Final Grades
A+ (1)Â
A Â (1)Â
B+ (3)
B Â (4)
B- (2)
C+ (1)
C Â (3)
Again, another semester showing a paltry number of A students. I’m not sure why, though there were B+ students who could have earned higher grades.
There were no Fs but there were close calls. And I didn’t give Cs to keep from giving Fs. My basic reporting classes have higher standards than similar nonfiction and journalism classes in my department, film and media studies, because – this is not a boast, it’s fact – students enrolled in my courses are required to publish. The publishing imperative adds an extra dimension and challenge for instructor and students yet is not as excessive in terms of workloads and time as many colleagues and students imagine, though it has fueled the cantankerousness in my department about how I teach my classes.
The C students could have gotten higher grades if they had exerted themselves more than they were willing to do. A C recorded is a C deserved.
Which brings me to this: A former department chair once told me that when professors teaching the science classes of Hunter’s School of Arts and Sciences flunk students, no one raises an eyebrow (except for the students, maybe). But eyebrows are raised in the Arts departments, such as, Film and Media Studies. Beware, he said in so many words (before the grade tampering and grade appeal fights escalated).
Thus, sometime soon, I will return to comments about ThirtyFortyPs.
Tags: college cheating, grade inflation, grades, journalism education