Hi everyone,

Let me address some emailed questions I get at the end of every semester.

For final grades

Will I round up your grade?

No. No grades will be rounded. The university grade scale applies, which states that 79.99 will be recorded as a C+.

Can I please just this once give you more points so you can get the next letter grade?

No. Asking anyone for a grade you didn’t earn is not a good look. Asking your ethics professor shows you did not learn much from this course.

I do not “give” grades. I keep track of your scores and progress throughout the semester. Asking me to arbitrarily change that score after all the work is done makes no sense.

Can you redo assignments or turn in assignments that you didn’t do the first chance you had? Can I change a grade from one of your earlier assignments to boost your average?

No. The policies regarding late work and grade disputes are in the syllabus and on this site; they do not change at the end of the year, regardless of your score.

When will I post grades?

As soon as I can, but there’s no set date other than the university deadlines.

I hope I have sufficiently addressed these points here, so please do not send me emails asking questions like these. Of course, if you have other questions, ask away.

For final papers

Sorry my final was late/incorrectly submitted. I know the assignment instructions and syllabus and in-class announcements all emphasized that you wouldn’t, but can you make an exception for me and grade mine anyway?

No. The course policies apply equally to everyone in the class.

But my situation is different! I was sick/had technical difficulties/car trouble/international travel. Are you really going to ruin my grade for this?

As emphasized in class and on our site, you are the one penalizing yourself for unforeseen issues if you’re submitting a final paper on the same day as it is due. I did my best to make your submission successful: I shifted the last two weeks of class to working on the paper framework. I gave explicit instructions, with screenshots, of how to upload successfully. I ran three workshop days, on each of which you were encouraged to submit under supervision and have unsuccessful attempts cleared manually by me. I went over, and over, and over this exact situation in class and how to avoid it. I even programmed our course calendar to show that the due date for the paper was 6 days before it actually is so that you would plan ahead, and have a time cushion if anything went wrong. If none of those preparations resulted in you having a stress-free advanced submission, please take your own responsibility for that, as we agreed in the Beginning of Semester assignment that you signed: