Are professors usually this insufferable?

@MYOS1634 I don’t think I have TAP in south dakota?

I went straight to FHSU.

A few Profs can be exceedingly unfair and insufferable, but they’re usually such a tiny exception most undergrads are likely to encounter at most one or two of them.

One case of this was an engineering major HS classmate who despite having exams/quizzes/problem sets averages in an advanced calc class which according to the Prof’s own syllabus should have ended up with a final grade of -A, ended up receiving an F without any explanation. And this took place at an elite Top 10-15 university ~2 decades ago.

Despite being initially reluctant to pursue a grade dispute case which was an open-and-shut case, I and a couple of other friends encouraged him to pursue the case.

The level of absurdity of his calc Prof’s final grade was only underscored when after being consulted, both the deans of his engineering college and the university’s Arts & Sciences Deans felt the Prof was clearly in the wrong and did their utmost to help him out. The investigation found the Prof had a clear animus against engineering majors which influenced his unjust grading.

Despite my friend having all the evidence and senior deans on his side, it still took 2 full years for the university’s lumbering bureaucracy to force the grade change and start investigating the Prof for misconduct when it turned out he had a pattern of unjust grading practices against previous engineering majors at the university. As the Prof was already a senior tenured Prof who taught for decades, he opted to retire rather than risk potential university sanctions arising from his misconduct.

Other than that one extraordinary case, my friend never had any other grade dispute issues in his 4 years of undergrad and he graduated with flying colors without any further issues.

One major difference I do see along with other commenters…my friend’s emails were written with a more conciliatory tone and some tact with the Prof before he escalated to the deans when the Prof proved to be uncooperative and even a bit rude. I know the contents of the emails sent out by my friend because he had me and a couple of other friends read through them before sending them out and we saw the Prof’s unreasonable and uncalled for responses.

While you may have the right to be angry, you DO NOT want that anger and strident tone to come across in your emails even if you’re clearly in the right as that WILL undermine your case in the eyes of the Profs and most deans/higher-level college/university admins.

Failing to check that tone will cause the Prof and the latter group to circle the wagons to take the Prof’s side and presume you’re wrong even if you’re not.

@cobrat I’ve had two that were exceedingly unfair.

I’ve had 1 to 4 (don’t remember too well) that simply couldn’t be bothered.

Others have been fair; they look at the quiz and textbook and either agree with me or explain me that I misunderstood.

The prof your engineering friend had to deal with was an incredible human being… sigh.

In any case, damage is already done - just more reason to quit. If they’re going to gather to the professor’s side even if I’m right, then I’m not willing to deal with the stress and disappointment.

And again, the course material is low quality. For example, in my philosophy course - I got docked points because I put the answer in the wrong place… The way the professor wrote it was unclear, I didn’t know where to put it! I didn’t say too much about it, my grade was high enough… :\

I knew it was going to be miserable before it even started, because when I was looking at the layout on blackboard - I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to figure out where the heck to find the material I needed; it was a mess. Even after speaking to her on the phone to try to figure it it out, it still took a couple more emails and a lot of trial and error.

There is a related issue and that is the need for undergraduate research experience to be competitive for a PsD or PhD in psychology. You won’t get that from an online school. You could go to seminary to be a Licensed Clinical Counselor without research but you would still need to research undergrad requirements. Please make sure you are at an accredited institution. I don’t see the point in paying for courses if you don’t even get an online lecture.

@Sportsman88

It’s accredited.

They allow ungrads to do research, it’s just that the IRB staff is so slow that I might graduate before I get to :o

icor, if you’re serious about going to grad school, then reconsider your current school. Bottom line, most online private schools aren’t respected by the academic community. You would have a better shot at grad school if your undergraduate degree is linked to a respected brick-and-mortar school.

@katliamom FHSU is a B&M school. I think the majority of their students take classes on campus?

Agreed^. There is nothing you can do to fix that level of problems. The quality of what you are getting may mean you won’t get to grad school. The good news is, you can transfer, AND there may be financial aid you had never considered to pay for it. Whay is your home state? Did you say you were a veteran?

@icor1031 – Apologies, I had the idea it was a for profit online school.

Op lives in Dakota. Anyone knows if reciprocity with MN and WI works for online classes?
Sdsu woukd also be a great choice - op has a great GPA and should be able to transfer no problem.
Guessing UMNTC, or even UMN Duluth would offer more serious classes even online.

This OP must be in the virtual degree program?

@MYOS1634 SDSU - again sir, I can’t afford to move.

@HRSMom SD. Not military. Yes, virtual student.

I guess you just need to keep plugging along then. Pick your battles so you don’t make yourself crazy. And good luck!

At some point, you WILL have to move - if you have accessibility worries, campuses are accessible as well as work places. If the issue is financial, can you find a job?

You should get resident tuition there - apply once you have the required general education credits
https://online.umn.edu/degrees-certificates/bachelor-applied-science-psychology
https://cehsp.d.umn.edu/departments-centers/department-psychology/programs/major-online

My suggestion is to switch to another online university and complete general education requirements there:
https://www.sdstate.edu/sites/default/files/2017-04/sdsu-fact_sheet-bachelor_of_general_studies_2017_updated.pdf
http://www.usd.edu/usd-online/online-programs/bachelor-of-general-studies
http://www.usd.edu/usd-online/online-programs/bachelor-of-science-in-health-sciences
https://www.sdstate.edu/continuing-distance-education/bachelor-general-studies

You need a minimum of the following classes to transfer to upper-level major - out of 20 classes (about 60 credits) but you need a minimum of 8-10 from the following:
Calculus 1, Statistics or Biostatistics, General Chemistry 1-2, General Biology 1-2 + 1 upper level Biology or Physiology, Biological Anthropology or Neuroscience/Cognitive Science/Neurobiology, Intro to Psychology + one more Psych class, English (First year writing + Literature/Communication/Speech), Philosophy, History.

You don’t need a 4.0 to get to grad school.

You DO need research experience and profs who will write good LORs for you.

@MYOS1634 … Find a job: disabled.

By my state’s rules, I won’t ever have to move. A non-APA (i.e. online) accredited degree is acceptable for state licensing. :slight_smile:

OK I’m confused. You are getting a degree so you can work- right? But you can’t work because you’re disabled?

Then what is the point of getting the degree and going through licensing? Is your disability only temporary?

@romanigypsyeyes It’s a long discussion and wouldn’t be appropriate for this thread. :slight_smile:

K.

Last piece of advice I’ll give- you have to learn to be flexible. From what I’ve seen on here, that’s not your strong suit.

As someone who is also disabled, I know that many things are 10x harder with my physical limitations. So you have to learn what is worth fighting and what isn’t.

And, IMO, this isn’t a hill you want to die on. A 4.0 isn’t a holy grail of any sort.

If you DO want to go into grad school, this “I’m right, I don’t care to learn the prof’s POV” thing won’t fly.

Hope it all works out.

To add to @romanigypsyeyes’ thoughts, remember that if you want to go to grad school these professors are the people you will be asking for recommendations. It will be important that they like you and think you will be someone the professors they recommend you to will enjoy working with.