Final Grade Frequently Asked Questions

Do you round up?: Yes. If you have a final average of 91.5% you are guaranteed an A.
I'm only a point away from a higher grade, can you bump me up?: No - we spend a lot of time trying to make sure we are fair and consistent. At the end, we look at all scores and decide upon the final breakpoints. We look especially close at students who are just below the borderline. We may make small adjustments to the breakpoints at that time, but in the end we apply the breakpoints consistently to all students. While 1% might not seem like much, there are probably several students who are even closer than that.
Can I do any extra work to get a higher grade?: At this time, no. Again, to be fair, we'd have to give everyone the same opportunity. We have to draw the line somewhere.
I'm missing a grade from the beginning of the semester - can you fix it?: Probably not - it was your responsibility to let us know sooner. If we felt that it was something that wasn't obvious we might consider it.
What can I do to raise my grade?: We are happy to fix any missing grades or grading mistakes made in the last few weeks. The final exam in particular is something you should look at.
Will you look over my final and see if I can get some extra points?: No - we've already graded it once. It is your responsibility to review it, compare it to the posted solution, understand what was expected, and to submit a concise and specific regrade request if you think something was not graded correctly.
I really worked hard - can't you give me credit for that?: We sincerely appreciate the work, and you were rewarded for it in the homework, team, and participation grades. However, one of our responsibilites it to prepare you with the fundamentals so that you will be successful in future classes. Our best tool to evaluate that is the exams.
I really need a grade of "X" because of "Y".: See explanations above - we have to be fair and consistent for all students. Most of the time when we get this request, we look back at your grades and see missing homeworks or other grades that were completely under your control. It is hard for us to be very sympathetic if you did not do everything you could have done.