WTF? A professor RAISING CUTOFF POINTS?

[rubenswm]

WTF? I Just found out I got an A- in my macro class with a 92.5
He says the cutoff for an A is 93? WTF????????????????????????????
Every other econ class has had it at 92

Has anybody ever dealt with anything like this before? Department/Schoolwide policy says its up to the teachers- this is the first I've ever heard of this before..the curve driving the cutoff points UP. Is this just a weird professor or has this happened to anybody?

UPDATE:turns out my final was graded incorrectly. I lost 2 points on a question I got right, that bumped me up. lol.

 

[HappyPuppy]

You should feel honored to be studying under a professor who has some integrity.

 

[TerryMathews]

As long as he notified you in advance (usually on the syllabus), he's allowed to do just about anything he wants with the grades, up to and including the old-fashioned "highest grade gets the A and we go down from there" distribution.

 

[Thegonagle]

He rounded up

Enjoy your free A, and shut up.

EDIT: I get it. Never mind. I see that your school has plus and minus in the grading system, and you got a LOWER grade.

 

[KEV1N]

What's wrong with an A-?

 

[PrincessGuard]

That's what a curve does. Sucks to be in a class with a bunch of smart people.

 

[rubenswm]

Originally posted by: TerryMathews
As long as he notified you in advance (usually on the syllabus), he's allowed to do just about anything he wants with the grades, up to and including the old-fashioned "highest grade gets the A and we go down from there" distribution.

wasnt in the syllabus. In fact the syllabus is quite vague
90%-100% A-, A

 

[rubenswm]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
He rounded up

Enjoy your free A, and shut up.

what are you talking about

 

[rubenswm]

Originally posted by: KEV1N
What's wrong with an A-?

im trying to apply to the management school here thats extremely competitive.

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
You should feel honored to be studying under a professor who has some integrity.

Yep.

 

[TerryMathews]

Well, to catch the other point here, if he said the cutoff was 93 and you got a 92.5, then you didn't make the 93.

 

[amnesiac]

What the hell does it matter? You got an A-. A, A-, it's still an A. Be happy about it, jackface. Sheez. Some people have to whine and bitch about EVERYTHING.

 

[ElFenix]

A+/- is retarted. with small classes curves are retarded as well.

 

[rubenswm]

Originally posted by: amnesiac
What the hell does it matter? You got an A-. A, A-, it's still an A. Be happy about it, jackface. Sheez. Some people have to whine and bitch about EVERYTHING.

or you're a retard for jumping to conclusions. This grade could make the difference into making it into the program and not making into the program. If that's bitching then I guess I'm a whiner for trying to inquire if this is a common practice.

 

[DougK62]

This is a common thing. Get over it.

 

[johnjohn320]

93's usually been the cutoff as far as I've seen.

 

[gwlam12]

Originally posted by: amnesiac
What the hell does it matter? You got an A-. A, A-, it's still an A. Be happy about it, jackface. Sheez. Some people have to whine and bitch about EVERYTHING.

well he's probably in college cuz he has a professor. an A is worth 4 points in your GPA and an A- is worth 3.7 points. It matters.

 

[gwlam12]

oh yea, sucks that u were so close to the cutoff, but thats how it goes. my professors, the one who do what your professor's doing, usually looks at all the grades. usually there are gaps between two grades and that's how he determines A and A-, A- and B+, etc.

 

[ManSnake]

AFAIK 93% is the cutoff for a solid A. Carlson School of Management is kind of hard to get into though.

 

[mugs]

That's kind of strange that for every other class, a 90 or 91 is an A-, but anything above that is an A... You said he didn't have a grade scale in the syllabus? Did you check your college handbook?

I agree with HappyPuppy about the integrity. Grade inflation is running rampant and destroying the value of earning good grades.

Edit: re-read your post and saw that your department/school policy says it is up to the prof. That strikes me as an odd policy... And it sounds like you're stuck with your A-.

 

[gwlam12]

Originally posted by: mugsywwiii
That's kind of strange that for every other class, a 90 or 91 is an A-, but anything above that is an A... You said he didn't have a grade scale in the syllabus? Did you check your college handbook?

I agree with HappyPuppy about the integrity. Grade inflation is running rampant and destroying the value of earning good grades.

Edit: re-read your post and saw that your department/school policy says it is up to the prof. That strikes me as an odd policy... And it sounds like you're stuck with your A-.

that's how the policy is for my school, too. i dont see it as being odd because some classes are realy difficult and it is necessary for 70% to count as an A in the class whereas others are easy so a straight 90, 80, 70% scale is good enough. so yea, policy makes sense if you think about it

 

[randomlinh]

well, if the syllabus was vague to begin with, and you really cared, you should have inquired about it from the begining. and if he still gave you a vague answer... well, that's life.. it's quite the bitch sometimes.

 

[rubenswm]

Originally posted by: ManSnake
AFAIK 93% is the cutoff for a solid A. Carlson School of Management is kind of hard to get into though.

Agreed. They keep raising their standards too..and plenty of students still apply.

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: gwlam12

Originally posted by: mugsywwiii
That's kind of strange that for every other class, a 90 or 91 is an A-, but anything above that is an A... You said he didn't have a grade scale in the syllabus? Did you check your college handbook?

I agree with HappyPuppy about the integrity. Grade inflation is running rampant and destroying the value of earning good grades.

Edit: re-read your post and saw that your department/school policy says it is up to the prof. That strikes me as an odd policy... And it sounds like you're stuck with your A-.

that's how the policy is for my school, too. i dont see it as being odd because some classes are realy difficult and it is necessary for 70% to count as an A in the class whereas others are easy so a straight 90, 80, 70% scale is good enough. so yea, policy makes sense if you think about it

Hahah, 30% was an A for a CS class I took.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: gwlam12

Originally posted by: mugsywwiii
That's kind of strange that for every other class, a 90 or 91 is an A-, but anything above that is an A... You said he didn't have a grade scale in the syllabus? Did you check your college handbook?

I agree with HappyPuppy about the integrity. Grade inflation is running rampant and destroying the value of earning good grades.

Edit: re-read your post and saw that your department/school policy says it is up to the prof. That strikes me as an odd policy... And it sounds like you're stuck with your A-.

that's how the policy is for my school, too. i dont see it as being odd because some classes are realy difficult and it is necessary for 70% to count as an A in the class whereas others are easy so a straight 90, 80, 70% scale is good enough. so yea, policy makes sense if you think about it

No, that just trains people to think that they don't have to work any harder just because something is more difficult - it'll just get "curved" in the end. Do you think it works this way when you get out of school? If the class is hard, WORK HARDER. You shouldn't be able to expect a grade that you did not earn. So you get higher grades in easier classes, lower grades in harder classes, you think that's not normal? If you were only able to earn a 70% in the class, do you think you earned an A?

I heard a few years ago that 50% of the grades given out at Harvard are As. Does that sound like the way it should be?