Petition Letter
Hello,
I am submitting a petition requesting a review of my final grade in MATH 128.
My final grade in the course was 49%, which resulted in me failing the class. Following the release of final grades, I attempted to pursue the informal review process with the course instructor. On May 7, I emailed Professor Alsibaai outlining specific concerns regarding the grading of several questions and requesting clarification and review. After receiving no response, I sent a follow-up email approximately one week later. I did not receive a response to either message.
In my email, I mentioned a few specific questions that stood out to me when I reviewed my midterms. In some cases, I felt that I had shown part of the correct process or understanding even though my final answer was not completely correct. Since my final grade was 49%, I wanted to ask whether some questions could be looked at again and whether any partial credit may have been overlooked. My goal was not to argue for marks I did not earn, but simply to better understand the grading and ask for a review of a few borderline situations.
I fully acknowledge that my assessments contained errors and I am not requesting marks that are not justified. I am just requesting a review of the grading of some questions and any similar instances where demonstrated understanding may not have been reflected in the awarded marks.
Because my final grade was 49%, even a small adjustment resulting from a review of these questions could affect my final standing in the course. I have attached copies of my correspondence with the instructor and documentation outlining the specific questions for which I am requesting reconsideration.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this petition.
Sincerely,
Colin Budd
Here is a copy of the email I sent:
Hello Professor Alsibaai,
I hope you're doing well. I recently reviewed my final course grade on Solus and saw that I got an F. After seeing this, I calculated my grade and it came out to be a 49%. After going back through my midterms, I noticed a few questions where I believe I demonstrated understanding of the methods/process but may not have received partial marks for that work.
For example, on Question 3 of midterm 2, I lost marks on the partial derivatives because I omitted the chain-rule factors in the derivatives of sin(xy). However, when evaluating at the point (1,0), my final numerical values were still correct. Since the missing factor in fx becomes 0 at the evaluation point, I was wondering whether follow-through credit may have been possible there.
Similarly, on a parametrization question involving a cylinder on midterm 1, my derivation correctly obtained a = 2 and b = root2, and my error occurred only in the final written expressions for x(t) and y(t). After seeing this I went to math help to see why I got it incorrect and as Samuel was showing me I already saw what I did wrong before he explained. I went up on the board and did it correctly.
These were just a couple of examples I noticed while reviewing my work, and I mainly wanted to ask whether there may be any opportunity to look at the overall pattern of borderline partial-credit situations across my assessments, since I finished so close to the passing threshold.
I completely understand and accept that there were mistakes in my work throughout the semester, and I am not asking for marks where they are not deserved. However, because my final grade was so close to passing, I wanted to respectfully ask whether there may be any possibility of reconsideration or a broader review of places where partial understanding may not have been fully reflected in the grading.
I also want to emphasize that I genuinely put significant effort into this course throughout the semester. I spent many days preparing for the midterms and weeks studying for the final exam through practice problems, Webwork, review questions, and outside help resources. Although I struggled to consistently demonstrate my understanding during evaluations, I truly worked hard to improve and engage with the material.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration
Best regards,
Colin Budd
Follow-up email:
Hello Professor Alsibaai,
I am just following up on my email from last week.
Thank you,
Colin Budd
I am submitting a petition requesting a review of my final grade in MATH 128.
My final grade in the course was 49%, which resulted in me failing the class. Following the release of final grades, I attempted to pursue the informal review process with the course instructor. On May 7, I emailed Professor Alsibaai outlining specific concerns regarding the grading of several questions and requesting clarification and review. After receiving no response, I sent a follow-up email approximately one week later. I did not receive a response to either message.
In my email, I mentioned a few specific questions that stood out to me when I reviewed my midterms. In some cases, I felt that I had shown part of the correct process or understanding even though my final answer was not completely correct. Since my final grade was 49%, I wanted to ask whether some questions could be looked at again and whether any partial credit may have been overlooked. My goal was not to argue for marks I did not earn, but simply to better understand the grading and ask for a review of a few borderline situations.
I fully acknowledge that my assessments contained errors and I am not requesting marks that are not justified. I am just requesting a review of the grading of some questions and any similar instances where demonstrated understanding may not have been reflected in the awarded marks.
Because my final grade was 49%, even a small adjustment resulting from a review of these questions could affect my final standing in the course. I have attached copies of my correspondence with the instructor and documentation outlining the specific questions for which I am requesting reconsideration.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this petition.
Sincerely,
Colin Budd
Here is a copy of the email I sent:
Hello Professor Alsibaai,
I hope you're doing well. I recently reviewed my final course grade on Solus and saw that I got an F. After seeing this, I calculated my grade and it came out to be a 49%. After going back through my midterms, I noticed a few questions where I believe I demonstrated understanding of the methods/process but may not have received partial marks for that work.
For example, on Question 3 of midterm 2, I lost marks on the partial derivatives because I omitted the chain-rule factors in the derivatives of sin(xy). However, when evaluating at the point (1,0), my final numerical values were still correct. Since the missing factor in fx becomes 0 at the evaluation point, I was wondering whether follow-through credit may have been possible there.
Similarly, on a parametrization question involving a cylinder on midterm 1, my derivation correctly obtained a = 2 and b = root2, and my error occurred only in the final written expressions for x(t) and y(t). After seeing this I went to math help to see why I got it incorrect and as Samuel was showing me I already saw what I did wrong before he explained. I went up on the board and did it correctly.
These were just a couple of examples I noticed while reviewing my work, and I mainly wanted to ask whether there may be any opportunity to look at the overall pattern of borderline partial-credit situations across my assessments, since I finished so close to the passing threshold.
I completely understand and accept that there were mistakes in my work throughout the semester, and I am not asking for marks where they are not deserved. However, because my final grade was so close to passing, I wanted to respectfully ask whether there may be any possibility of reconsideration or a broader review of places where partial understanding may not have been fully reflected in the grading.
I also want to emphasize that I genuinely put significant effort into this course throughout the semester. I spent many days preparing for the midterms and weeks studying for the final exam through practice problems, Webwork, review questions, and outside help resources. Although I struggled to consistently demonstrate my understanding during evaluations, I truly worked hard to improve and engage with the material.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration
Best regards,
Colin Budd
Follow-up email:
Hello Professor Alsibaai,
I am just following up on my email from last week.
Thank you,
Colin Budd