I honestly can't believe a Professor wouldn't realize this

[BigJ]

So I'm taking Economic Statistics right now during the summer, and the class is graded the following way:

1/3 of the grade for Problem Sets (PSs)
1/3 of the grade for Midterm
1/3 of the grade for the Final

Now as it is, you only need to answer 50% of the answers correctly on the Problem Sets to get full credit for the assignment.

We have readings for class discussion that the teacher links to in the syllabus. Browsing around that site (it's another Professor's site that teaches the same course at the University) I stumbled upon old PSs. I figure, hey great, these can help me work out my PSs since the concepts are the same, just the numbers you're plugging in are different.

So I start working on the assignment, and I take a look at the other teacher's PSs, and it's the exact same questions, word for word. Obviously the teachers at the very least share a pool of questions, but you would think that they wouldn't link to each other's sites.

So I would have to think that the teacher realized that kids were going to find these and use them as a study aid at the very least. Maybe the teacher does it for grade inflation in her classes?

Cliffs:
-Teacher links to another Professor's course page
-2nd Professor has answer's to all of current Professor's problem sets, which account for 1/3 of the grade
-Does the teacher know and not care, or just never realized it?

 

[ChiBOY83]

its a trap!

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: ChiBOY83
its a trap!

Well the majority of my work checks out with the answers on the site. The one's I don't get correct I don't bother correcting because I got more than half right in the first place.

 

[SampSon]

I've had many professors that just gave out the answers during lecture, lab, on her homepage and during tests. Thoes were always great classes.

 

[maziwanka]

this was similar to when i was in college.

professors would link to the problem sets on their web pages but wouldn't bother changing the protections (whatever it's called - "chmod") on the answer sets. we could dl all the answers to the problem sets and no one would be the wiser. things changed though after the first or second year of college.

 

[Vincent]

The purpose of the PSs is to help you learn the material. So it can be helpful to have the answers available if you use them wisely.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Vincent
The purpose of the PSs is to help you learn the material. So it can be helpful to have the answers available if you use them wisely.

I agree, but I think it's a little much when you're basically guaranteed a 100 for 1/3 of your grade.

Personally, I find she does a good enough job teaching the material in lecture, and Stat isn't exactly a difficult subject to pick up.

 

[DaveSimmons]

It is a trap, for the lazy sods who will copy answers without working any of the problems. They'll get 100% on the problem sets but 20% or less on the midterm and final.

 

[meltdown75]

My wife is a prof - check that, "lecturer". It's probably a trap.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
It is a trap, for the lazy sods who will copy answers without working any of the problems. They'll get 100% on the problem sets but 20% or less on the midterm and final.

I didn't tell you her policy on the midterm and final.

You are allowed to use anything in your possesion except a graphing calculator and your classmates.

That means that on the midterm and final you're allowed to use notes, lectures, PSs, old midterms, whatever you can get your hand on.

We just had the midterm today. If you understood the problem sets, it was an easy 100. If you didn't, you could've struggled by looking at the examples in your materials and still managed to pull off a 100.

It seems like she's purposefully trying to inflate the grades.

 

[veggz]

wtf.. what school is this?

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: veggz
wtf.. what school is this?

University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP).