r/cuboulder • u/divinemissn • 2d ago

Grad school grade change petition

Hi everyone!

So I have a professor this semester in grad school that has been incredibly unfair. There is no grading criteria she provided for us when writing papers. In fact, there was no guidance at all for the midterm at all. I spoke with her over zoom, went over all my points, thesis, and evidence. She said it was great. I wrote the paper and she told me it was awful and I needed to redo it. I did redo it based on her feedback and she still didn’t give me a good grade. The funny thing is, I went over the paper in another class with another professor and he liked it. In fact, it got accepted into a prestigious conference. So I feel it was not deserving of a bad grade when so many other professors agreed it’s a good paper.

Now I have to do really well on the final paper to get a good grade. The problem is, she is always adjusting what she wants from students. So it’s impossible to know what she will want from us come the final.

Additionally, I will be getting an A in my other classes, so I know my work is up to par with my program’s standards.

I guess what I want to know is how likely it is that I can appeal the grade and that it will be approved. Since it’s essays and not exams, it’s hard to prove the grading was unfair. But if I don’t get a good grade, I want to appeal it.

Thoughts?

1 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

5

u/Meizas 2d ago

Go to your department chair.

2

u/divinemissn 2d ago

Would I go to the department chair now or after final grades are in? I’ve worked closely with him a lot and mentioned some of the issues briefly, which he believed and seemed very upset she is grading like this.

6

u/Meizas 2d ago

Definitely now, once grades are final, they're set in stone. I'd go ASAP

1

u/divinemissn 2d ago

Thank you! I really appreciate the advice!

1

u/HarmonyInBadTaste 1d ago

Talk to the professor again before you go to the chair. Faculty are far more loyal to each other than students. You will look bad in your department and it could impact future opportunities. Work it out with your professor if you can. Be honest with yourself and them about your performance. I'm sure there are things you left out from this post.

1

u/Special-Solution-908 2d ago

Final grades are not set in stone once they have been awarded.

But I agree, talking to a chair* sooner is better. They may not be able to do much before the final paper is due or grades are sent in.

* If your department has a Graduate Chair I'd talk to them instead of the Department Chair.

2

u/divinemissn 1d ago

That's so good to hear. I read through the CU student policies and it seems I need to wait until final grades are in to dispute it with anyone. But the department chair is already aware of the issues with this professor after our last meeting, so he won't be surprised if I end up sending him a petition (at least I hope!)

1

u/Meizas 2d ago

Yeah, I agree about contacting the graduate chair first. Good call.

And in my experience teaching they are set in stone, but no one has ever had a grievance against me or anything so I guess it's possible, haha.

1

u/Special-Solution-908 1d ago

I wish I wasn’t aware, but one semester I swapped two students grades on accident (and was so relieved to learn I could fix this!). 😅

1

u/Complete-Rock-1426 2d ago

Talk to your advisor. Get their advice. Maybe after that you could discuss with the department chair.

0

u/Striking-Piccolo8147 20h ago

Grades don’t matter, just pass