I'll never forget the young lady who took my Intro Chem course 3 times before she got the C she needed to move on.
Students have choice of P/F or grade this semester
- Thread starter Sparkplug
- Start date
So, Prof, how do you think otherwise competent people would do on the assessments in your courses if they haven't actually taken your courses? Would they even pass? Most assessments I see are so tied to the course (e.g. textbooks, hobby horses) that even the most competency person in the world wouldn't get an A, even though they possess the competencies associated with the course objectives.
I think they would do pretty well. The material I cover in general is pretty standard and the types of assignments I give are open-ended enough (to promote interest and critical thinking), that they should do well. On exams it might vary. There are some exceptions, like my data ethics course, which gets more specific to the particular material covered (and the way I built it), but in my philosophy courses, they should do well. I think in ethics, intro to philosophy, and intro to religion, a competent person would do well. In my world religions course, the way I build it does connect to the textbook, but most of the material is pretty standard.
It really depends on the course, but competence should be competence no matter where you are testing it. This is a really good question to raise for all of us to think about as we build courses.
Never forget the "weed-out" class for the vets I had where the book was never referenced in class and supplemental at best and then on the test the prof pulled from it. Stuff we never even talked about in class. His tests were all fill in the blank/essay types. One girl took it three times (don't think it was the same as Entropy's student!). One of the test something like half the class failed but he graded "on a curve" and two people got above 95 so everyone else got screwed. Two years after me he finally retired and the new guy was all multiple choice and we were SO (are still?) bitter about that. YOU START WITH A 25% CHANCE ON EVERY QUESTION THAT'S SO EASY!
Not sure it has changed much, my son is PreVet and talks about a weed out course from a particular Prof that does not grade on the curve. He claims the highest score in the class is only in the 70's. This may be hyperbole from him because he is struggling in that class but he generally is pretty drama free. He is actually looking forward to online classes as it is the equivalent of an open book test now. He is hoping it will help him pad his GPA, but then again the P/F option may be enticing on those weed out classes.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
That's nasty. Seems like that would be occurring right in the middle of a bunch of exams. Not sure that's really helping anyone.
Regarding discounting residence hall/dining fees, this is part of a message my daughter just got:
Refunds for housing, dining, course fees, parking
Iowa State will refund 40 percent of residence hall contracts, as well as course fees, for the spring semester. Dining refunds will be based on a prorated share of the remaining contracts, and Dining Dollars will be refunded in full on remaining balances. Prorated refunds for student parking will be processed after ISU Parking receives your student permit.
The housing refunds apply to students living in residence halls. Refunds for students living in university apartments will continue to follow existing Department of Residence cancellation policies.
The refunds will be processed as soon as possible, and will be credited to your U-Bill. Any remaining balance will be deposited in the bank account we have on record for you.
More information about refunds can be found in the Student FAQ on the campus safety page.
Refunds for housing, dining, course fees, parking
Iowa State will refund 40 percent of residence hall contracts, as well as course fees, for the spring semester. Dining refunds will be based on a prorated share of the remaining contracts, and Dining Dollars will be refunded in full on remaining balances. Prorated refunds for student parking will be processed after ISU Parking receives your student permit.
The housing refunds apply to students living in residence halls. Refunds for students living in university apartments will continue to follow existing Department of Residence cancellation policies.
The refunds will be processed as soon as possible, and will be credited to your U-Bill. Any remaining balance will be deposited in the bank account we have on record for you.
More information about refunds can be found in the Student FAQ on the campus safety page.
