# Professor changes my grade b/c I expressed displeasure about his class.



## SkylarV217 (Aug 4, 2008)

Ok so after my summer class ended, I sent my professor an e-mail expressing some concerns I had about the structure of his class and to let him know some of the difficulties I had in it. Then thanked him for all of his help and for the course. He then wrote back and said I needed to realize some things about his class and that after reading my e-mail he must have made a mistake to give me a B and was going to change it to a C... I have some problems with this b/c If he does this I will have to take the course again... Pay for it all over again and I don't know what to do ... I wrote him again and said i was not meaning to be rude if I came across that way and explained that was not my intentions and that I just wanted to let him know what I found difficult ... I asked him to reconsider about changing my grade and explained If he did i would have to take the class again. 

He has not responded yet... What do you lady's think ?


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## purrtykitty (Aug 4, 2008)

I'd save the e-mail and speak with an administrator immediately.  If you earned the B, there's no reason to change your grade just for voicing some constructive criticism and/or your opinion.


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## Simply Elegant (Aug 4, 2008)

I was going to say the same thing. He cannot just change it because of your opinion, no matter how you wrote the email. You could have been blatantly rude and he would still not be able to change your grade because of that because a grade is not based on attitude.

Anyway, I suggest printing out all of the emails and make an appointment to see the department head and get advice on what to do with this. It's not right..

Also, professors are supposed to be willing to adapt to teach students better. It's part of their job to help students learn better. I don't know if you have this but we have feedback forms that professors get to read the next year after that course has been completed and it's the same as what you did.


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## kyustman (Aug 4, 2008)

that's horrible!  I agree with the post before me, speak with the dept. head. Hopefully you can prove that you earned a B, by showing test scores, assignment scores, etc. in order to show that you deserve it.

Hope it works out for you!


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## aestheticcoo (Aug 4, 2008)

I used to teach college level courses. What he is doing is unethical. Please see the department head and if that doesn't work escalate the problem immediately. Make sure you have documentation of everything. Best of luck to you.


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## enjoybeingagirl (Aug 4, 2008)

I don't think he is allowed to do that.  If I were you I would save or print out the e-mails for proof.  Then contact the dean of the department he is in.  

What a prick


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## NicksWifey (Aug 4, 2008)

This man sounds like a piece of shit. You obviously earned a B in his class and if he can't handle some CC, that's his issue. You need to save the email and report him immediately. I've never heard tell of an instructor behaving in such an unethical manner.


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## gigglegirl (Aug 4, 2008)

wowza girl this sucks. I hear why you are doing this though, there are just some things that need to be said that is not attacking, just helpful opinions for future classes.

Ive heard teachers going up, like I've had some people I know whine about their b and somehow the teacher bumps it up to an A. It pisses me off b/c I earned that grade fair and square but because you are the squeaky-wheel you get yours bumped up? grrr.

But this is the first I've EVER heard of it going the other way. Please please get all your marked assignments and exams together, along with printouts of your e-mails and go to the department head and go from there. It sounds like he did take it the wrong way and is trying to penalize you. Which I find ridiculous considering how I've found that in college profs are trying to make us be independent thinkers and make our voices heard---it seems like you did in a helpful way.

Best of luck girl. Did he change it? Like I know i can check my grades online once the senate approves them; has it changed down?


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## juicygirl (Aug 4, 2008)

*that is totally messed up. i have never, ever heard of this. i think you should def follow the advice of the other girls. it's ironic though, because my friend had a class that she took [biostats] where the grades were so obviously subjective. the thing that sucked about it is she deserved an but the teacher gave her a b. anyway, to sum it up, she complained and took it all the way to admin with her evidence and what not but still no dice. so why is it so difficult to get a grade changed to a higher grade but professors can reverse a grade down, no problem?? Makes me soooo effin mad! i hope it works out for you please keep me posted. =]*


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## Beauty Mark (Aug 4, 2008)

Print all the emails and schedule a meeting with the department head. Also, I hope that you have saved every piece of graded work. That's going to be the most concrete way of proving your grade. If this man's for real, he should be able to back up his claims; however, I'm betting that it's someone with a bruised ego. If that doesn't work, try a dean.


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## cre8_yourself (Aug 5, 2008)

save that email as evidence and take it to your dean or academic services department.. you can def fight it.. I go to Rutgers and I know if that happened to me I would definitely fight that.!!


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## Divinity (Aug 5, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *purrtykitty* 

 
_I'd save the e-mail and speak with an administrator immediately.  If you earned the B, there's no reason to change your grade just for voicing some constructive criticism and/or your opinion._

 
^^
WERD!  It's unethical for a professor to change a grade for this reason too as well as violating university policies.


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## benzito_714 (Aug 5, 2008)

i had a similar situation. i wasn't going to go to the administration until i saw that my grade didn't reflect my actual work. little did i know the school was already involved in an investigation of this professor. my grade was changed along with the grades of my other classmates. your voice maybe more powerful than you think.


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## PolyphonicLove (Aug 5, 2008)

I haven't had THAT happen - the worst was an old math teacher that actually DIDN'T teach at all, and would have kids drive her car to get her lunch [yes, I'm serious, the bitch is fat]. And when she DID teach, she either did a poor job or she'd say,

"I don't feel like teaching today. Do ya'll understand this?" And her fat ass would start eating. She even called my mum once and told her I was boy crazy. Needless to day, I went from a C+ with one math teacher, to a 53 in this woman's class.

Complain to whoever will listen - counselors, the dean, anyone that has authority over your Professor. I voiced my opinion way too late [but I may end up taking her senior math class...God], and nothing was ever done. Good luck, darlin!


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## user79 (Aug 5, 2008)

Department head, and if necessary, the Dean. Totally unethical behaviour, make sure to keep a copy of the email. What a dumbass prof!!!


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## ~Crystal~ (Aug 5, 2008)

What?! O_O How can he do that?! Go complain- make as much noise as you like till somebody listens to you and realises what's wrong!! It's unethical- he can't base grades upon anything but in an academic light! Keep those emails, and go see the course coordinator, head of the faculty etc till someone fixes this! And go show them all your assessment marks!!!

Damn... I always hated those feedback sessions that we have at the end of each semester for every class, but now I'm starting to think that they might be useful afterall... The professors hand out an evaulation sheet and we all fill out a bunch of questions on how we think they went, plus suggestions at the end. I guess you guys don't have things like that...? =\

I have never EVER heard of a professor getting away with behaviour like that- if anything like that happened over here... well... sh*t would hit the roof from the fuss we'd kick up... and needless to say there would be a serious investigation into the matter regarding the conduct of the professor, as there should be now!!

Honestly- regardless of whether he actually goes to change your grade or not, you should probably let someone know about this. Professors can't threaten people with lowered grades because of a bruised ego... they should value the feedback and advice given to them, and take it into account in preparing for future classes!! If his reply to the email you sent is still along the lines of taking down your grade, inform him _politely_ that you do not believe this is fair nor that his conduct is acceptable, and that you will be taking this matter up with whoever is in charge immediately.


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## seonmi (Aug 5, 2008)

Yes, I agree, you should keep record of all the emails back and forth and report him (+ don't take any class with him in the future/ask him for recommendation). I wonder if you guys have the evaluation forms which are filled out by students anonymously at the end of the semester. At my school, we do that and the administration keeps the forms until grades are done and then gives them to professors.

Why do these people get to be professors 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




?


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## Beauty Mark (Aug 5, 2008)

At my undergraduate school, we did ours by computer. We also get fined for not doing an evaluation.

At my grad school, we do ours by pencil, but the department secretary types them up, so it's a little more difficult to trace them. And at least for my TA evaluations, we didn't receive them until the grades were in


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## purrtykitty (Aug 5, 2008)

^^I think that's how it was also done at my grad school.


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## SkylarV217 (Aug 5, 2008)

Well we normally do evaluations but not in the summer class, I really wish we had.... He is a foreign teacher ( from China)... so that might have something to do with his behavior ??? I don't know how grading works there ?


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## Simply Elegant (Aug 5, 2008)

I don't think him being foreign is really an excuse. If he lives near where you are, he should become better acquainted with how professors behave in the US since that's where he teaches. It could explain why but it doesn't make it right for him to do that.


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## nelyanaphonexia (Aug 5, 2008)

omg! girl, I can completely cope with your situation! I hope you get this worked out ASAP! 

About your grade: 
Talk to administrative/deans about the grade and take a print out of the emails. They will hopefully help you! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





About critiquing a class/professor:
At the university where I attend there was such a problem with professors doing stuff like this and running super difficult classes where almost no one could even hope to pass, they started doing class evaluations. at the end of every class we all have to fill out these little forms saying how we liked the class, what could change etc. For most classes there is no problem, but for obviously flawed classes (where either the prof. wasn't fair or the class load was waaaaay too much) things can be changed. 

You should write to an administrator and make a suggestion like this. Tell your friends/classmates about something like this and start a petition or something. Just so that Admin. knows what the classes are really like and/or if things need to change. 


Just thought I would share my story with you:
My experience wasn't a good one. I had a prof. freshman year in my second semester that I didn't think would be a problem. I had a 4.0 from the first semester and would have continued to have one until I graduated if it hadn't been for this guy. 

I had an appointment with him one afternoon and when I went to see him about a project I was working on. Not only had he forgotten...he had a "friend" with him. When I knocked on the door he got pissed off, accused me of walking in on him and his "friend" and screamed at me to get out. I was humiliated and even though I had straight A's in his class, when grades were posted, my overall grade turned up as a C. 

I emailed him, even though I knew he did not like me at this point, and told him that I had all of my grades and they were all As and I was unsure how I earned a C and wanted to meet with him to discuss my grades. I got an email back a few minutes later stating that "if I delved into the situation more he would drop my grade even further and that this would teach me to bother busy professors and that I was lucky he didn't try to kick me out of the university and revoke my scholarship." 

Because I was a freshman, I just took it. I had no idea what to do, my parents were pissed because I had a C, I was disappointed because my GPA dropped and felt like I had no where to turn. My friends were all on good terms with the Professor and accused me of being a liar. So, I was really up shit creek. 

Now, what I should have done was to see an Admin. with all my grades and papers, etc. They might have been able to change the situation. But I didn't and now I'm trying to get into grad school with one C on my transcript, which is a lot harder than people think.


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## rbella (Aug 5, 2008)

What a dickhead.  Please do what the others suggested and let us know how it turns out.


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## Cinci (Aug 5, 2008)

I'd go straight to the dean, or even the President of the college...


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## Brittni (Aug 5, 2008)

Completely illegitimate. I hope you take it to a higher authority because what he did was wrong. Completely wrong. Nothing more and nothing less to it.

Don't let him get away with that kind of behavior.


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## Beauty Mark (Aug 5, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *SkylarV217* 

 
_Well we normally do evaluations but not in the summer class, I really wish we had.... He is a foreign teacher ( from China)... so that might have something to do with his behavior ??? I don't know how grading works there ?_

 
Grading should be based upon the quality of work you produce, not whether this guy favors you. I don't care where you are from. If grading becomes that subjective, imagine what kind of doctors, engineers, etc. we may end up having?


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## fafinette21 (Aug 5, 2008)

Wow, what a jerk! The one thing I would do is wait and see whether or not your grade actually changes. He might have just been saying that to scare you into not complaining about his teaching methods (which is still totally wrong btw). 

If it does change then take all your documentation to the dean or co-ordinator of the course/program or whomever and get your mark changed to what you deserve. 

If it doesn't change, I would still send them a little email or something outlining the suggestions you gave him to improve the class, and mention the fact that he was not responsive to constructive comments and furthermore decided to threaten you with a grade change. His behaviour should definitely be documented should this type of situation happen with someone else.

What type of course was it?


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## fafinette21 (Aug 5, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Beauty Mark* 

 
_Grading should be based upon the quality of work you produce, not whether this guy favors you. I don't care where you are from. If grading becomes that subjective, imagine what kind of doctors, engineers, etc. we may end up having?_

 

This would be the ideal standard! But as much as I hate to admit it, there are many cases where favouritism comes into play (and I have definitely been on the receiving end of some of those). Personally this is one reason why I am in science and not a field such as English or what have you since grading is less subjective in science. You are either right or wrong, there is no in between


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## Beauty Mark (Aug 5, 2008)

Yeah, I'm in the sciences too and know favoring comes into play with a lot of grading, regardless (seen many people get extensions on assignments every week when others cannot), but I don't think I've ever seen it so blatantly put out there.

It pisses me off, because I conscientiously make a point of not looking at the names on the lab report when I grade until I have to enter grades. If more people would do stuff like that...


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## fafinette21 (Aug 5, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Beauty Mark* 

 
_ If more people would do stuff like that..._

 
I've thought that so many times! Really, how hard is it to submit work under just your student number so the person marking doesn't know who you are? Or to get impartial people to mark assignments etc. It seems to be extremely feasible and I don't know why something like this hasn't been implemented. Steps should be taken to ensure that every student is on a level playing field so that only those who truly deserve it will get the best marks. I dunno, I'm just one of those "life should be fair" type people.


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## seonmi (Aug 5, 2008)

I agreed with everyone. But just FYI, in Asia, usually students are not supposed to share their opinions on how the class should be run, unless professors/teachers ask. So maybe he got offended when he got your email. But still, he should learn his lesson not to act like that in the future.

I'm so glad, most of my professors are wonderful even though I had a bad experience with one of them.

Good luck fighting


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## macslut (Aug 6, 2008)

Go to the dean of the college with all your evidence.  If that doesn't work, escalate.  If you have a lawyer or a lawyer friend who can write a strongly worded letter, that will make them run for the hills.  No lawsuit needed.  It doesn't even have to be illegal.  Still, the professor is getting into academic honesty issues.  So perhaps calling up the local newspaper might make him rethink the grade change.


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## mona lisa (Aug 7, 2008)

It is sad how often persons who are supposed to be professionals cannot separate their opinions from their work and particularly teachers are prone in this area. (So too are judges but that is another subject altogether.) Several examples from my school career could be mentioned teacher-wise but one in particular stands out which I will mention now.

Essentially, a big mistake I made in college was showing up some teachers one of whom I had in four business classes. My grades overall were good in the first three (3.6, 3.8, and 3.1) but he got me in the fourth class when I slacked up a bit...the "umpire" called quite a tight "strike zone" and I escaped with a 1.8.

The bottom line is, when it comes to teachers, simply wait until after you get your grade to be critical if you are at all. And make sure you will not have them in another class later on.


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## TamEva Le Fay (Aug 10, 2008)

Skylar...

This has upset me more than I can express on this forum.

This and Nelyanaphonexia's story of injustice has made my stomach turn and has left me feeling very angry that tiny little men feel they can and will abuse their power.

All I can say is - I know...you will make this right!

And if their is a God in this world you will find a way - _in your own way_ to ensure that this pig discovers that he messed with the wrong Girl!!!

And in doing so you will have saved some other victim the repercussions of his bruised ego as a result of the many inadequacies as a man in this world.

Having stated that...I feel sorry for the poor bastard already!

Normally, I'd ask for a locket of his hair, but in this case...no VooDoo is necessary...he digs his own grave!

Skylar...make this right...you are not the one - not today, and not like this.

You may have to lose some future battles in your lifetime, as we all will. But this one you will NOT lose!!! 

That "B" is yours and you WILL NOT take that class again!


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## reesesilverstar (Aug 10, 2008)

Print out the last email - Take 1 copy to your *Academic Advisor*. Nothing? Take a copy to the *Dean*. Nothing? Take it to the *Academic Center*? Nothing? Take it to your *Provost*. Nothing? Take it to the *President*. Nothing? Let them know you're gonna put an *article in the local paper*.

Because these professors need to realize WE pay THEM to educate us. I've seen it happen before where a professor gets some bad feedback in those end of course survey/opinions forms we had to fill out, then ppl's grades changed from what they expected. I remember in our handbook what they said the order was to get some justice. Why I included the local paper is because Companies and Figure Heads make donations to local colleges, and bad publicity would wreck that for them... They depend on funding.


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## honeybee28 (Aug 10, 2008)

That is really immature of him to do that.  No professor has a right to do that.  I hear that they can change your grade if you do extra credit or I know one professor said that if we have a D in the end of class we can come to his office and he would ask us a few test questions and if we get them right he will bump us up a grade.  But I never heard a professor giving a lower grade if a student has an opinion.

I mean you have the right to say what ever you want.  I think he took it the wrong way thinking that you were telling him what he should and shouldnt do when you were just helping him.  Im sure other students may have had the same opinion as you did.  But I agree with the others and save the e-mails and take them to the dean.  

Good luck!


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## chameleonmary (Aug 11, 2008)

Doing such a thing is against university policy. This is a very serious matter and should be taken to all senior staff. If I were in your position I would email head of schools, and unit coordinators etc.

In all my past and current universities teacher assessment is taken very seriously. 100% discretion is advised for any comments on the quality of a teacher or the unit structure. You should not be penalised for that in any way shape or form.

Assessment is based on skill, merit and effort. The marks are final.

*This is a form of discrimination.*


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## Beauty Mark (Aug 11, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *honeybee28* 

 
_That is really immature of him to do that.  No professor has a right to do that.  I hear that they can change your grade if you do extra credit or I know one professor said that if we have a D in the end of class we can come to his office and he would ask us a few test questions and if we get them right he will bump us up a grade.  But I never heard a professor giving a lower grade if a student has an opinion.

I mean you have the right to say what ever you want.  I think he took it the wrong way thinking that you were telling him what he should and shouldnt do when you were just helping him.  Im sure other students may have had the same opinion as you did.  But I agree with the others and save the e-mails and take them to the dean.  

Good luck!_

 

In your examples, you'd have earned the grade. Grades should be changed based upon merit only


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## SkylarV217 (Aug 12, 2008)

Thanks ladies for all of your help =) .... Lets just say that in then end I got the grade I deserved ;-)


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## laperle (Aug 12, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *SkylarV217* 

 
_Thanks ladies for all of your help =) .... Lets just say that in then end I got the grade I deserved ;-)_

 
I'm glad to hear that!

Let me just give you some advice to the future. The academic universe is based on vanity. They will destroy you if you start questioning their habilities to teach by yourself. The best thing to do when the professor isn't openly pro feedback is to talk to other students and gather a GROUP and send a signed letter to the professor in question. Never send a letter directly to the head of department before letting the professor know about it. 

I'm telling all this for experience, once I used to be a "full of opinion" student since I can remember and it got me into all sorts of weird situations when I was in the University.


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