Is this legal?

U.S.A. Texas

Published

Hello all. I have a question. I'm currently enrolled in a nursing program that all unit exams are worth 65%,quizzes 10%, homework is 5% and final is 20% of your grade. In this program if your unit exam average does not equal exactly 75% you do not get your 10% for quizzes. This makes it impossible to pass this level even if one were to make a 100% on their final exam. My question is this. Is it legal to not give you a grade that you have worked for and earned? This just does not seem right.

caliotter3

38,333 Posts

Wow. First I've heard of this practice. Looks as if your school has its own agenda. One hundred per cent on the final exam should surpass anything. It shows that by the last day of the course, you had learned the material, and that is what matters.

songbird1

63 Posts

I'm thinking of filing a complaint, but only if this practice is not legal.

elkpark

14,633 Posts

Schools can set up whatever grading plans they wish. There's nothing "legal" or "illegal" about it.

Editorial Team / Admin

Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN

6 Articles; 11,658 Posts

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Why wouldn't it be legal for the school to set forth grading policies as they see fit? You are extremely unlikely to find any law regulating how college courses are graded. That is left up to the school to determine. If the policy is being followed as it is written, there isn't really any complaint warranted. The only option you would have is to vote with your feet and find another program where the grading policies are to your liking.

Specializes in PACU.

I personally don't see anything illegal going on. Was this policy set forth in the student handbook when you started?

songbird1

63 Posts

It's just a question. And I meant per BON laws.

elkpark

14,633 Posts

It's just a question. And I meant per BON laws.

Have you asked your BON?

songbird1

63 Posts

Have you asked your BON?

Not sure how to go about that, but I'm working on it.

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sirI, MSN, APRN, NP

17 Articles; 44,729 Posts

Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Duplicate threads merged.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
My question is this. Is it legal to not give you a grade that you have worked for and earned? This just does not seem right.
It is perfectly legal for instructors to issue different weight percentages to certain assignment categories when calculating students' grades. So, yes, it is legal for unit exams to be weighted more heavily than the final exam.

Hi Op :)

This is my first post here, but I just figured I'd throw my personal experience out there to help put things in perspective, maybe? In my program, anything less than an 80% on the exam average is an automatic failure of the course. My prof was pretty cut and dry in explaining that our overall class average wouldn't mean anything without meeting the exam requirement. Seems our grading policies are similar, with the exception of how things were "worded". So, it may not be a matter of legality, simply a requirement that we as students have to follow along with. If you can meet the requirement then you're in the clear (for the most part) :)

Hope it was helpful, either way best of luck :)

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