Should I challenge?

[Cruz]

- I have a douchebag of a useless tit for Astronomy.

See here for details:
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=156602

- The whole semester I bust my ass to pull off an A.
- I show up for my final and I've never even seen 3/4 of the material on there. NONE OF IT was covered in class.
- As a result of the final, I end up with a "C" in the class when the rest of my classes were all A's and a B+
- Consequently, my GPA and cumulative GPA have dropped substantially.

The conflict: I could challenge the final grade (appeal) and run the risk that they will review the exam and LOWER my mark. I have a feeling that the whole class was in the same situation as me and they bell curved the exam mark up so people could pass.

The course outline stipulated that a minimum of 60% on the final was required in order to pass the class. I doubt that I got that high.

Thoughts? Advice? Has anyone appealed before?

[5hift]

I've been in the exact same situation as you. I too had Ian Lovatt for Astr205. Our situation was different though ... When I took it he made the midterm brutally hard which everyone then failed. For the final he made it extremelly easy in order to offset, and everyone I talked to ended up with a C. I didnt care enough to fight for a better mark (which I thought I deserved), but I remember a few of my friends did and they all recieved their real (lower) marks instead of the curved up grade.

UofC knows he's a bad prof and doesnt really seem to care. I wouldnt waste your time unless your borderline getting into a program or something like that.

[three.eighteen.]

so how did the class get bs and as?

[camby]

First step is to buy back your exam.

[lilmira]

If you can prove that the material in the exam is in no way covered in class then you have a case. But since there are people getting As and Bs, it doesn't look very good to you.

I'll say get over it and do better next semester. Shit happens. It's only a grade in one class.
You wouldn't remember what grade you get in which class few years after you graduate and You wouldn't care anymore as long as the pay cheque comes regularly.

[Gainsbarre]

Yes, it is unfair when a professor tests you on something that was not covered in class (they're usually too damn lazy to come up with questions based on what they've covered in class so they just go ahead and use questions out of a test bank). However, was the material on the final covered anywhere in the assigned readings for the course? Often professors will sneak in a comment in the course outline or their lectures where they say that students are responsible for all material covered in lectures AND the assigned readings.

It's probably not worth the effort to appeal -- everything will be status quo. I would worry more about the effort put in to appealing the grade much more than the possibility of your grade going down (this is unlikely). I appealed a grade I had received in FNCE 445 a year and a half ago, on the basis that the professor disappeared for the last month of class (April), cancelled all lectures and did not have any office hours or reply to any emails or phone calls. Went through the whole appeals process, presented my case before a bunch of faculty, nothing changed.

[Crymson]

I think the fact that other kids pulled off A's and B's means that you likely missed something, i know i was burned on a course or two for not going to the "optional" tutorials. Otherwize there would be an outry en masse and he would end up curving the final.

[Weapon_R]

THe class didn't pull off A's and B's...he's saying that his other grades are a's and b's.

And yes, you should challenge anything you don't agree with. Lovatt has been there forever and you'll likely not see your grade change, but its worth a try because you don't lose anything if you do.

[Lanks]

Originally posted by Cruz
- As a result of the final, I end up with a "C" in the class when the rest of my classes were all A's and a B+
- Consequently, my GPA and cumulative GPA have dropped substantially.
[/B]



Originally posted by three.eighteen.
so how did the class get bs and as?



Originally posted by lilmira
But since there are people getting As and Bs, it doesn't look very good to you.




Originally posted by Crymson
I think the fact that other kids pulled off A's and B's

I'm pretty sure he meant HE got A's and B's in his other classes not other students got A's in this class

EDIT- damn beat me to it^^

[thinmyster]

sorry man thats what they do get used to it

[thinmyster]

i got a b in that class last year without doing the essay :D cheers!

[lilmira]

oops, wasn't paying attention to the wording.

Can they actually uncurve your grade because you appeal? That doesn't sound fair.

[AsianCaucasian]

Originally posted by 5hift
I've been in the exact same situation as you. I too had Ian Lovatt for Astr205. Our situation was different though ... When I took it he made the midterm brutally hard which everyone then failed. For the final he made it extremelly easy in order to offset, and everyone I talked to ended up with a C. I didnt care enough to fight for a better mark (which I thought I deserved), but I remember a few of my friends did and they all recieved their real (lower) marks instead of the curved up grade.

UofC knows he's a bad prof and doesnt really seem to care. I wouldnt waste your time unless your borderline getting into a program or something like that.

Sorry, but I call bullshit on this one. I took Astr205 with lovatt as well. His midterm was made up of exactly the same questions as on the previous two assignments. If you actually did the assignments and studied from them you would've scored high on the midterm like I and my friends did.

[Cruz]

Thanks for the suggestions to all who replied.



Originally posted by AsianCaucasian


Sorry, but I call bullshit on this one. I took Astr205 with lovatt as well. His midterm was made up of exactly the same questions as on the previous two assignments. If you actually did the assignments and studied from them you would've scored high on the midterm like I and my friends did.

Please review my post for clarity. I said my final did not contain material from the semester. No argument whatsoever concerning the midterms. Both midterms had the exact same questions as the previous assignments, and both midterms I scored A's. That is why I had an A going into the final and have now finished the class with a C as the final was worth 40% of the final mark.

[Cruz]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
THe class didn't pull off A's and B's...he's saying that his other grades are a's and b's.

And yes, you should challenge anything you don't agree with. Lovatt has been there forever and you'll likely not see your grade change, but its worth a try because you don't lose anything if you do.


Originally posted by Lanks


I'm pretty sure he meant HE got A's and B's in his other classes not other students got A's in this class

EDIT- damn beat me to it^^

Thanks for the clarity, guys. Looks like my wording may not have been clear. As Weapon-R and Lanks said: my other grades for my other classes were A's and a B. Everyone who I have spoken to since the final who was in this Lovatt's class scored a C+ at the most as their final mark.

[AsianCaucasian]

Originally posted by Cruz
Thanks for the suggestions to all who replied.




Please review my post for clarity. I said my final did not contain material from the semester. No argument whatsoever concerning the midterms. Both midterms had the exact same questions as the previous assignments, and both midterms I scored A's. That is why I had an A going into the final and have now finished the class with a C as the final was worth 40% of the final mark.

I didn't quote you? :dunno:

I wrote this final in Winter 2006 and I got A- overall.

[5hift]

Originally posted by AsianCaucasian


Sorry, but I call bullshit on this one. I took Astr205 with lovatt as well. His midterm was made up of exactly the same questions as on the previous two assignments. If you actually did the assignments and studied from them you would've scored high on the midterm like I and my friends did.

Yes I made this up for the sake of having a post. I took this 2 years ago in the summer semester. We didnt have assignments we just had a multiple choice midterm and final, and a ton of these gay labs where we ended up walking around looking at the stars in the middle of the night. If you really dont believe me, I dont care, take your A- and go fuck yourself, I was posting my own experience to help Cruz.

[l8braker]

I'll second (and 3rd) the comments about Ian Lovatt at MRC. Our final was exactly as the OP and others have mentioned. I didn't care enough to challenge it and switched schools after that semester. He is truly awful.

Challenge it!

[AsianCaucasian]

Originally posted by 5hift


Yes I made this up for the sake of having a post. I took this 2 years ago in the summer semester. We didnt have assignments we just had a multiple choice midterm and final, and a ton of these gay labs where we ended up walking around looking at the stars in the middle of the night. If you really dont believe me, I dont care, take your A- and go fuck yourself, I was posting my own experience to help Cruz.

I don't see why you have to reply like that, I am posting my own experience with Lovatt as well. Your course was probably totally different as it was in the summer semester anyways.

[Whitetiger]

Go for the challenge:thumbsup: what do you got to lose?