<p>I took a poetry writing class for the first time but, for some reason ended up with a not so ideal grade even though throughout the semester i participated a lot and I put in a tremendous amount of time in my final portfolio, which is completely subjective to the teacher, but the grade I got in this poetry writing class will drag down my GPA. On the UVA site it says no grade changes can be made unless there is error in calculation, so does anyone think it is possible that if the teacher is nice enough that he will consider having “made an error” and raise up my grade (since there are no actual tests or other grades)? The teacher said as long as the students make changes in their poetry they shouldn’t worry about the grade, and I did make major improvements. Do you have any suggestions as to how I should approach my teacher and how can I ask for a grade change and if this can be successful?</p>
<p>And this is why I majored in mathematics. No subjective grading, just the objective calculations and proofs. This is also why I dropped acting midway through my final semester. I couldn’t handle the subjective grading.</p>
<p>Anyway, to answer your question, I think you should start the dialogue by asking for feedback. Explain that you felt your portfolio was stronger than your final mark suggests. No guarantees anything will change, but this is probably the best way to get your foot in the door.</p>
<p>Hopefully the grading strategy is outlined in the syllabus. You could ask the instructor how your grade was determined and suggest that you really thought you were getting a better grade.</p>
<p>One time I had to get a professor to change my grade from a B- to an A+. I’m still convinced he put it in wrong on purpose to mess with me (my test grades were 100, 120, and 105). The faculty caught him cheating on his pregnant wife with another student one semester later and he no longer works at UVA. This is the email thread:
Me: Hi, I have a question about my grade. Mainly the fact that it’s a B-.
Him: That’s not really a question. However, a B- seems pretty harsh, considering you had the second highest average in the class. How about if I change it to an A+? Would that be better?
Me: That would be much better.
Him: Was there some sort of exclamation of surprise or whooping or something when you saw the grade? I would like to know what the moment of discovery was like. Did someone else see the grade and you had to say “this must be a mistake” and they said “yeah, right” or something equally hilarious?</p>
<p>Just saying, professors are people too (sometimes messed up people), but grade changes are totally possible and grade mistakes are also totally possible.</p>
<p>^Whoa, that’s a little unprofessional. Sounds like a fun guy to hang out with though.</p>