ESPN article says re Flood situation that...

[devoted2ru]

"Flood did NOT, (my emphasis on "not"), ask the professor to change the player's grade, a source told ESPN's Joe Schad, but addressed what the player could do to improve his grade".

So this is what KF is being raked over the coals for?? Amazing that some professors view themselves as being so sacrosanct that they can't even be asked what appears to be a simple, innocuous question.

And yeah, there are probably some sort of procedural rules in place about emailing, but the cause of this particular "controversy" seems piddling, at best, and flat out stupid, at worst.

 

[JQRU91]

I'm sure Flood was well-intentioned and meant it for the best, but if there are rules for this sort of thing he needs to follow them. The NCAA probably has plenty of stupid procedural rules which, if not followed, can get a coach and his school into lots of trouble. A head coach needs to be on top of stuff like that. Again, don't know if any school or NCAA rules were broken, but Flood has to be on the ball and make sure it's all done right and proper.

 

[devoted2ru]

I'm sure Flood was well-intentioned and meant it for the best, but if there are rules for this sort of thing he needs to follow them. The NCAA probably has plenty of stupid procedural rules which, if not followed, can get a coach and his school into lots of trouble. A head coach needs to be on top of stuff like that. Again, don't know if any school or NCAA rules were broken, but Flood has to be on the ball and make sure it's all done right and proper.

Completely agree. -Always better to be safe than sorry, as the saying goes.

But when compared against something like UNC's transgressions, though, the KF situation really does seem kind of laughable.

 

[Caliknight]

There is no NCAA rule stating that coach can't contact a professor.

Seems like this professor thinks they are special. Not surprising.

 

[willisneverrana43]

I'm sure Flood was well-intentioned and meant it for the best, but if there are rules for this sort of thing he needs to follow them. The NCAA probably has plenty of stupid procedural rules which, if not followed, can get a coach and his school into lots of trouble. A head coach needs to be on top of stuff like that. Again, don't know if any school or NCAA rules were broken, but Flood has to be on the ball and make sure it's all done right and proper.

Agreed. And this one isn't a stupid one. Coaches, particularly someone with as high a profile as the HFC, shouldn't be contacting professors about grades. Never. Especially with questions about how they can get better. The possibility that such questions come with the implied threat of a power play from the highest or near highest paid employee at the university is too great. This is more than an appearance of impropriety concern. It's to prevent actual impropriety through veiled threats.

Now, none of this is to say that Flood was doing this. He seems like a stand up guy with integrity. But there's only so much we can know about that, and only so sure we can be about that, given that we're just fans viewing this and him through the media. But he shouldn't be doing it. And his statements yesterday only deepened the hole for him. He said he did it regularly and, if I recall correctly, used an inappropriate phrase about professors being part of the program. I know he meant something different --- well kind of --- but it was bad.

His reputation will save his job. But he'll be reprimanded in some way and should be. Again, as I understand it, it's against RU's rules. And it should be.

Coaches shouldn't ever, ever be talking to professors about grades, and I can't believe any RU alum, football fan or not, would want them to be.

 

[LevaosLectures]

We haven't seen the email so we are all speculating. But when I heard what Flood already admitted to ("what can the student do to improve his grade?") , I cringed a little for exactly the reason jq stated above. Again, I haven't seen the actual email so it's hard to gauge precisely, but if KF ends up riding the pine for a game or two I wouldn't be shocked. Hopefully not.

 

[PSU_Nut]

"Flood did NOT, (my emphasis on "not"), ask the professor to change the player's grade, a source told ESPN's Joe Schad, but addressed what the player could do to improve his grade".

So this is what KF is being raked over the coals for?? Amazing that some professors view themselves as being so sacrosanct that they can't even be asked what appears to be a simple, innocuous question.

And yeah, there are probably some sort of procedural rules in place about emailing, but the cause of this particular "controversy" seems piddling, at best, and flat out stupid, at worst.

Of course he didn't ask directly. He would be an idiot if he had. Do you think a strange women on the corner who ask you if you want to party is just asking you to her birthday party? If all he wanted to know is if he could raise his grade why not have the player do it? The reason Flood asked is because he felt he would have more pull with the professor then the player.

It this exact reason why Rutgers and other schools have rules against this. If it was Franklin calling a professor you guys would be all over here saying he was trying to influence the professor. While the intent may have been good it could be viewed as trying to get extra benefits. Therefore to avoid that most schools say that the academic advisors should handle it.

 

[ruhudsonfan]

Wait, did you just use an analogy with Flood and a street walker on the corner?

Get lost...

 

[chase07470]

Agreed. And this one isn't a stupid one. Coaches, particularly someone with as high a profile as the HFC, shouldn't be contacting professors about grades. Never. Especially with questions about how they can get better. The possibility that such questions come with the implied threat of a power play from the highest or near highest paid employee at the university is too great. This is more than an appearance of impropriety concern. It's to prevent actual impropriety through veiled threats.

Now, none of this is to say that Flood was doing this. He seems like a stand up guy with integrity. But there's only so much we can know about that, and only so sure we can be about that, given that we're just fans viewing this and him through the media. But he shouldn't be doing it. And his statements yesterday only deepened the hole for him. He said he did it regularly and, if I recall correctly, used an inappropriate phrase about professors being part of the program. I know he meant something different --- well kind of --- but it was bad.

His reputation will save his job. But he'll be reprimanded in some way and should be. Again, as I understand it, it's against RU's rules. And it should be.

Coaches shouldn't ever, ever be talking to professors about grades, and I can't believe any RU alum, football fan or not, would want them to be.

What power does Kyle Flood the football coach hold over any professor at Rutgers? He's not their boss, he doesn't decide if they get promoted or how their careers advance or don't advance. He didn't get no for an answer and then send follow up emails with "veiled threats," or even basic pushiness. He simply asked a question. If it came with a bit more weight than it would have had it come from the player or someone else, so be it.

One group of people I don't worry about their ability to stand up for themselves is a Rutgers University professor. And if our football coach can't send a cordial, professional email just to let the person know it's "that important," then we might as well send our resignation to the B1G and go join the Patriot league. This team takes academics as seriously as any program in the country. They make a real effort, one that scares many players away from Rutgers University to go to almost any other school where systems exist that are far less rigorous than ours.

To me, this is once again, nj.com making a story out of nothing. Once again, dragging Rutgers name through the national media mud. Please Julie, pull their credentials and end the harrassment.

 

[Rutgers25]

What power does Kyle Flood the football coach hold over any professor at Rutgers? He's not their boss, he doesn't decide if they get promoted or how their careers advance or don't advance. He didn't get no for an answer and then send follow up emails with "veiled threats," or even basic pushiness. He simply asked a question. If it came with a bit more weight than it would have had it come from the player or someone else, so be it.

One group of people I don't worry about their ability to stand up for themselves is a Rutgers University professor. And if our football coach can't send a cordial, professional email just to let the person know it's "that important," then we might as well send our resignation to the B1G and go join the Patriot league. This team takes academics as seriously as any program in the country. They make a real effort, one that scares many players away from Rutgers University to go to almost any other school where systems exist that are far less rigorous than ours.

To me, this is once again, nj.com making a story out of nothing. Once again, dragging Rutgers name through the national media mud. Please Julie, pull their credentials and end the harrassment.

Maybe at other schools the head coach has power, but not at RU. At RU, a professor can tell Flood to go pound sand. There is no culture at RU that worships the football coach.

 

[JoeRU0304]

...considering that Rutgers just may be the most scrutinized university in the country, our local media basically has our school under the Hubble looking for any minuscule shred of evidence of impropriety, and half the people on here act as if he's Barney Rubble, if anyone thinks Flood was now trying to unfairly wield influence over a professor in basically public, documented fashion, I think you're acting like a complete and utter fool regarding your thoughts on the situation.


Joe P.

 

[bscharf]

So let me get this straight...

Sarkisian is drinking on prescription drugs and incoherent at a team event and we are having a witch hunt because Flood was checking in with a professor to see if his kid could do anything to improve his grade?

Welcome to the twilight zone.

 

[KingHigh]

Of course he didn't ask directly. He would be an idiot if he had. Do you think a strange women on the corner who ask you if you want to party is just asking you to her birthday party? If all he wanted to know is if he could raise his grade why not have the player do it? The reason Flood asked is because he felt he would have more pull with the professor then the player.

It this exact reason why Rutgers and other schools have rules against this. If it was Franklin calling a professor you guys would be all over here saying he was trying to influence the professor. While the intent may have been good it could be viewed as trying to get extra benefits. Therefore to avoid that most schools say that the academic advisors should handle it.

If it were franklin, I'd say trying to help kid earn a better grade is not as bad as covering up the rape of one of his recruiting hostesses,.

 

[Knight Shift]

Of course he didn't ask directly. He would be an idiot if he had. Do you think a strange women on the corner who ask you if you want to party is just asking you to her birthday party? If all he wanted to know is if he could raise his grade why not have the player do it? The reason Flood asked is because he felt he would have more pull with the professor then the player.

It this exact reason why Rutgers and other schools have rules against this. If it was Franklin calling a professor you guys would be all over here saying he was trying to influence the professor. While the intent may have been good it could be viewed as trying to get extra benefits. Therefore to avoid that most schools say that the academic advisors should handle it.

Instead of "a strange women on the corner", why not the head football coach contacting a rape victim during her medical exam after one of your players allegedly raped the victim. . . . . .if the head coach cared about the rape victims well being, why not let let the medical staff, her family and the authorities handle it when the victim is most distraught and vulnerable. The reason the head coach contacted here was . . . . ????????

 

[RUBlueLot]

At least there is no video type of flood writing the email

 

[RobertG]

What power does Kyle Flood the football coach hold over any professor at Rutgers? He's not their boss, he doesn't decide if they get promoted or how their careers advance or don't advance. He didn't get no for an answer and then send follow up emails with "veiled threats," or even basic pushiness. He simply asked a question. If it came with a bit more weight than it would have had it come from the player or someone else, so be it.

One group of people I don't worry about their ability to stand up for themselves is a Rutgers University professor. And if our football coach can't send a cordial, professional email just to let the person know it's "that important," then we might as well send our resignation to the B1G and go join the Patriot league. This team takes academics as seriously as any program in the country. They make a real effort, one that scares many players away from Rutgers University to go to almost any other school where systems exist that are far less rigorous than ours.

To me, this is once again, nj.com making a story out of nothing. Once again, dragging Rutgers name through the national media mud. Please Julie, pull their credentials and end the harrassment.

Let me start off by saying this is minor but,

The issue with Flood and the email is quite simple:

The rule apparently says no contact with Professor. Flood made contact.

On top of that Flood should know a) The state of our Press and their need for stories. 2) The standing of RU Athletics with respect to the RU academic community. So a seemingly harmless and concerned gesture by the coach will be blown up to become the coach using his influence and power to bully a prof.

I suspect this will end with an apology from Flood, public reprimand and diversity training (as everything ends with diversity training as this will be seen as just another one of the abuses of a patriarchal system :) )

 

[RUfinal4]

obviously we don't know the details yet but let's say....

the football player earned a "C" in a class. He needed a "B" or better to be eligible so Flood emails asking if there is a way the student can do extra work to elevate the grade.

Now the professor has told other non-athlete students already that the grade is the grade and there can be no extra work done to improve the grade. Basically telling the other students they should have studied harder and smarter during the semester. So the Professor is seeing the athletic dept asking for special treatment that is not being given to non-athlete students.

For anyone who went to Rutgers you know there are many professors like this. They take the approach that you are at Rutgers and not County college so you need to earn your grades during the semester. Asking for extra credit work after a grade is posted would be not fair to the students who were able to earn the grade without the extra work.

 

[ru8081]

obviously we don't know the details yet but let's say....

the football player earned a "C" in a class. He needed a "B" or better to be eligible so Flood emails asking if there is a way the student can do extra work to elevate the grade.

Now the professor has told other non-athlete students already that the grade is the grade and there can be no extra work done to improve the grade. Basically telling the other students they should have studied harder and smarter during the semester. So the Professor is seeing the athletic dept asking for special treatment that is not being given to non-athlete students.

For anyone who went to Rutgers you know there are many professors like this. They take the approach that you are at Rutgers and not County college so you need to earn your grades during the semester. Asking for extra credit work after a grade is posted would be not fair to the students who were able to earn the grade without the extra work.

I have a son at college. If a professor reprimanded him for just asking about a grade, I'd be on the phone to the administration in a second. I am paying big money, they better play fair.

 

[RUfinal4]

I have a son at college. If a professor reprimanded him for just asking about a grade, I'd be on the phone to the administration in a second. I am paying big money, they better play fair.

I don't think the prof reprimanded the student. I think he just told someone (possibly the press) that the athletic dept contacted him about a student athlete.

Now if your son earned a particular grade in a class after the final and he was told he can't do anything as extra credit to improve the grade I doubt you would complain to the administration over that.

 

[Knight_Light]

Now if your son earned a particular grade in a class after the final and he was told he can't do anything as extra credit to improve the grade I doubt you would complain to the administration over that.

I want to know when this even began to exist as an option...as it certainly wasn't an option at the Univ level in the recent past.

Extra credit after the fact to help change a grade at an Univ level?

Dang...if that existed "back-in-the-day", I certainly would have used the option to get my water skiing grade bumped up from an A to an A+.:sunglasses:

 

[ru8081]

I don't think the prof reprimanded the student. I think he just told someone (possibly the press) that the athletic dept contacted him about a student athlete.

Now if your son earned a particular grade in a class after the final and he was told he can't do anything as extra credit to improve the grade I doubt you would complain to the administration over that.

You are correct, I would not. We are all guessing here. But if Flood just inquired about what the player could do to improve the grade and the professor felt "insulted" and reported this, then I do have issue with that. It might even be interpreted that the professor is showing bias against the student-athlete.

 

[RUsSKii]

Of course he didn't ask directly. He would be an idiot if he had. Do you think a strange women on the corner who ask you if you want to party is just asking you to her birthday party? If all he wanted to know is if he could raise his grade why not have the player do it? The reason Flood asked is because he felt he would have more pull with the professor then the player.

It this exact reason why Rutgers and other schools have rules against this. If it was Franklin calling a professor you guys would be all over here saying he was trying to influence the professor. While the intent may have been good it could be viewed as trying to get extra benefits. Therefore to avoid that most schools say that the academic advisors should handle it.

Your head coach allegedly called a victim of rape by football players at his previous school. Not only is your credibility non-existant to lecture about procedural handling, but your analogy of comparing the RU football coach asking about a player's course grade to a prostitute enticing a john managed the rare feat of being even more ridiculously ironic.

 

[ArminRU]

Of course he didn't ask directly. He would be an idiot if he had. Do you think a strange women on the corner who ask you if you want to party is just asking you to her birthday party? If all he wanted to know is if he could raise his grade why not have the player do it? The reason Flood asked is because he felt he would have more pull with the professor then the player.

It this exact reason why Rutgers and other schools have rules against this. If it was Franklin calling a professor you guys would be all over here saying he was trying to influence the professor. While the intent may have been good it could be viewed as trying to get extra benefits. Therefore to avoid that most schools say that the academic advisors should handle it.

The rule is that you can't ask to change a grade. You are allowed to contact a professor. So please STFU. Flood was in no way insinuating a grade change, and if you knew anything about flood you would know that. Flood is a father to many of these kids, you wouldn't understand with scumbag Franklin.

 

[Abro1975]

Bergen Record only has 1 small, even handed article on this. Huge differing tone compared to NJCOM

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/r...t-with-faculty-over-academic-issues-1.1398086

 

[R1766U]

obviously we don't know the details yet but let's say....

the football player earned a "C" in a class. He needed a "B" or better to be eligible so Flood emails asking if there is a way the student can do extra work to elevate the grade.

Now the professor has told other non-athlete students already that the grade is the grade and there can be no extra work done to improve the grade. Basically telling the other students they should have studied harder and smarter during the semester. So the Professor is seeing the athletic dept asking for special treatment that is not being given to non-athlete students.

For anyone who went to Rutgers you know there are many professors like this. They take the approach that you are at Rutgers and not County college so you need to earn your grades during the semester. Asking for extra credit work after a grade is posted would be not fair to the students who were able to earn the grade without the extra work.

This exactly. Guarantee the professor does not give Extra credit, it was at the end of the semester and Flood emailed him, thus pissing him off. IF that is what happened and he did contact the professor (and it was against a rule), he deserved a small punishment.

 

[coldsprings]

Agreed. And this one isn't a stupid one. Coaches, particularly someone with as high a profile as the HFC, shouldn't be contacting professors about grades. Never. Especially with questions about how they can get better. The possibility that such questions come with the implied threat of a power play from the highest or near highest paid employee at the university is too great. This is more than an appearance of impropriety concern. It's to prevent actual impropriety through veiled threats.

Now, none of this is to say that Flood was doing this. He seems like a stand up guy with integrity. But there's only so much we can know about that, and only so sure we can be about that, given that we're just fans viewing this and him through the media. But he shouldn't be doing it. And his statements yesterday only deepened the hole for him. He said he did it regularly and, if I recall correctly, used an inappropriate phrase about professors being part of the program. I know he meant something different --- well kind of --- but it was bad.

His reputation will save his job. But he'll be reprimanded in some way and should be. Again, as I understand it, it's against RU's rules. And it should be.

Coaches shouldn't ever, ever be talking to professors about grades, and I can't believe any RU alum, football fan or not, would want them to be.

My answer to a student asking AFTER the semester is over: "Is there anything I can do, I really need a higher grade," is ALWAYS the same. I listen and I say something like this: "I'm really sorry that you are in this situation. I'm sorry that you didn't come to me before the semester was over. If you had I would have explained opportunities that are available to every student to improve their grades. I could have worked with you to get extra tutoring help. However after the semester is over, in the interest of fairness to other students, there are no further opportunities to improve grades."

I am not familiar with any school that allows grade changes after the semester is over except for documented errors in grade calculations or incomplete work due to documented illness etc.

Should the professor in question, simply told Flood no? If it was me and the inquiry was simple like Flood describes, I would have said no, perhaps griped to a colleague, but the matter would have stopped there. However if there is a policy against what Flood did, there are very good reasons why the policy exists.

 

[JPhoboken]

"Flood did NOT, (my emphasis on "not"), ask the professor to change the player's grade, a source told ESPN's Joe Schad, but addressed what the player could do to improve his grade".

So this is what KF is being raked over the coals for?? Amazing that some professors view themselves as being so sacrosanct that they can't even be asked what appears to be a simple, innocuous question.

And yeah, there are probably some sort of procedural rules in place about emailing, but the cause of this particular "controversy" seems piddling, at best, and flat out stupid, at worst.

You would think if a professor felt uncomfortable, remember this is an email asking if a grade could be bettered not to change a grade, He or she could have wrote back saying they appreciate his concern but would rather they be contacted by academic support.

At least give him a chance to rectify the situation, and never do it again. Can't people solve problems between themselves anymore?

I am trying to understand why a person would feel the need to report this?

 

[Scarlet16E]

We know so little and nearly everything here is speculation.
Here are some facts:
Rutgers' rule is that contact with faculty is ok, but coaches can't initiate contact with faculty about a student's academic standing. That should be done via an intermediary such as Athletics' Academic Support staff.
If a faculty member is contacted by a coach regarding a student's academic standing, the faculty member is supposed to report it to the compliance office.

Here is what I gather from purely 3rd hand accounts:
Flood did not initiate the contact in this case. He was responding to an email from the professor, but Flood brought up the topic of Barnwell's grade. I'm guessing that the faculty member then reported the contact to the compliance office (which is the rule). This triggers the investigation. I'm further guessing that the media got the story from someone in compliance or the AD's office. There's still a lot of media-leaking nonsense going on in that department.

On the whole this is not a big deal. But Flood did break the rule by bringing up the topic of Barnwell's grade. He will be reprimanded. I would be surprised if he were suspended, but this is Rutgers, so who knows?

 

[Knight Shift]

You would think if a professor felt uncomfortable, remember this is an email asking if a grade could be bettered not to change a grade, He or she could have wrote back saying they appreciate his concern but would rather they be contacted by academic support.

At least give him a chance to rectify the situation, and never do it again. Can't people solve problems between themselves anymore?

I am trying to understand why a person would feel the need to report this?

Because some people feel they have to follow rules to the letter of the law for the betterment of society?

 

[JQRU91]

Completely agree. -Always better to be safe than sorry, as the saying goes.

But when compared against something like UNC's transgressions, though, the KF situation really does seem kind of laughable.

Oh yeah, this is nothing compared to what happens at some other schools. I think part of the problem here is that Flood still thinks of himself as a regular guy. And as a regular Joe, what's the big deal in sending an e-mail to a professor on behalf of one of his guys? But there are places where the head football coach is larger than life and wields undue influence at a school. Like Ohio State where former President Gordon Gee joked about Jim Tressel having the power to fire him. That's why this is an issue.

 

[devoted2ru]

Because some people feel they have to follow rules to the letter of the law for the betterment of society?

So if a cop pulled you over and gave you a ticket for doing 51mph in a 50mph zone, (after all, he was just following the letter of the law), you'd be perfectly fine with it since he'd just struck a blow for the betterment of society?

 

[HeyHuey]

Much is made about the considerable academic support that is in place for the student athletes. Program videos have featured Gary Nova meeting with the advising cordinator and commenting on her/their value-add to the program. Barnwell was already in deep water with his academic status. Where were the advisors and wouldn't it have been more appropriate for Flood to channel Barnwell's remediation through them?

 

[derleider]

Much is made about the considerable academic support that is in place for the student athletes. Program videos have featured Gary Nova meeting with the advising cordinator and commenting on her/their value-add to the program. Barnwell was already in deep water with his academic status. Where were the advisors and wouldn't it have been more appropriate for Flood to channel Barnwell's remediation through them?

Yes it would have. Why that didnt happen is unkonwn. Maybe it did and they were making no progress. Maybe because its summer, the support staff isnt fully up and running like it will be in September. Who knows.

Either way - it seems Flood violated a university rule, but a minor one which is rarely enforced. From now on Im sure he will just go through an intermediary.

ANd the poster above is right. Its not a big deal here because we all think Flood is a nice guy and he isnt all that powerful within the university, and as the unversitiy's reaction shows, we still take academics seriously. At other schools its easy to imagine seemingly innocuous messages being filled with not so subtle innuendo that make it clear that the player WOULD be given a path to a better grade or else.

 

[Knight Shift]

So if a cop pulled you over and gave you a ticket for doing 51mph in a 50mph zone, (after all, he was just following the letter of the law), you'd be perfectly fine with it since he'd just struck a blow for the betterment of society?

You are putting words in my mouth. I did not say I believe that it is correct for some people to follow the letter of the law for the betterment of society. I said some people feel that they have to. These are the type of people who are rule followers and live in fear of making event the slightest of deviations from the rules. I am a rule follower, but prudent enough to understand that a slight bending of a rule does not always require a full blown investigation and post-mortem analysis. A fire department I belong to was reported to PEOSHA for not following a minor safety protocol at a fire scene. This opened up a full scale investigation of the department safety policies and SOPs. This was for a minor incident at a fire scene that could have been corrected by the concerned party notifying the commanding officer that XYZ Fire Department should have been doing this a different way, and it could have been dealt with on the spot. However, as noted, some in life feel everything needs to be reported to the authorities. I believe some of these people are truly straight arrows. However, I also believe a lot of these types of people like to stir shit up and get other people in hot water. In the end, however, the investigation did wake some people up and our policies and SOPs have been updated, and we are now going to fly right going forward. Have I made my position clear?

 

[DHajekRC84]

I'd now bet $ that this Prof boned Nadir enough just to make a point. Probably already knew exactly what grade was needed and popped him just below the line to make a point.

Do I believe that? No, not really. but nothing with the RU Faculty would surprise me anymore.

 

[Caliknight]

Flood has taught classes on campus. That makes him a professor too.

 

[ruhudsonfan]

Flood has taught classes on campus. That makes him a professor too.

technically, it makes him an instructor.

Professor is still an earned title, although most use it interchangeably with any person standing in front of a room of students.

We don't even know if the "professor" is a professor and not a summer adjunct or a graduate student. Most of RU's tenured faculty are nowhere near a classroom in the summer time.

Which makes this even more of a head scratcher. That an adjunct or part-time lecturer would rat out the head football coach.

Imagine the local reaction in Auburn or Tallahassee? The instructor would need a security detail.

 

[Caliknight]

This person needs to be named.

 

[jtung230]

I want to know when this even began to exist as an option...as it certainly wasn't an option at the Univ level in the recent past.

Extra credit after the fact to help change a grade at an Univ level?

Dang...if that existed "back-in-the-day", I certainly would have used the option to get my water skiing grade bumped up from an A to an A+.:sunglasses:

It was an option in 1996. My buddy did that and professor did change his grade. You just didn't care enough to ask. Not saying all professor did it but it isn't new. Btw, my friend is an ER doctor now.

 

[ruhudsonfan]

As I mentioned in the other thread, I've issued grades at RU and Duke.

Students come every semester to "see what they can do" at the 11th hour. Have I or would I ever entertain an after the fact Grade Change? No. I never have.

However, that isn't what we're talking about--insofar as I can tell from the reports. HCKF used the terminology "T" grades. An instructor/professor can issue a T--it's a temporary grade--along with the current grade the student will earn if the reason for the T is never addressed. For example, Nadir currently has a C- in this course. If he was issued a T grade, it would appear as TC- on his current transcript if he went online and printed it. T grades are issued at the discretion of the prof if all course work is not completed prior to the end of the session. This is a special arrangement with a finite period of time to complete--usually agreed to between prof and student. That grade goes on the record with the Registrar. The prof needs to submit a grade change to make a new grade final. If the prof doesn't, the T disappears and the C- becomes final. In the case of summer session, the grade change has to be submitted by 12/1. However, T's *probably* don't factor into the GPA. So, a TC- would do nothing to address Nadir's eligibility issues. It would have the same effect as him taking no classes at all.

Sooooooo, long story longer, what probably happened is;

Hey, Mr. Theater Appreciation Instructor. This is HCKF. Nadir tells me he's about to get a C- in your class. Is there anything he can do to address that with extra work or assignments?

If the prof agrees to work with them, he/she issues the T grade and then the grade change form when the extra assignments are submitted.

In 3 semesters of teaching/grading at RU, I did that once. The honest reason why we don't do it more? It's a pain in the ass. It has little to do with respecting the integrity or fairness of the classroom. Nearly every course at RU is graded on a curve anyway. It's actually the exact opposite of fairness. Once you submit grades, you want to close the book on that semester.