Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 2464
Decision Date: July 22, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Jessie Cooke
Student Email: 14jc91@queensu.ca
Course: FILM 260
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: Participation Assignment
Dear Ms. Cooke:
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.
Your appeal letter states that you €œmet the required 12 posts and that they were value added€ and €œthe impression that you received was that less frequent comments with substance would be given more weight and value than frequent posts of little to no substance or value€. 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. You did not participate in the forum between May 5 and 30, which is 3 weeks of a 6 week course. As the syllabus states, you were required to participate twice weekly to be eligible for a passing grade in the participation component of the course. However, Dr. Matrix also pointed out that you did submit the minimum number of postings and your contributions did add value for all so you did not receive a zero for participation but rather a grade of 49 (of which was factored 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 B-.
Sincerely yours,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10179223Cooke
Decision Date: July 22, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Jessie Cooke
Student Email: 14jc91@queensu.ca
Course: FILM 260
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: Participation Assignment
Dear Ms. Cooke:
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.
Your appeal letter states that you €œmet the required 12 posts and that they were value added€ and €œthe impression that you received was that less frequent comments with substance would be given more weight and value than frequent posts of little to no substance or value€. 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. You did not participate in the forum between May 5 and 30, which is 3 weeks of a 6 week course. As the syllabus states, you were required to participate twice weekly to be eligible for a passing grade in the participation component of the course. However, Dr. Matrix also pointed out that you did submit the minimum number of postings and your contributions did add value for all so you did not receive a zero for participation but rather a grade of 49 (of which was factored 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 B-.
Sincerely yours,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10179223Cooke
Generated July 22, 2016 at 1:21:03 PM.