Grade Posting at B.C.
January 8th, 2008 by Todd Bluth
I ran into a friend of mine in Section 2 at the bookstore just after the new year began, and he told me he was a bit nervous because grades came out that day. I, of course, hadn’t heard anything of the sort, but then again I rarely pay attention anyway, so go figure. I did remember hearing that grades came out after the second semester started, but he insisted that Jan. 2nd was the day. So I hurried off to check grades, and sure enough, Agora didn’t have anything for me.
My friend wasn’t the only one who expected grades so early, apparently. Deans Garvey and Wylie, in a December email to all students, encouraged the completion of course evaluations, promising to give access to posted grades by January 1 to those who finished them. Otherwise, students would have to wait until January 22 to get their grades. The implication here, as interpreted by many, was that students who completed course evaluations would get their grades much earlier. Oddly enough, however, here we sit on January 8 and few, if any, grades have been posted. What gives?
I guess a fair number of similar complaints came down the administrative pipe, because Dean Rosselot sent out a mass email to 1Ls on January 2, which stated:
“It is faculty policy that faculty have a month to submit their grades to the office of academic services. This year’s deadline is January 18th. In addition, it has been the custom to hold first year grades until all have been submitted rather than releasing them sporadically. Due to the large number of exams involved in each first year class, it is quite unusual for faculty to submit their grades until close to the deadline.”
Some students seem to think that their incentive to complete course evaluations was effectively negated by a general delay among faculty to turn out grades in a timely fashion; after all, if most professors don’t submit grades until around the Jan. 18 deadline, and grades are held until all are submitted, there seems to be little value in getting “early” access to grades before then if they open up to all students four days later.
“I find this delay extremely frustrating. I realize there were holidays and professors, like students, need a vacation, but to be starting spring semester classes without having your fall semester grades is ridiculous.,” said one. “Receiving grades before the start of the next semester’s classes can also play into a student’s decision on what classes to take…I was hoping to base my decision on whether to take Tax III on how well I did in Tax II.”
Questions of the day: Do faculty take too long to submit grades? What effect does that have on you, and what should be done about it? If most grades aren’t submitted until the January 18 deadline, is there much incentive to complete course evaluations, as the email from Deans Garvey and Wylie seemed to suggest?
I could be mistaken but last year as a 1L I recall getting my grades before I got back from break.
mistaken — they all came out on the same day, in late jan. i remember it like ‘nam flashbacks.
1L professors have to grade more and the exams are later, so it makes sense that it might take them some time. I guess we could let adjunct professors slide too since they have outside obligations. What makes no sense is that 2Ls and 3Ls don’t have grades from classes taught by full-time professors. Given the average size of most classes, professors teaching usually two per semester, and the fact that it has been near a month, if professors only graded 2-3 per day on average then they should be done. How long does it take to grade 2-3 exams? An hour? This doesn’t even count professors that have scantron sections on their exams. Am I grossly underestimating the time it takes to grade an exam?
Although this is exactly why there is such competition to become a professor at a law school. You get to set your own deadlines, take your time, and you don’t have to worry about anyone breathing down your neck.
Originally I didn’t really care about finding out my grades so I didn’t see the big deal, but I forgot that many people might be holding off on applying to some jobs counting on a boost in their GPA from busting their ass this fall. Now I imagine the same is happening at other law schools around the country, with people expecting a boost in grades waiting on them. So it seems that the faster a student gets his grades back the fast he can get those job apps out; which would be an advantage over those still waiting for grades.
this administration–the school’s and the nation’s–are lying. stop the lies! give students their grades
The heart of the issue here is that the grade posting deadline for professors (all professors) should be well before the end of add/drop. Ideally before the first day of the Spring semester.
Except for 1L classes, I guess, since 1Ls don’t have any choice about the courses they take during their Spring semester.
I don’t understand why all the profs get until the end of the deadline. Supposedly, they make the deadline a month from the last exam because that is how long they say it should take to grade (”It is faculty policy that faculty have a month to submit their grades to the office of academic services”). Well why do the profs who have early exams get to free ride on that extra time? If the profs who have the exams on the 18th have to have them done in a month, so should the profs that had their exams on the 6th. Everyone should get a month, and no more. If those who have exams on the 18th can do it, so can those who have early exams. Our early exams would be due by now…
The bottom line is that we were fraudulently induced into completing course evaluations. If professors are not required to submit grades until January 18th, the administration knew grades would not be posted by January 2nd. Rather childish ploy, no?
Law profs. are a joke. They expect us to put in hours of work preparing for their classes and their ridiculous line of Socratic questioning, most of which is entirely meaningless, so we spend many more hours in an effort to perform well on the all or nothing, anxiety inducing final.
So what is the reward for this hard work? The administration gives these people 8 weeks (at my school) to do the one real job that they are required to do all semester. Rather than emphasizing the work ethic and responsibility that it takes to succeed in a professional environment, or at the very least having some respect for the effort put in by their students, law profs. take every second that is allotted to them for grading.
It is truly a fraud, perpetuated by the system. Law profs. and the admin just figure that it is part of the culture of law school to make students wait an inordinate amount of time to receive grades, so hey it must work.
This is one of many reasons why law schools across the country need a significant overhaul. Just imagine how the rest of the country would be doing if it still adhered to the exact same methods that it used in the 19th century. That’s the law school model, and as most people can see it is a failure.
I will not be donating a dime to my school when I finally get out of here in a few months.
3L, remember that professors are people too. They deserve a vacation, just like the rest of us.
For different reasons, however, I will not be donating to this law school after I graduate. I will wait and see to see if things change. If they do not change for the better, I am going to make a “pledge” NOT to give.
Did you see that the Admin and the LSA are going to try to solict funds from us next week. HA!
First, any non-1L who thought they would get their grades on the Jan 2, or 6, needs to read more closely (a big part of what we’re in school for, right?). The inducement to fill out your course evals said “as they are posted.”
If you’re a 1L you needn’t have known that profs take the whole month. The rest of us: pay attention! Profs take a month or more (yes, scantrons are faster than essays) and if you don’t know that yet, well, wise up.
Second, it’s understandable that they take a month. As said above, they’re people too (even the ones that don’t like you, and there are several) and they deserve a vacation. Anyone who’s taught knows that it takes time to grade, and do it fairly — how would any of you like to read 40 mostly-dull essays on pretty much the same thing?
If you’d rather, maybe we can talk some profs into merely throwing the exams down a flight of stairs. A at the top, C at the bottom, or the other way: who cares? It’s fast!
Third, it would be great if we got them faster: for those who are job-hunting, for those who just can’t wait, and for purposes of picking out your classes (because it would be great to know if that prof liked you and your writing or not).
To that end, you could seek out classes taught by profs who do only scantrons (eg, Brodin’s Evidence, I believe - but that’s in the spring so it doesn’t matter for course selection).
Of course, we could also lengthen the add/drop period so it is two or three weeks - enough to cover the release of grades. Yeah, it’s long - but so what?
My two bits.