class grading scale does not match university grading scale?

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orangeblossom

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my school uses a regular +/- grading scale (A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc). this policy can be found in the student handbook
however for one of my classes (taken last semester), the professor implemented a grading scale that was different: A, B+, B, C+, C etc.

i know the grading scale my prof used is recognized by amcas, but it's not my school's official grading policy. when amcas looks at my transcript, they will assume that all the classes i took were graded on the official university policy.. correct? or am i missing something

on a side note, are professors even allowed to deviate from the school's grading policy?

thanks

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It looks like it's the official university policy to me. Just because your professor chooses not to assign some grades (e.g., A-, B-, etc.) doesn't mean that he's not adhering to the university policy. It's not as if he's making up letter grades - he just isn't using all of them.
 
to be more explicit, the points assigned were as follows
A=4.0
B+=3.3
B=3.0

whereas in the student handbook, there's always some grade corresponding to a 3.7 (the typical A- grade)

picking and choosing certain grades seems exactly like "not adhering to school policy." that's like saying a professor who gives only As and Cs is following a school policy that recognizes more grades than just an A and a C
 
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Well, you could...

- Ask your professor to change his grading policy (unlikely)
- Ask the chair of the department to make the professor change his policy (unlikely)
- Get an A in the class (more likely than the others)
 
to be more explicit, the points assigned were as follows
A=4.0
B+=3.3
B=3.0

whereas in the student handbook, there's always some grade corresponding to a 3.7 (the typical A- grade)

picking and choosing certain grades seems exactly like "not adhering to school policy." that's like saying a professor who gives only As and Cs is following a school policy that recognizes more grades than just an A and a C

So if he's not adhering to the policy, you'll what? Get an administrator to force him to give out all the grades? You aren't going to get any traction on that.
 
Your teacher is both adhering to your school's grading policy and doing you guys a favor by not giving out -'s.
 
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I dont get the reasoning behind that. my thoughts: premed classes should be as standardized as possible. there's an official school policy for a reason; its not merely a suggested guideline amcas will interpret my transcript as though the class scale were the school scale
 
Your teacher is both adhering to your schools grading policy and doing you guys a favor by not giving out -'s.

can you explain your reasoning. i guess i dont really see how if school policy says x and the prof isnt doing exactly x, that's following policy. following the rule means you follow the rule, not just part of the rule. also see above, my comment to the chicago med poster.
 
can you explain your reasoning. i guess i dont really see how if school policy says x and the prof isnt doing exactly x, that's following policy. following the rule means you follow the rule, not just part of the rule. also see above, my comment to the chicago med poster.

My school has the same policy, however some of my teachers don't believe in +'s and -'s. My first organic chemistry teacher didn't give out -'s and my current organic chemistry 2 teacher does not give out +'s or -'s, it's completely at their discretion. Furthermore, it's beneficial to you as you're getting effectively bumped up to a solid grade.


I dont get the reasoning behind that. my thoughts: premed classes should be as standardized as possible. there's an official school policy for a reason; its not merely a suggested guideline amcas will interpret my transcript as though the class scale were the school scale

God, your argument is making my head hurt.
 
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what the ****? that is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard.
 
what the ****? that is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard.

Tough eh? Be happy you're not attending a grade deflating university like Harvey Mud where you'd be lucky to graduate with over a 3.0. Either way, you can't do anything about this, so stop bitching and get studying.
 
It looks like it's the official university policy to me. Just because your professor chooses not to assign some grades (e.g., A-, B-, etc.) doesn't mean that he's not adhering to the university policy. It's not as if he's making up letter grades - he just isn't using all of them.

+1.

to be more explicit, the points assigned were as follows
A=4.0
B+=3.3
B=3.0

whereas in the student handbook, there's always some grade corresponding to a 3.7 (the typical A- grade)

picking and choosing certain grades seems exactly like "not adhering to school policy." that's like saying a professor who gives only As and Cs is following a school policy that recognizes more grades than just an A and a C

Where does it say in your school's policy that all available grades must be used?
 
I mean, is he making what would normally be an A- (say a 92%) into a B+? Or is an A just all the way down to 90%? Because if it's the latter, that sounds like an awesome professor....
 
I mean, is he making what would normally be an A- (say a 92%) into a B+? Or is an A just all the way down to 90%? Because if it's the latter, that sounds like an awesome professor....

I've had professors that define As as 93+ and 87-92 as B+.

OP should stop throwing a hissy fit.
 
Well, you could...

- Ask your professor to change his grading policy (unlikely)
- Ask the chair of the department to make the professor change his policy (unlikely)
- Get an A in the class (more likely than the others)

:thumbup:
 
what the ****? that is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard.

how about this argument. you are a student that statistically, will probably transfer out of pre-med and he is likely a tenured professor. no one is going to listen to you as you have no power. it isn't up to you how grades go out. I have had professors that didn't adhere to + or - at all. Be happy that a 90% is an A. Win!
 
Your teacher is both adhering to your school's grading policy and doing you guys a favor by not giving out -'s.

^This. Why would you care? Getting an A- or a B- is infuriating. If my classes were graded like that (and also not somewhat deflated) I'd have a 0.2-0.3 higher GPA. Be happy.
 
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