Begging for Grades

    On my PSYC 1000 course syllabus it says:

    If your point total is at least 360, you have an A; at least 320, a B; at least 280, a C; at least 240, a D; and below 240 is an F. These grade cutoffs are absolute -- for example, a 319 is a C, not a B. When transforming total scores to letter grades, "close" does not count.

    Please do not embarrass yourself and me by begging for extra credit after final grades have been awarded. Final grades are, well, final. Also, please remember that I grade your performance, not your personal worth.

    Most professors receive numerous "begging for points" emails shortly after final grades are posted.  When I receive such emails I simply discard them without replying to them.  This may seem rude, but it is really just tit for tat.  It is rude to beg for points, especially after I have clearly explained that such behavior is inappropriate and ineffective. 

    After the links are the begging emails I got in just two hours shortly after I posted final grades in December of 2005:  In green is what I might have said if I had replied.

Click the Yellow Jacket to read about begging for grades at Georgia Tech

 

Plot of Relationship between Final Grade and Number of Emails Received By Angry Professor After Final Grades Were Posted

    This graph was found at A Gentleman's C blogspot, to which you are referred for more details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    I am not sure if you had received the email that I had sent you earlier, but I just checked my grade for the final and now my point total is 352, if I had only had 360, I think that would have put me right at an A for the class.....so my question is....is there anything that I can do to get those 8 pts? .....

    Well, you could have taken advantage of the several extra credit opportunities I offered during the semester.

    For my final total points I ended up with a 317.  I wasn't able to download any extra credit on my computer (it is the weirdest computer), and I would be very grateful if you were able to raise up the grade.

    There are hundreds of computers in labs distributed across the campus.  You could have used any of them.

    I just calculated my final point total and it came out to be a 277. I was wondering if you rounded that up, or if there was any way that you could? I did not do the extra credit, I always attempted, but I never understood how to open the document how you instructed.

    You were told to meet with my teaching assistant for help on matters like this and you chose not to.

    I was reviewing my grade for the exam and I was suprised to see that I didnt do as well as I thought I would have.  I studied very hard for it and dont understand how I scored so poorly.  Calculating my grade I came across that I had 277 points which is a D.  I am very upset because I know that this class has been very difficult for me, but I am not a D student.  I know that you must get this request a lot but I was wondering if there was anything I could do to get 3 points so I could have a 380 which is a C.

    If you can warp time you can go back and take advantage of the several extra credit opportunities I made available during the semester.

    Um, I have a big problem... I was up all night studying for this exam and I still didnt do good... I gave it all I had, all semester... I have a 235 in the class, and according to the syllabus I need a 240 to pass... Is there anythin I can do to get those 5 points?  I will do anything!!!!  I am tryin to graduate soon, and not passin this class will make me have to take an extra semester... please have grace on me and let me do something to get those extra points... I will be forever in you debt... Please, i am payin out of state tuition and I pay for it all on my own with no help from my parents, and another semster costs alot here at ECU.. please help and let me get those 5 points... I know there were some extra credit i didnt do, and I wanted to but school this semster was so hecktick with workin a full time job and goin to school full time... it kicked my ass... so please have grace on me...

    Do you remember what I told you about how foolish it is to put off your studying until the night before the exam and then staying up all night.  That is a sure recipe for disaster, as you now have learned from experience.  Your score of 34 on the final exam is barely above what would be expected by random guessing (27).  Read my Study Tips again before you repeat the course.

    I know you aren't one to give extra points, but I figured I would at least try, as there is no harm in doing so. I believe that my grade for the class is going to come out to a 271. Is it possible at all for you to give me the 9 points so that I can have a C?

    No.

    I understand that grades are posted. I tried really hard in your class and made a point to have good attendence. I am one point away from a passing grade. Is there any sort of extra credit or extra research I can do before winter break starts to boost my grade so I can pass the course.

    You are six points from passing.  You should have earned the extra credit prior to the deadline for doing so.  There are consequences to ignoring deadlines.  Welcome to the School of Hard Knocks.

I have a D in your class as my final grade, I was wondering if I could do anything to pull my grade up to a C like writing a paper. Is there a way that I can take the retake when I get from the break?

    No.  Makeup exams are administered at the scheduled time, not after final grades have been awarded.

 

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