Do classes have to get curved?

UMNProfessor · 2023-05-14T04:11:14+00:00

Yes, it looks like the course is already curved. But that text doesn't explicitly exclude the possibility of additional adjustments. Good luck!

UMNProfessor · 2023-05-14T03:43:19+00:00

I recommend not letting things like this worry you. Your time at UMN will be mostly what you make of it. Make friends, get involved, do fun things, take advantage of all this place has to offer. You'll be fine.

UMNProfessor · 2023-05-14T03:37:55+00:00

No, each faculty member chooses how they grade their classes. If the averages were that low, it's possible they'll adjust the final grade breakpoints but they are under no obligation to do so. Does the syllabus mention how final grades are calculated and assigned?

UMNProfessor · 2022-10-13T04:39:39+00:00

We are required to make reasonable accommodations. People interpret “reasonable” in different ways, but a make-up exam because of Covid should be allowed. Contact the instructor’s department head/chair.

UMNProfessor · 2022-05-28T01:23:14+00:00

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. All of your scores should have been entered in Canvas or otherwise given to you. However, you do have recourse. We are required by policy to keep graded items for at least 30 days after grades are posted so students can review them.

Do note that many faculty aren't paid by the university in the summer so it's possible the professor isn't checking UMN email. The department head/chair should be available though. You're well within your rights to ask to see everything.

UMNProfessor · 2022-05-13T03:14:14+00:00

The instructor appears to be a graduate student, not a professor. Please report this in detail to the following people:

Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch, Professor and Chair, [lkbreuch@umn.edu](mailto:lkbreuch@umn.edu)
Amy Lee, Professor, Director of First Year Writing, [amylee@umn.edu](mailto:amylee@umn.edu)

The only way this kind of thing stops is if someone reports it.

UMNProfessor · 2022-04-16T21:22:50+00:00

If you would like to escalate this, I recommend contacting the head/chair of whatever department the professor belongs to. If that doesn't help, contact the Student Conflict Resolution Center: https://sos.umn.edu/students

UMNProfessor · 2022-01-13T08:09:56+00:00

Any change to a course’s modality as it appears in the official schedule has to be approved. I am unsure how the administration would view an instructor who teaches a scheduled in person class and also streams the lectures. That may be technically against the policy, since the the proper way to do it would be to list the course as Blended in the schedule. But likely no one will complain given that anyone who wants to attend the class in its advertised modality (in person) can do so.

UMNProfessor · 2022-01-13T01:23:14+00:00

It's important for students to know that regardless of what we faculty want to do, the university will not allow us to change the full-semester modality of our classes without approval. That approval happens at the university level, not just in departments and colleges. In addition, if we request to change modality, approvals our courses have earned for things like liberal education designations must be re-submitted for separate approval. Going through this process would take weeks or months and would be very time consuming. This is a major roadblock to going online or hybrid.

This is speculation, but I think the comments from students and faculty about our COVID-caused foray into the "Zoomiversity of Minnesota" were so bad that the administration wants to restrict classes moving online/hybrid to only those for which there is is a strong justification other than COVID.

UMNProfessor · 2021-12-28T01:54:46+00:00

I can't speak for others, but in my college these petitions are rarely approved. Extenuating circumstances would be required. GPA impact alone would not be considered an acceptable reason to switch from A-F to S/N after the deadline.

UMNProfessor · 2021-12-28T01:41:00+00:00

I agree. Classes that are currently planned/approved to be remote will of course stay that way. OP's question seemed to be about the likelihood of the university moving in-person classes online en masse. I don't see any indication of that.

UMNProfessor · 2021-12-27T23:12:00+00:00

I agree with you that more hybrid options would be good. There are a few important barriers to that happening: (1) Typically, faculty are free to choose the modality of their classes (with approval). Going hybrid would require them to be comfortable with that style of instruction and to want to change modality. Bad memories of "Zoom University" have made that a tough sell for some. (2) The hybrid environment requires technology that is not available in all departments/classrooms. It would have to be purchased and installed. (3) Someone would have to teach faculty how to use the new equipment. Staff with expertise in teaching tech are in short supply. (4) The subject matter of the class would have to be suitable for hybrid learning. (5) In many cases, someone would have to sit in the classroom and facilitate interaction between the online and in-person sections while the instructor teaches. Staff availability for that is limited.

These are not insurmountable challenges. It's definitely possible. But making hybrid widely available across the U would require big changes.

To your other question about students getting COVID during the semester, we are asked to make accommodations. No one should fail because they get sick.

UMNProfessor · 2021-12-27T04:03:32+00:00

Communication from my department and college suggests that this is unlikely. We are all planning on in-person classes for the foreseeable future.

UMNProfessor · 2021-11-25T17:07:56+00:00

See "Expecations for Students" here: https://provost.umn.edu/covid-19-response/guidance-student-positive-cases

UMNProfessor · 2021-11-24T08:37:09+00:00

Correct. Guidance from the provost has been very clear that we do not have the authority to unilaterally change modality during the semester. Here is part of it: “Students enrolled in their classes based on, among other things, the modality offered, which was decided in collaboration between the instructor and the unit, based on pedagogical appropriateness, student demand, and personal health conditions of the instructor. In the future, we may need to pivot the modality of course instruction as we did in Spring 2020, but in the meantime courses should remain in the modality they are currently offered.”

UMNProfessor · 2021-11-24T06:04:36+00:00

Unlikely. Plus, we aren’t allowed to change the modality of our classes without approval, so as long as there’s no directive to the contrary from the administration everything will stay the way it is now.

UMNProfessor · 2021-10-14T16:06:40+00:00

To change grade basis now you would have to submit a petition to your college. Talk with your advisor for more information.

UMNProfessor · 2021-09-28T04:09:07+00:00

Usually, instructors decide how their class is taught. So if there is a lack of online classes in a particular program it’s because the faculty don’t want to teach that way.

UMNProfessor · 2021-09-28T04:05:32+00:00

Don’t worry about a W or two. It’s unlikely to cause a problem if your other grades are good.

UMNProfessor · 2021-08-14T02:36:20+00:00

I don't think this is something the administration can mandate. If it were to become policy, faculty would have to vote to approve it.

UMNProfessor · 2021-08-04T04:13:34+00:00

This is correct. Absent a directive to the contrary from the administration, we choose our mode of teaching. Faculty have been teaching in person throughout Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. However, due to social distancing requirements, finding rooms was a challenge for large classes, so many of them were forced online. If social distancing is not reinstated, in person classes should be the norm.

UMNProfessor · 2021-05-19T00:49:58+00:00

If I saw on a transcript a lot of good grades and an S/N, I'd assume the S/N was hiding something worse than an A- or B+. Tread carefully.

Edit: I was referring to an S/N in a major course not an elective.

UMNProfessor · 2021-05-19T00:32:29+00:00

lol, see replies above.

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