What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff notes)
 

Who is right in this situation?

This is the same professor from another thread I started

Ok, so I just took the final this morning for the classe. There was a homework assignment due today, so I did it and handed it in before I started my final. After I finished the test, I handed it in and my professor handed me back my homework assignment, which he had just graded.

He says "Why did you only do 2 of the questions? It says to do 3."

I responded, "No, it says in the syllabus to do 2 questions, so I did 2."

He said "No, you're wrong. And everyone else did 3, you're the only one who did two."

I was going to argue my case, but other students were still taking the final, so I decided to drop it there, and send him an email when I got home. which i just did. Here is the email I just sent him:

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Hello Professor,
This is regarding the homework set # 8, where I only did 2 problems. I felt I was right in this situation, but I did not think it was right to discuss it in class when the other students were still taking their final, so that is why I am emailing you now. I'm not trying to start an argument, it's just that I want every point I can get.

This is what it says on the syllabus, word for word:

"Set #8 (due 7/28): Chapter 14. One or two of 14.24, 14.25, 14.26
Chapter 15: One or two of 15.10, 15.15, 15.30
or short essay question:
3. In which, if any, of the three philosophies
of mathematics listed in the text do you
believe? Give your reasons for your beliefs."

Chapter 14. One or two of 14.24, 14.25 , 14.26 ---- For chapter 14 I chose to do one, and I substituted an essay question for that one question.

Chapter 15: One or two of 15.10, 15.15, 15.30 ----- For chapter 15, it says one or two of 15.10, 15.15, 15.30 OR short essay question: I chose the short essay question.



So there are the 2 questions that I chose to do. I don't see where it says there is a mandatory 3rd question. I feel like I could be on the border between letter grades, and ten points could make or break my grade. If I would have known that you wanted us to do 3 questions I would have done 3, but I followed the directions on the syllabus and I don't want to miss points because of that.

Kind Regards,
Nick Kratzer

--------------------------------------------------------

That is word for word what it says on my syllabus. I hate this professor, I think he is a pompous prick, but I would do this regardless of whether I liked him or not. Because I hated him though, I spelled out my email and argument as simply as possible, just to belittle him. In the email I capitalized, bolded, and underlined each 'or'. I think there is a mutual hatred between us, so this would be very sweet if I got these points. God I hate this guy

I got 20/30 points on that assignment, and the total points for the class is 700, so it's about 1.43% that I'm arguing for.

What do you guys think? Am I correct? And I don't care if you don't think it's worth it, because I think it is. I just want to see who agrees with me.



cliff notes: i got shorted 1.43% on my final grade, and I'm ready to throw down with my prof to get those points.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

The Dorm?

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

oh, ive never seen that forum before. my bad

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

3. In which, if any, of the three philosophies
of mathematics listed in the text do you
believe? Give your reasons for your beliefs."

is that the 3rd question?

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

just because it has a "3" in front of it doesnt mean it's the 3rd question, IMO. or at least i can interpret it that way. I took the directions as literally as I could

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
just because it has a "3" in front of it doesnt mean it's the 3rd question, IMO. or at least i can interpret it that way. I took the directions as literally as I could

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, if it is a 3rd question, the preceding sentence makes no sense. But the 3 doesn't make sense otherwise. I guess the prof just made a mistake somewhere.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

Take him to the Dean or the equivalent of an Ombsudsperson once you have your final grade (if it's close or borderline).

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff notes)
 

Griping over percentages of grades is probably the worst part of college. After the class is over I seriously can't bring myself to care anymore.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

I think it's pretty obvious he mistakenly put an "or" where he meant to put an "and", but i want to win this argument.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

My question is how every other student managed to understand that there were to be 3 questions due on this assignment.

My guess is that he elucidated this point during the class before this assignment was due, and perhaps you skipped and this is why you missed the edict that everyone else followed (and might explain why he hates you, also).

Just a hunch.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

if my calculations are correct than this is the difference between a C+ and a B-. Kind of a big deal, GPA-wise.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

Kratzer,

I was VP Academic of my university in college and sat on a bunch of committees that dealt with these decisions all the time. You have a very clear case where the professor wrote something in the syllabus that could be construed as 2/3. Prof has to stick to the syllabus. Take it to the departmental head and then the Dean/Ombudsman.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

Hmmm What do you think of someone who does the bare minimum? Everyone else did all three, don't you want to represent yourself??

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

oh i plan on it. im just waiting for his response to see what he says.

ill take this all the way to the god damn supreme court!

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmm What do you think of someone who does the bare minimum? Everyone else did all three, don't you want to represent yourself??

[/ QUOTE ]

uh, i did what was instructed. he already hates me and i hate him so im not going to try and "impress" him by doing an extra question. and for those who do the bare minimum, they certainly dont waste any time/effort doing pointless things.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

So what you're saying, is that you understood your profs intentions, didn't do all of the work, and jepordized your GPA, just to prove a point, and stick it to your prof?

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

yes

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
yes

[/ QUOTE ]

Works for me. Good luck!

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
What do you think of someone who does the bare minimum

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9ibyiBsWspEcGsBCpSjzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NDgyNWN 0BHNlYwNwcm9m/SIG=12vuqkidj/EXP=1154198508/**http%3a//www.the-reel-mccoy.com/movies/1999/images/officespace_chotchkies.jpg[/img]

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

Something worth considering:

I always reviewed my test grades in class. I found that a lot of professors would be VERY lazy in marking things wrong, and not too great about figuring out partial credit.

In one particular class, every single test I was able to increase my score by 20% (with little to no argument). That's a huge difference in a grade letter.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What do you think of someone who does the bare minimum

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9ibyiBsWspEcGsBCpSjzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NDgyNWN 0BHNlYwNwcm9m/SIG=12vuqkidj/EXP=1154198508/**http%3a//www.the-reel-mccoy.com/movies/1999/images/officespace_chotchkies.jpg[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Very nice.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

most professors state on the syllabus that they have the right to make changes to the information contained therein. even if your prof didnt write this, it is still implied. its not like a syllabus is some legal document that is designed to stand up against meganits such as yourself.

what is more important is that the whole class seemed to know what he meant so you either ignored something he said in class or werent there when he said it or whatever.

furthermore, when your prof handed you back the assignment, you showed no willingness to compromise and attempt to do the work and hand it in late. if he is grading these in a matter of a couple hours, im sure they didnt take too long to do.

i would have said something along the lines of, "oh im sorry but the syllabus must have a mistake, would it be possible for me to email you the last question this afternoon?". that way at least you would show him you cared and have grounds for further action with disputing the grade.

seems to me like you are clearly in the wrong here.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What do you think of someone who does the bare minimum

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9ibyiBsWspEcGsBCpSjzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NDgyNWN 0BHNlYwNwcm9m/SIG=12vuqkidj/EXP=1154198508/**http%3a//www.the-reel-mccoy.com/movies/1999/images/officespace_chotchkies.jpg[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Very nice.

[/ QUOTE ]

But that was already the point of the post he quoted. So I approve of the pic, but the true "Very nice" must go to smk67 (and it was nice).

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Take him to the Dean or the equivalent of an Ombsudsperson once you have your final grade (if it's close or borderline).

[/ QUOTE ]

Definitely do this. Particularly if the Professor has a reputation for being a jerk, you have a good chance of getting the grade changed.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff notes)
 

Pull a couple hundred dollar bills out of your pocket.
Burn one completely, rip the others into little pieces and throw them in the air.
Laugh in his face like a maniac and leave.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

[ QUOTE ]

seems to me like you are clearly in the wrong here.

[/ QUOTE ]
You've somehow completely missed the point of this thread. It doesn't matter if he's right or wrong in a "spirit of the law" sense. He's trying to slampig a jerk professor by ultranitting about something on the syllabus.

Also, I'm pretty sure I never had a syllabus in college that stated "I reserve the right to change this without notice!" or anything like that.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

seems to me like you are clearly in the wrong here.

[/ QUOTE ]
You've somehow completely missed the point of this thread. It doesn't matter if he's right or wrong in a "spirit of the law" sense. He's trying to slampig a jerk professor by ultranitting about something on the syllabus.

[/ QUOTE ]

by saying he is clearly in the wrong, i meant that it seems to me he has little to no shot at getting his grade overturned. in other words, the powers that be would most certainly side with the prof due reasons stated in my original post.

[ QUOTE ]
Also, I'm pretty sure I never had a syllabus in college that stated "I reserve the right to change this without notice!" or anything like that.

[/ QUOTE ]

seems to me there was plenty of notice, as everyone else in the class did the assignment per the professor's wishes (unless you think the professor is lying and has a serious grudge against op, in which case this would be very difficult to prove).

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

well then you should say i have little to no shot of getting my grade overturned. dont say I was wrong if you mean something else.

and also, there are only 6 other kids in the class so all of them doing three questions on the assignment isnt that out of the ordinary. especially since it's a math class and most of them are math geeks. that's not an issue to me, cause they're suckers [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

After burning one of the hundred dollar bills and tearing up the rest, pull another hundred dollar bill out of your pocket, quickly drop your pants, and wipe your ass with it. Drop it on the floor, and say, "That one is for you, Homer".

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

[ QUOTE ]
well then you should say i have little to no shot of getting my grade overturned. dont say I was wrong if you mean something else.

[/ QUOTE ]

your position: you feel like your grade should be overturned.

me: "you are clearly in the wrong."

putting these together, you are wrong to think your grade should be overturned. not that difficult to understand.

anyway, good luck getting the grade changed.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

[ QUOTE ]
In the email I capitalized, bolded, and underlined each 'or'. I think there is a mutual hatred between us, so this would be very sweet if I got these points. God I hate this guy

[/ QUOTE ]
This is absurd. Do you really think this is about grammar? After sending the (purposefully) annoying email, did you really expect him to say "After reading your caps, bold, underlined 'or's, I've decided that you're right. Here's some points."

You could have sent an email saying "Sorry I misunderstood. <Here's why, if you really care. (He doesn't.)> Can I have another 12 hours to do the extra problem? My GPA will really appreciate it."

Enjoy your C. You earned it.
-Sam

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

I just got an email back from my professor. Here it is verbatim:

---------------------------------------------

So clearly three problems were required, but it looks like you found a loophole to squirm your way through. I will give you 30/30 on the assignment. i turned grades in; you got a B- which I feel was generous.

--------------------------------------------

that email has such a mean tone to it, this is hilarious. i couldnt be happier with how this turned out

http://cdn.scratchrecords.com/images/thor_thi_300.jpg

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

I'm amazed. Congrats.
-Sam

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

read above

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

[ QUOTE ]
Also, I'm pretty sure I never had a syllabus in college that stated "I reserve the right to change this without notice!" or anything like that.

[/ QUOTE ]Every syllabus I have ever handed-out came with the qualification "This is just a general outline of the course. I'm sure we'll make changes as we go."
-Sam

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

[ QUOTE ]
I just got an email back from my professor. Here it is verbatim:

---------------------------------------------

So clearly three problems were required, but it looks like you found a loophole to squirm your way through. I will give you 30/30 on the assignment. i turned grades in; you got a B- which I feel was generous.

--------------------------------------------

that email has such a mean tone to it, this is hilarious. i couldnt be happier with how this turned out

[/ QUOTE ]

Once grades are finalized, ask him how generous his English teacher was when he took the "and" vs. "or" test in third grade.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

Kratzer,

Congrats. I could practically hear the sneer in his voice when he typed "squirm." Good times.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

Yes! I love doing [censored] like that, you are the man.

Oh and I've been told by several profs that the syllabus is a legal document and must be followed.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

That's awesome. i love the tone he answered in.

[censored] him.

Re: What I will do for 1.43% of my final grade.....(long w/ cliff note
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I just got an email back from my professor. Here it is verbatim:

---------------------------------------------

So clearly three problems were required, but it looks like you found a loophole to squirm your way through. I will give you 30/30 on the assignment. i turned grades in; you got a B- which I feel was generous.

--------------------------------------------

that email has such a mean tone to it, this is hilarious. i couldnt be happier with how this turned out

[/ QUOTE ]

Once grades are finalized, ask him how generous his English teacher was when he took the "and" vs. "or" test in third grade.

[/ QUOTE ]

please please please do this.