Getting withdrawn because of a pre-req. Dispute?

[m2736185]

I need some ideas with disputing a grade. I am half way through my nursing program. I passed my main nursing class Med surg and all my pre reqs except for speech. At the mid-term I had an 80 in this class and towards the end we had a speech which is worth about 15% of your grade and 10% for peer evaluation. The instructor gave very vague instructions for the speech so I decided to do an impromptu on abortion. He decided that I was unprepared and should not have given this style considering the time we had and he gave me a 2/5 for my speech. Other students did PRESENTATIONS not speeches such as how to make chip dip demo in class. They received 4/5 and 4.5/5. This speech pretty much killed my grade and now I am being withdrawn out of the program because of it. I have a meeting with the academic advisor the instructor if he is available. Any ideas on how I can fight this?

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Now, with that being said he must of had some sort of bias against me knowing I had passed all my nursing classes and other pre reqs

You think he wanted you to fail just because you've passed everything else?

That does not seem logical.

If you were not sure of what the expectations of the speech were, why didn't you ask either him or one of your classmates? Especially for something worth 25% of your final grade!

[Moogie]

From what you've said, he failed you because he thought you were unprepared for a major class assignment.

Whether you consider it an important class or not.....the school evidently think's it's important enough for you to be withdrawn from nursing school. That would make it important for me.

And, it may be a "filler" class, but I can attest that there's nurses out there who can't speak a coherent sentence, so that's why the "filler" class is needed.

I agree with both of these posters. While it may not seem to you that speech is relevant to nursing, it obviously is important enough for your program that it's a requirement. Tyler77 is absolutely right. Nurses need to be able to communicate, usually one-on-one or with small groups, but occasionally nurses do public speaking. Speech class prepares you to be articulate and capable of communicating coherently.

You knew this assignment could make or break your grade. You didn't ask for clarification. Moreover, you chose to do an impromptu speech on a politically and morally charged subject. My best guess is that you stated your personal beliefs without researching sources that would support your beliefs---which you could have done since you knew about this well in advance. I'm still not sure that giving a speech about such a controversial subject was a good idea---as you said, other students gave demonstration speeches on making chip dip---something that isn't controversial but requires a little preparation and isn't going to push anyone's buttons. Moreover, when instructors require students to give impromptu speeches, the students have no warning and only a few minutes to prepare what they're going to say. The point of an impromptu speech is to think on your feet. I'm sorry, but I think you got the grade you deserved.

My best advice would be to see if you can get a second chance with your ADN program and, if you do, re-take the class from a different instructor so you have a fresh start.

[CuriousMe]

As I stated, my nursing handbook states explicitly the grounds for program dismissal (two pre-requisite/core courses or one nursing course) and also includes the required GPA for core classes. The OP's school might be different, but the handbook is still the place he should look if he/she is appealing dismissal from the program.

Not allowing a student to progress until pre-reqs are completed is completely different than withdrawl from the program. The latter at least gives the option of retaking the failed pre-requisite.

Ashley

I think we're dancing around terminology, as each program is going to say things somewhat differently (ie we don't have "core courses" just pre-reqs and nursing courses).

In my program, if you don't have a pre-req done by the specified term, they would withdraw you from the program. Nursing courses are taught once a year, so if you had the pre-req done in time for the next time the course is taught, and if there was a seat available they would re-enroll you. But they would still call it withdrawal (as opposed to expelled, in which case you can't come back).

[cmw6v8]

It sounds like you were in general ill prepared for this class, especially if you failed by missing just a few points. Usually when people fail a class it is not due to one assignment or one exam, it is the cumulative effect of poor work throughout the semester.