
University professor lets students choose own grades for 'stress reduction' - forrestbrazeal
http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=9551
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jbreckmckye
The course syllabus cited here currently lists no such policy.

The ultimate source appears to be an alt-right news site that likens this
"student appeasement" to appeasement of Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia.
It then goes on to insinuate that campus welfare programmes are triggering the
downfall of society.

I'm suspicious.

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Mathnerd314
It's on the Internet Archive, sources don't get much more credible than that:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170807163817/http:/people.terr...](https://web.archive.org/web/20170807163817/http:/people.terry.uga.edu/rwatson/mist4610/)

~~~
jbreckmckye
It seems the text was revoked as it was in violation of university policy.

~~~
Mathnerd314
Yeah, but which university policy? There's no chapter and verse in the
statement:
[https://twitter.com/universityofga/status/894964656007196672](https://twitter.com/universityofga/status/894964656007196672)

I suspect the policy discussion is all bullshit and the only real policy
violation was the unwritten policy of "avoid negative media attention".

~~~
jbreckmckye
I cannot prove the contents of an internal university policy, but I think you
are trying to make excuses for a story you find exciting.

~~~
Mathnerd314
I don't know about "exciting"; I'm mostly annoyed that my own university seems
to have no policy on grading. I grade papers every week, and the only guidance
they can give is "be fair".

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rbritton
Would this put the university at risk of losing accreditation? From [0]:

    
    
        The school provides students with learning outcomes for each course and publishes in its catalog a written policy for assessing satisfactory student progress through the program. The school measures grades, projects, portfolios, externships, or other assessments against stated educational objectives that the school explains clearly to students. This policy must address performance standards and grading and be applied consistently.
    

[0]:
[http://www.accsc.org/UploadedDocuments/1971/ACCSC%20Standard...](http://www.accsc.org/UploadedDocuments/1971/ACCSC%20Standards%20of%20Accreditation%20and%20Bylaws%20-%20070117%20final.pdf)

~~~
klodolph
The Evergreen State College has been accredited for something close to half a
century by the NWCCU.

~~~
brightsize
If I understand correctly, Evergreen uses written evaluations rather than
grades, and this has evidently worked well for students and faculty for a long
time. But are students allowed to petition for changes in these evaluations?

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gehwartzen
Personally I don't care how a professor evaluates students. If the student
feels like they are getting the experience necessary to learn something or
perform in the real world then by all means chose your own grades and continue
paying tuition.

What I suspect would happen though is that the student would not be prepared
for the real world and any company would quickly realize this. This would
lower the economic value of a degree from the institution and as such even
students who do not chose their own grades (within the institution) could be
negatively affected.

~~~
WalterBright
> even students who do not chose their own grades (within the institution)
> could be negatively affected

That's right. Since there's no way to tell which ones chose their own grades,
all the grades become worthless.

One of my high school teachers decided that everyone taking his class should
get an A. The result was the students simply didn't respect him or the class.

~~~
racl101
> One of my high school teachers decided that everyone taking his class should
> get an A. The result was the students simply didn't respect him or the
> class.

How could anyone respect such class? To know that all your hard work means
bupkis?

Sure, you could argue that learning is its own reward but really becomes
meaningless when you and all the rest of the jack off losers who got an A (who
didn't earn them) as well are considered the same by a post secondary
institution considering you both for admission.

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mabbo
> Similarly, when it comes to “tests and exams” for Watson’s “Data Management”
> and “Energy Informatics” courses, all will be “open book and open notes”

This part I actually see as a good idea.

In the real world, you have access to Google, to books, to notes, to
everything. I'd much rather see difficult tests that allow access to all the
needed material than tests designed around the normal distribution of human
memory, favoring those who can recall everything they've ever read.

~~~
upvotinglurker
Yes. Unless your future job or other expected application of the knowledge
will require you to memorize and instantaneously recall the information, it
makes no sense to test that way. An open book test still tests your general
familiarity with and understanding of the material (without those things you
won't be able to perform adequately within the time limit, due to not knowing
where to start/what to look up/how to look it up).

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meri_dian
"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men." -Phillip Brooks, echoed
by JFK

~~~
ashark
See also:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gods_of_the_Copybook_Headi...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gods_of_the_Copybook_Headings)

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bitJericho
Nothing to see here. Just the US college system in a nutshell and an honest
professor.

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Hnrobert42
This feels like fake news.

~~~
polotics
Archetypal indeed

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madamelic
I had hoped this would be for a philosophy course where this kind of policy
could be a discussion.

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ericcumbee
Being a graduate of Georgia Southern University, which many UGA people view as
a second tier school, I find it funny. Because if I learned anything at
Georgia Southern, it was Relational Database Management systems do not care
about my stress level.

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racl101
Gee, that's gonna motivate the people who genuinely work hard to earn good
grades.

I'd be so crushed if I were attending this institution because the value of
the degree I'm earning just plummeted.

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WalterBright
I just awarded myself a 4.0 from his class!

Edit: make that a 4.1!

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OscarCunningham
I agree with the comment suggesting this might not be real. But still,
choosing my own grades sounds as stressful as hell.

