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UMass student loses grade suit (boo hoo)
The Republican ^ | Oct 24, 2007 | Eric Athas

Posted on 10/24/2007 9:51:43 AM PDT by Disturbin

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1 posted on 10/24/2007 9:51:46 AM PDT by Disturbin
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To: Disturbin

Wow, not even out of law school and he has already lost his first case. That has to be some kind of record.


2 posted on 10/24/2007 9:54:19 AM PDT by taxcontrol
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To: Disturbin

The professor has a full letter grade of discression that cannot be contested. This is standard practice at every university


3 posted on 10/24/2007 9:55:12 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (Don't you think it's interesting how death and destruction seems to happen wherever Muslims gather.)
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To: taxcontrol

Ha ha, exactly. But now he has a “civil rights struggle” to overcome!


4 posted on 10/24/2007 9:55:45 AM PDT by Disturbin (America! America! God shed His grace on thee)
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To: Ouderkirk

discression = discretion


5 posted on 10/24/2007 9:56:16 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (Don't you think it's interesting how death and destruction seems to happen wherever Muslims gather.)
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To: taxcontrol
Wow, not even out of law school and he has already lost his first case. That has to be some kind of record.

************

LOL! You're right.

6 posted on 10/24/2007 9:56:42 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: Disturbin

What a dolt. “C” in Philosophy but an “F” as a person.


7 posted on 10/24/2007 9:57:23 AM PDT by Slapshot68
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To: Disturbin
Marquis, a 51-year-old registered paralegal from Lanesboro, who hopes to graduate next year.

The proverbial professional student.

Which will come first?

Graduation or Social Security checks?

8 posted on 10/24/2007 9:58:27 AM PDT by N. Theknow (Kennedys: Can't drive, can't fly, can't ski, can't skipper a boat; but they know what's best for us)
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To: Disturbin

The Aggrieved Party

9 posted on 10/24/2007 10:02:27 AM PDT by N. Theknow (Kennedys: Can't drive, can't fly, can't ski, can't skipper a boat; but they know what's best for us)
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To: Ouderkirk

“The professor has a full letter grade of discression that cannot be contested. This is standard practice at every university”

So you would perfectly happy if, in a course you were taking that had a very liberal professor, you had earned a ‘C’ on all course work, but he gave you a ‘D’ because he didn’t like that you had challenged some of his ideas?


10 posted on 10/24/2007 10:03:19 AM PDT by chaosagent (Remember, no matter how you slice it, forbidden fruit still tastes the sweetest!)
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To: Disturbin

yet another reason NOT to grade on a curve


11 posted on 10/24/2007 10:04:58 AM PDT by camle (keep an open mind and someone will fill it full of something for you)
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To: chaosagent

Lived it. American History with an ultra liberal professor. Should have gotten an A, got a B. Went to the Dean of the College to complain and the Dean showed me in the university policies that there is a full letter grade of discretion for the professor. That’s up or down.

Wasn’t happy about it, but it was in the policy in black and white. Doesn’t make it right.


12 posted on 10/24/2007 10:08:45 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (Don't you think it's interesting how death and destruction seems to happen wherever Muslims gather.)
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To: All

Parents would be much better off giving their kids 25K and a pile of pamphlets from the Small Bus. Administration upon graduation. An 18 year old kid would be better off investing in a small business than wasting time at most of our 4 year universities (I know this was no “kid”, but this is an indicator of where our Universities are heading as well as the “skulls of mush” that are presently attending....


13 posted on 10/24/2007 10:11:52 AM PDT by Maverick68 (w)
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To: N. Theknow

As a college prof I’m normally a fan of the “older student”. Many return to get the degrees they put on hold due to children, military service, etc. I understand and applaud this sort of student. They are usually focused and much more disciplined than the young kids. (On the down side many of these folks simply want a paper. But that’s not much different than the 18 years we have showing up on the doorstep.)

Others return to the university for advanced degrees to improve their job situation or to change careers in midlife. Life happens. Some pick up the Masters or go to get an MBA after some years spent in industry, etc. Other degrees simply take a lot of time, an MD, Ph.D. or professional schools.

That said, to be 51 years old and still working on a first bachelor’s degree (with hopes of going on to law school!) strikes me as a bit odd. Not wanting to rain on his parade but let’s say he graduates next year, then does 3 years of law school. So now the guy is in his mid 50s with a brand new law degree and no experience as an attorney. Good luck with that retirement plan amigo.


14 posted on 10/24/2007 10:12:08 AM PDT by Will_Zurmacht
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To: N. Theknow

Wow, is there a pony tail we can’t see?


15 posted on 10/24/2007 10:17:41 AM PDT by Disturbin (America! America! God shed His grace on thee)
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To: Will_Zurmacht

Maybe he’s planning on becoming a professor. Haha


16 posted on 10/24/2007 10:20:12 AM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (There once was a dream called, "Hippy Beat Down." The mere whisper of if caused cops to weep.)
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To: chaosagent
So you would perfectly happy if, in a course you were taking that had a very liberal professor, you had earned a ‘C’ on all course work, but he gave you a ‘D’ because he didn’t like that you had challenged some of his ideas?....

Personally, no. But that's the way it is in academia.

I had a speeech prof who didn't like engineers, and hated male engineers in particular - and told us so at the beginning of the semester. ...Bitter, spiteful, vindictive Witch.... I'm sure that the work I did would have been an 'A' with anyone else. Good friend pulled a '4.0' in Electrical Engineering (next to damn impossible achievement, IMHO) with the exception of that class, in which he got a 'C'.

I, and the rest of the engineers in my class, got our 'C's and got the heck out. It was an excellent learning experience. I learned that Stupid Vindictive People with a little bit of power tend to discriminate against people smarter than they are, if they can get waay with it. A good life lesson.

17 posted on 10/24/2007 10:24:38 AM PDT by wbill
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To: Will_Zurmacht

The worst part of any teaching job is listening to students whine about the grades they earned.


18 posted on 10/24/2007 10:28:31 AM PDT by Last Dakotan
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To: Disturbin

Two words...
“Loser Pays”


19 posted on 10/24/2007 10:37:04 AM PDT by dr.zaeus
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To: Disturbin

This guy went about it the wrong way, but somewhere in there, I think he makes a good point.

What, exactly, do grades mean?

GPA’s can and do influence future job prospects, as well as admission to the next level of education.

Are grades an absolute measure - any student who gains x level of comprension of the course material gets an “A” and it doesn’t matter of you have a class with all “A”s or no “A”s - this is what a GPA seems to infer on your record.

Or, is a grade a relative measure - your standing within the 30 (or whatever number of) people in your class. In other words, a curve. Be lucky enough to be in a class full of dunces and get an easy “A”. End up in a class full of geniouses, and struggle to pass.

Seems like the guy is saying that “curving” a class makes a grade, and thus your GPA relative to an unknowable reference - i.e. no employer or graduate school will have any idea what sort of fellow classmates you were “curved” against so the value of a GPA as a measure of your ability and effort is diluted.

Sure, in most cases, it all evens out, but this is a subject that really ought to be addressed in a standardized way, or the source of the grades (absolute or relative) disclosed on transcripts.


20 posted on 10/24/2007 10:38:48 AM PDT by chrisser
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