Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 2485
Decision Date: July 27, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Charlotte Schwass
Student Email: 14cs91@queensu.ca
Course: FILM260
Term: Summer
Year: 2016
Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor: Sidneyeve Matrix
Additional Information: Online Discussion Forum Contribution
Dear Ms. Schwass:
I have reviewed your appeal to have your participation grade in FILM 260 (S 2016) re-evaluated. After careful consideration of the documentation you submitted, I have determined that there is no basis for which to change your participation grade.
The course syllabus for FILM 260 clearly states on the first page, third paragraph that €œStudents must participate in the General Discussion form twice weekly€ and the dates that the course will take place. The Course Syllabus also includes a section on page 5 titled €œTimely Participation€ and outlines the expectations for participation quite clearly. It states as follows,
€œAs in any course, your frequent participation and value-added engagement is valued by prof and peers alike. When evaluating your online participation, the quality, quantity, and timeliness of your contributions are factored in. In terms of quality, your comments are assessed according to the overall level of coherence, writing mechanics, relevance, insight and collegiality demonstrated, and whether they advance the discussion and our understanding of the subject. To encourage timely participation, students who participate twice weekly will be assessed more favourably than those who add the majority of their contributions all at once. To discourage students from delaying participation until the end of the course and then flooding the site with rushed comments that add little value for anyone, contributions to the general discussion forum posted after May 27 at 17:00ET will count for a maximum of one third of your grade for this assignment. Students who fail to meet minimum requirements for quantity, quality, timeliness and frequency of online contributions are ineligible for a passing grade on this assignment. Posting the minimum number of comments will not translate into an A+ on this assignment, however, if you meet the minimum requirements and post value-added, well-written, weekly contributions, you qualify for a passing grade on this assignment.€
There are also written expectations of what constitutes a value-added post and details on the code of conduct for participation on Moodle under Community Guidelines and the syllabus states that all students are expected to be familiar with and follow these guidelines.
Dr. Matrix confirmed that your participation failed to meet the requirements for timeliness and frequency for the following reasons:
- You posted to the general discussion forum very infrequently (just 8 times on 5 days over the entire six week term). The absolute minimum number of posts to be eligible for a passing grade on the participation component of the course was 12.
- You did not participate in the forums between May 2 and May 24 (3 weeks of a 6 week course). The absolute minimum expectation for timely online participation to be eligible for a passing grade on the assignment was twice weekly postings, as stated in the outline.
You earned a grade of F (0-49) which according to departmental guidelines indicates that you failed to meet minimum requirements of the assignment. However, according to Dr. Matrix you did participate minimally by adding some postings to the forum, and those contributions did add value for all which is why you did not get a zero on the assignment, you received a grade of 30/100 (and those 30 points were calculated into your final grade).
FILM 260 is designed in such a way that students receive regular feedback via their class peers through this discussion forum and therefore, students must contribute to discussions regularly and on a timely basis for the course to be successful and for learning outcomes to be met which is why participation is graded in this specific manner. I therefore, do not find any basis for which to change your participation grade in FILM 260. Your final grade in FILM 260 will remain C-.
Sincerely yours,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10181301Schwass
Decision Date: July 27, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Charlotte Schwass
Student Email: 14cs91@queensu.ca
Course: FILM260
Term: Summer
Year: 2016
Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor: Sidneyeve Matrix
Additional Information: Online Discussion Forum Contribution
Dear Ms. Schwass:
I have reviewed your appeal to have your participation grade in FILM 260 (S 2016) re-evaluated. After careful consideration of the documentation you submitted, I have determined that there is no basis for which to change your participation grade.
The course syllabus for FILM 260 clearly states on the first page, third paragraph that €œStudents must participate in the General Discussion form twice weekly€ and the dates that the course will take place. The Course Syllabus also includes a section on page 5 titled €œTimely Participation€ and outlines the expectations for participation quite clearly. It states as follows,
€œAs in any course, your frequent participation and value-added engagement is valued by prof and peers alike. When evaluating your online participation, the quality, quantity, and timeliness of your contributions are factored in. In terms of quality, your comments are assessed according to the overall level of coherence, writing mechanics, relevance, insight and collegiality demonstrated, and whether they advance the discussion and our understanding of the subject. To encourage timely participation, students who participate twice weekly will be assessed more favourably than those who add the majority of their contributions all at once. To discourage students from delaying participation until the end of the course and then flooding the site with rushed comments that add little value for anyone, contributions to the general discussion forum posted after May 27 at 17:00ET will count for a maximum of one third of your grade for this assignment. Students who fail to meet minimum requirements for quantity, quality, timeliness and frequency of online contributions are ineligible for a passing grade on this assignment. Posting the minimum number of comments will not translate into an A+ on this assignment, however, if you meet the minimum requirements and post value-added, well-written, weekly contributions, you qualify for a passing grade on this assignment.€
There are also written expectations of what constitutes a value-added post and details on the code of conduct for participation on Moodle under Community Guidelines and the syllabus states that all students are expected to be familiar with and follow these guidelines.
Dr. Matrix confirmed that your participation failed to meet the requirements for timeliness and frequency for the following reasons:
- You posted to the general discussion forum very infrequently (just 8 times on 5 days over the entire six week term). The absolute minimum number of posts to be eligible for a passing grade on the participation component of the course was 12.
- You did not participate in the forums between May 2 and May 24 (3 weeks of a 6 week course). The absolute minimum expectation for timely online participation to be eligible for a passing grade on the assignment was twice weekly postings, as stated in the outline.
You earned a grade of F (0-49) which according to departmental guidelines indicates that you failed to meet minimum requirements of the assignment. However, according to Dr. Matrix you did participate minimally by adding some postings to the forum, and those contributions did add value for all which is why you did not get a zero on the assignment, you received a grade of 30/100 (and those 30 points were calculated into your final grade).
FILM 260 is designed in such a way that students receive regular feedback via their class peers through this discussion forum and therefore, students must contribute to discussions regularly and on a timely basis for the course to be successful and for learning outcomes to be met which is why participation is graded in this specific manner. I therefore, do not find any basis for which to change your participation grade in FILM 260. Your final grade in FILM 260 will remain C-.
Sincerely yours,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10181301Schwass
Generated July 27, 2016 at 3:02:58 PM.