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[geoteo]

Everyone in this department has been invited by our division chair, at the request of the Academic Dean, to participate with her one-on-one in a conversation about our fall grade distribution.  We are not sure what this means, but we think we may be asked to justify the paucity of As.  My thought is that if we need more As we will also need better students; I'm doing the best I can for the students we have (although I sometimes question whether the reverse is true).  I also think that we have to hold our students and ourselves to a collegiate standard--getting a higher grade for a lower level of knowledge is not helpful to anyone.

Has anyone else had one of these conversations?

[tee_bee]

Everyone in this department has been invited by our division chair, at the request of the Academic Dean, to participate with her one-on-one in a conversation about our fall grade distribution.  We are not sure what this means, but we think we may be asked to justify the paucity of As.  My thought is that if we need more As we will also need better students; I'm doing the best I can for the students we have (although I sometimes question whether the reverse is true).  I also think that we have to hold our students and ourselves to a collegiate standard--getting a higher grade for a lower level of knowledge is not helpful to anyone.

Has anyone else had one of these conversations?

1. No.
2. Do you have tenure?
3. If the answer to 2 is "yes," I'd probably have to tell my division chair to f*** off, although, not doubt, more collegially than that. My sense is that your division chair may find this as daft as you do.

[corny]

I once had something like the opposite experience - the department chair sent an email to everyone teaching our sophomore survey courses saying that he had looked over the grade distribution across all those classes and felt we were not grading harshly enough (too many As and Bs). It was actually a very politic and carefully-worded email, and he did not demand that we all start being hard*sses (harder *sses?), only that we consider his comments. I have no idea if that email affected anyone's future grading; it didn't affect mine, though it did make me pause and think a bit. Then again, I was already giving a certain number of Cs, Ds, and Fs, so I felt I was doing my share.

[mended_drum]

You need to offer a bottle of good wine to whoever will volunteer to go first and make sure that he or she fills in the rest of you on what happens.  Then you can decide your tactics.

[cc_alan]

You need to offer a bottle of good wine to whoever will volunteer to go first and make sure that he or she fills in the rest of you on what happens.  Then you can decide your tactics.

+1!

Alan

[geoteo]

I'm probably the best choice of someone to go first--I could retire if I wanted to, but that is the last thing on my list.  No one here has tenure (well, some few Ancient Ones, but it hasn't been granted since the late 90s), so that won't be more of an issue to some of us than others.

[brixton]

Do you really think that they'll do this to each member of the dept?  Seems like an administrative nightmare that will turn the department against everyone above them.  I'd listen politely, take notes, smile and nod, and then continue doing whatever I've been doing.  If the rest of the department does the same, it seems as though it was a futile initiative.

(There may actually be another reason for the meeting, which means you're getting your underwear twisted for no really good reason.  Most administrative ideas are hatched in dark caves and wither in the light of day.  If what you say here is true, this too will pass.)

[geoteo]

I believe what I say here is true, and I agree that we are probably not going to make any changes because, really, what can we change?  I will post about my conversation, should it ever come to pass.

[skeptical]

Odd, but I just heard from a colleague from one of our distant campuses that there is a "grade audit" going on. The special focus will be on classes in which more than 20% of the students earn D's or F's. (No one seems to care about grade inflation, which is sort of disturbing, I think.)

[dr_mk]

I've just learned that my area, of which I have recently become chair, is being targeted for "retention" conversations. In other words, the administration seems to think that the classes we -- and specifically me, since I teach the freshmen -- teach are the reason we can't retain students in our program.

No mention, of course, of the fact that we're admitting students to the program who are lacking the most basic of skills required for success in the program. It's the equivalent of admitting students to an English degree who are functionally illiterate, or of admitting people to a Math major who are still struggling to add 2+2. Or admitting someone to pre-med who can't tell the difference between their ass and their elbow.

But they come into my class, and when they fail ... it's apparently now our fault, and we need to figure out how to retain these students.

Sigh.

[geoteo]

This is the conversation I'm anticipating, because we are on a big retention kick, too.  I am all in favor of retention, but the students we retain need to be able to do the work.  In a few weeks, we are also hosting a Day of Scholarship focusing on retention.  Y'all come.

[fosca]

I've just learned that my area, of which I have recently become chair, is being targeted for "retention" conversations. In other words, the administration seems to think that the classes we -- and specifically me, since I teach the freshmen -- teach are the reason we can't retain students in our program.

No mention, of course, of the fact that we're admitting students to the program who are lacking the most basic of skills required for success in the program. It's the equivalent of admitting students to an English degree who are functionally illiterate, or of admitting people to a Math major who are still struggling to add 2+2. Or admitting someone to pre-med who can't tell the difference between their ass and their elbow.

But they come into my class, and when they fail ... it's apparently now our fault, and we need to figure out how to retain these students.

Sigh.

Our college administration is making sounds about this as well.  As is our governor and other representatives, but much louder, as in tying our salary/wages/job security to retention and achievement, when as a community college I get many students who can't read or write at anything resembling middle-school level, much less high-school or college.  It's why I'm looking into other career paths currently, far away from here.

[zuzu_]

This is one of those times when I would pick my battles.

Just say something along the lines of, "Yes, I would like to see more As too. I will look into new strategies to improve student learning." Good teachers do that anyway. If asked, document some new "student success" strategies you've tried.

Chances are the chair doesn't give a f*ck either. Just wait patiently until the Dean moves on to a different flavor-of-the-month problem or finds a job as a Provost somewhere else.

[nocurving]

No undergrad left behind?