Professor passing some students unfairly..

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hello All..

I have an interesting tale that I would appreciate some advice, feedback or experience regarding.

I am a current RN student well into school. I am a good student, I do not miss class, have a good gpa..I am the one who follows the rules.

I was informed late last semester that I did not pass a nursing class. MANY issues arose in finding out why, but I filed a grievance with the college and it took all summer to get through the proper channels. I presented myself well, was polite and dignified and very well prepared.

I was turned down.

NOW..the issue at hand. During this process, I found out through self-admittance of the professor involved in all of this that a great deal of the class sat at "my" level..and her exact words were "I had to lower the passing grade percentages to fill the nursing xxxxx class for next semester as we were worried we would not have enough students." Now passing was a 78%. A "D" or non-passing grade is a 70-77.5%. Admittedly, this professor passed some D's onto a C to fill the next semester of classes. I heard this, the college president heard this, everyone heard it..including my attorney who was only there as a witness.

I kept quiet as this was BIG information. Earlier in the grievance proceeding, I was called a poor student for a previous nursing class grade of a "C". I argued that this "C" was a 84.33%.

I was met with..doesn't matter, a "C" is a "C".

SO..isn't a "D" a "D"?

Can this professor pass students with the SAME letter grade on and not others? There is no description in the syllabus for a D-, D, or a D+.. If a C is a C, then isn't a D a D?

As I kept quiet and discreet about this information that I should not have been privvy too, it worked against me. I thought being discreet would reward me. It did not.

More students were moved on who earned a "D", then were held back and told to repeat.

Also, the students held back..are all federally funded pell grant students. Now the gov't. is paying twice for a student who got the same grade as another who isn't required to retake the class.

Our gov't is broke enough :(..

You all know that a professor having this high of a failure rate needs to be evaluated, but it seems the college stands behind her. The professor now explains that this was fair because each class may have had a different test with one being harder than the other? You know we all had basically the same tests.

Anyone with any knowledge or advice?

Thank you.

Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

What does your attorney say? You said they were there and heard this as well. If your attorney can't help you I am not sure there is a thing you can do.

I am sure it is tremendously upsetting and I am so sorry. I hope you find a more reputable place to go to school and can move past this chapter in your life.

How kind of you, thank you :)

It is upsetting and quite a few other issues have arisen within this college that make you scratch your head. I simply appreciate your comment in hopes that I could find a place more reputable. I was worried that it was just me who thought this to be wrong.

Attorney is shocked that this didn't go my way as well. We won't stop investigating fairness and options at this point.

I suppose I was just looking for an opinion from other students as to whether this was acceptable in their eyes.

Thank you again.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Wait a minute ... I don't get it. So ...you failed with a "C" while other students passed the same class taken at the same time with you who got "D's" were passed?

If the students with D's who passed were in another class, then it has nothing to do with your case. It's comparing apples to oranges. But if you all were in the same class at the same time, that's a different story.

How did they justify you failing you with a C. Is a C a passing grade or not at your school? There is information missing from your story that is needed to form any knoweldgable opinion about your situation.

No..no. I apologize for the confusion. I had the same D as others who passed. The C I wrote of was the one C I had received in a previous nursing course. When I approached the grievance proceeding, I was told that I was not a strong academic candidate to argue on my behalf to be progressed on, as I had a C before.

The C that I received at that time, was a 84.33%. A B is an 85%. The faculty involved in this grievance proceeding including the nursing school dean said the high percentage doesn't matter..a C is a C.

More clear? Therefore my question... Shouldn't a D be a D?

Thank you for your thoughts..

Oh and apologies again... All students are in the same class.

.....

Hi...I'm so sorry for your situation. I am inclined to agree with you that a D is a D; however, it sounds as though the students that moved on to the next class had a higher percentage grade than yours and only a certain number were needed to fill seats....Am I correct in assuming that? If that is the case I'm not sure there is anything that you can do about it, not to say that you shouldn't try.

I'm not getting how an 84.33 qualifies as a C. In my experience it should at least be considered a B-. It seems to me that the whole grading system should be reevaluated, but that is just my opinion.

I'm honestly not sure what I would do if I were in your situation, maybe find a new, reputable school as RN2BDFW stated. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck!

Is this a public school are a private school???? My school policy is that our syllabus is a contact between the student and the instructor/program. We have to sign the syllabus and return it to our instructor. We have to attain a 73 to pass the course it specifically, states that they do not round up. We had quite a few students who had to retake the course cause they had 72.5 and there wasn't anything they could do about it. Since our instructor insist that our syllabus is a contract, I assume if everyone in the class scored lower than a 73 they would have to pass evey one and couldn't just pick the students that scored 72.5. I ask if it's a private school because I have friends at private schools and administration tend to adjust their policy how they deemed fit. This might be the last thing you wanna hear but for every door that closes a new one opens. I lost several class mates over the summer because they were kicked out of the program,(our program gives you one get out of jail card) the majority of them have decide to dust themselves off and try to get into another program. Based on your side of the story I do think it's unfair. Getting kick out of a nursing program doesn't mean you won't achieve your goal it just will take a little longer.

Thank you for your opinions.. I value them greatly :)

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

If all of the people who were allowed to move on had higher grades than you, then you don't have much of a case. The school lowered it's standards a bit and let a few borderline students through. Most people would consider that an act of kindness and generosity -- not something to be punished. The fact that they only let a few borderline students squeak through does not require them to let everybody pass.

Professors "curve grades" every day. Done right, it's a legitimate and totally acceptable way of grading. The grades for your class were curved -- which helped out a few people, but not everybody. I'm sorry you were not one of them, but that doesn't make it wrong for the school to have curved the grades and helped the next few who were the closest to passing.

I did something similar just last week. I gave a test and a couple of students missed the passing standard by just 1 question. I let them pass after reviewing their wrong answers with them. But I still failed the students who missed the mark by several questions. Such things are common practice. Nobody is hurt when a few others are helped in that way. There is no victim in such a case.

It seems like multiple people are going out of their way to make it hard on you. It makes me wonder why they'd do that to a strong student. Good luck to you!

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