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[quote=Anonymous][quote]My son is a freshman at a a selective top 15 university and he recently got a C on his Philosophy paper. He made an appointment to meet with the professor, who told him that he did not expand enough on the ideas. He gave him (and other students) the opportunity to rewrite the paper by the end of the semester for a new grade.

You sound like a horrible sadistic professor and so glad you don't teach at my son's college (not in the DC metro area of course). [/quote]

The difference is your sons Professor gave the entire class the same opportunity. It is fair because everyone has the same chance. The other kid failed the final paper because they did not follow the directions. The Professor should not give one student a chance to change their grade and not give that same opportunity to all students.

I required a rough draft for all papers for my Freshmen and Sophomore classes so that I could address possible issues with papers for students who are new to college. The rough draft was marked liberally but there really was no grade. I would write "If this was your final paper it would be a Grade X. Please see the comments to improve your performance." It was meant to be a wake up call. Students who reviewed my comments and/or came to see me during office hours tended to receive A's and B's on their final paper. Students who didn't, well, it tended to be ugly. And when they came to complain about their grade, I would ask them to bring their marked up rough draft. It normally took about 30 seconds to see that they made no changes to the final.

I suspect that your sons Professor does this same thing every time he teaches this class and it is meant to be a wake up call to the students. It helps them adjust to his expectations. There is a huge difference between offering one student an opportunity to improve a grade and all students to improve a grade.

For the PP who thinks that your high tuition gets you extra information or access, nope. I am not allowed to discuss your child's grades with you. Your child is an adult. My parents solution to this conundrum, 20 some years ago, was to require that I show them my report card before they wrote another tuition check. If I had a grade they were not happy with, I had to show them the work that had been returned. They made it clear that if they thought I was doing poorly due to partying or not attending class, they would not write the tuition check. They never dreamed of calling the school or the Professors. I am not changing your kids grade because Mom and Dad are upset or because Mom and Dad choose to send their kid to a crazy expensive college. Mom and Dad need to check in with their kid and find out what is going on and make sure that their kid is doing their work. [/quote]

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