to let them do so in front of me; it saves wear and tear on them and on the instructor, and shielding both of them is part of my role.  Usually students will have rehearsed an "opening statement" and I will give them a couple of minutes to deliver it.  Sometimes they are satisfied with having someone listen.

I agree, first, with those who start by talking through the procedures for a grade appeal.  Explain that the first step is the informal-resolution-with-instructor phase, and ask the student to describe what happened when the student discussed it with the instructor.  (Sometimes they haven't done this, and when they realize they will have to face the instructor again they will disappear and I won't hear from them again.)  Then I'll explain that the next step is to discuss it with me, and that there are a couple of other steps (the provost and president) but most of the time it is settled at the chair level.

Next, I will use some variation of anthroid's wise statement.  I'll explain that it's not my job to regrade the item (i.e. deciding whether the item "fully" accounts for Johnson's article or only "adequately" does so), but to see that announced standards are applied fairly.  The student will indeed have to explain the grounds for the appeal in writing and adduce other evidence (the syllabus, someone else's exam, etc.).  And I'll say that this same procedure will have to be applied in the unlikely event that the student doesn't find satisfaction with me and my wisdom, and wants to keep going up the appeals ladder.

[simplesimon]

Among other things, I am the Grievance Officer for students.  In my current position, I have never faced a request for a grade change, but when I was on the faculty, I had several poorly performing students petition the chair or dean (in one case the coach via the athletic director) for a grade change.  In each case, I knew what the meeting was about when the chair or dean called me in for the meeting; I went to those meetings with documentation.

At the time, I was using a computer program to keep my gradebook.  This wonderful program tracked attendance, all manner of assignments, generated charts, reports, interim reports, contained sections for my written comments, etc.  It was fantastic!  Throughout the term—and especially at the end of the term--I printed a report sheet for each student that outlined their record for the term and summarized, in black and white, their grade and how it was determined.  The single page report was so clear and official looking any objective observer would find it unassailable.

I simply provided a copy of the students’ printed report to the dean/chair and I am pleased to say that once they saw the report they backed me up entirely: my grades were never changed.

If a student approached me today about a grade change, I would listen carefully, but on this sort of thing I confess that am predisposed to deferring to the faculty.  I would ask the faculty for documentation supporting the final grade.

[gbrown]

My A.D. listens, nods, and says, "That sounds difficult. You sound upset. Our department does not review grades based on anything other than mathematical error. Can I make some suggestions for next semester?"

End of discussion. It's beautiful!

[der_gadfly]

OP,

Your first stop should be with a peer department head, one who has been around and whom you can trust. Interview them on how they handle it. While in your information gathering stage, read the University Handbook, and any other publications. If there is a compliance department, another rich source of policies and procedures.

I recall that every place I worked had a policy and procedure, some more detailed than others, but all had someting in place.

Let us know the outcome! (sorry, just HAD to toss in an assessment thing)