For these people, this waiting game is the worst part of school, with this year’s grade posting coming on January 7, 2005. Many students feel that this is too late for them to plan their next semester or appeal their grades.
“I think that it is an inconvenience for students,” said Vice-President Academic for the Student’s Union, Laura Schultz. “It is not a fun thing. I have received a couple of e-mails from students, but I think most of them were sent to the Student Rights Advisor.”
While the date that grades become official is set in January, this is not the absolute final grade that a student can receive on a course. Even though the grade is made official, it is not final.
In the SU Daytimer–which can be obtained at the Information Desk in MacEwan Student Centre–there is a section on academic appeals and who to contact for more information.
“If you have a problem with a grade, talk to the faculty, SU VP Academic or the Student Rights Advisor,” explained Schultz, “even talk to the department head, program director or associate dean.”
Academic appeals for the Fall Semester can be launched up until March 1, 2005.
There are catches to this process though, the only parts of a final grade that can be appealed are either a final exam or a final project. For any exam or project mark that a student received during the year, they have to launch an appeal within 15 days of a mark or the project being handed back to the student.
“Any grade that students want to appeal will be because of a final exam or final project,” said Schultz. “This is because students should know how they are doing throughout the semester.”
Schultz is quick to point out that having to wait for grades is not the fault of the professors.
“Students should be able to access grades quicker but the delay partly comes from the way that the semester is organized,” said Schultz. “December is a hard month for professors with all of the marking they have to do.
“In some ways it’s good that they have so much time because they can input grades correctly and mark each student’s work fairly.”
If you have a problem with a grade, take it up with the Students Rights Advisor. Appealing grades isn’t a fun process but it can be a necessary one.
Plus the waiting game isn’t always bad, just think of it as a late Christmas present or early motivation for the next semester.