Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 719
Decision Date: February 17, 2015
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Quan Yuan
Student Email: 0qy1@queensu.ca
Course: CISC 124
Term: Fall
Year: 2014
Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor: Alan Mcleod
Additional Information: Final exam
Mr. Quan Yuan
0qy1@queensu.ca
Dear Mr. Yuan:
I have carefully considered your appeal to request a review of you final exam mark in CISC 124 (F 2014). After reviewing your file and investigating your claims, I have determined that your grade in CISC 124 will remain unchanged.
Your appeal letter argues that the final exam you received was unfair because the exam you wrote was different that the exam written by the rest of the CISC 124 class. Specifically, your letter noted that your exam was out of 120 points and the exam that the rest of the class wrote was out of 100 points and you were each allotted 3 hours to write. I consulted with Dr. McLeod concerning these points and Dr. McLeod provided the following statements,
€œTony wrote the same exam as all the other students in the Fall offering of CISC 124, and his exam was not weighted differently from anyone else€™s. The point total for the exam, 120 points in this case, is an arbitrary total points scheme and does not reflect that this exam is longer or shorter than any other exam used for CISC 124. His exam was the same exam written by the rest of the class on December 3. I marked his final exam using the exact same grading scheme that I applied to those exams written on December 3.€
Your appeal letter also argues that you failed the exam by 6.5 points and states, €œ€the fact that the instructor failed me by 6 points, 6.5 points to be exact, feels like the instructor did not intend to pass me. In other words, in my opinion, it is very harsh to penalize a student just for 6.5 points out of a 120 point exam. I tried to talk with the instructor and he seemed unwilling even though I said based on the final exam I demonstrated that I have learnt all the materials for this CISC 124 course.€ I asked Dr. McLeod to respond to these statements and he confirmed that you received a grade of 53.5/120 on the final exam, your aggregate assignment grade for the course was 6/20 and your aggregate quiz grade was 11.3/30. The final exam was weighted at 50 of the final grade, giving you a final grade of 40 or F. Dr. McLeod also confirmed that he indeed did offer you an opportunity to meet with him and offered several possible times but he did not receive a reply from you. He also confirmed that he provided two 3 hour slots to all students who wished to look over their exams along with sample solutions on January 20 and 21. It does not appear that you took advantage of this offer.
I have carefully weighed all of the information presented by you as well as Dr. McLeod and I have determined that your CISC 124 final exam mark was assessed fairly. Your participation represents a genuine course attempt and demonstrates to me that you have not reached the level of mastery required to receive credit for CISC 124.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, you must submit an appeal to the Board of Studies within 21 days of the date this decision was sent. Guidelines for appealing to the Board of Studies and the appeal form can be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on €œBoard of Studies€) Do not use the on-line application for this process. You may contact Mr. Harry Smith, Office of the Ombudsperson for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative. His office is located in room 237 Robert Sutherland Hall and he can be reached by phone (533-6495) or e-mail (ombuds@queensu.ca).
Sincerely,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10013035Yuan
Decision Date: February 17, 2015
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Quan Yuan
Student Email: 0qy1@queensu.ca
Course: CISC 124
Term: Fall
Year: 2014
Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor: Alan Mcleod
Additional Information: Final exam
Mr. Quan Yuan
0qy1@queensu.ca
Dear Mr. Yuan:
I have carefully considered your appeal to request a review of you final exam mark in CISC 124 (F 2014). After reviewing your file and investigating your claims, I have determined that your grade in CISC 124 will remain unchanged.
Your appeal letter argues that the final exam you received was unfair because the exam you wrote was different that the exam written by the rest of the CISC 124 class. Specifically, your letter noted that your exam was out of 120 points and the exam that the rest of the class wrote was out of 100 points and you were each allotted 3 hours to write. I consulted with Dr. McLeod concerning these points and Dr. McLeod provided the following statements,
€œTony wrote the same exam as all the other students in the Fall offering of CISC 124, and his exam was not weighted differently from anyone else€™s. The point total for the exam, 120 points in this case, is an arbitrary total points scheme and does not reflect that this exam is longer or shorter than any other exam used for CISC 124. His exam was the same exam written by the rest of the class on December 3. I marked his final exam using the exact same grading scheme that I applied to those exams written on December 3.€
Your appeal letter also argues that you failed the exam by 6.5 points and states, €œ€the fact that the instructor failed me by 6 points, 6.5 points to be exact, feels like the instructor did not intend to pass me. In other words, in my opinion, it is very harsh to penalize a student just for 6.5 points out of a 120 point exam. I tried to talk with the instructor and he seemed unwilling even though I said based on the final exam I demonstrated that I have learnt all the materials for this CISC 124 course.€ I asked Dr. McLeod to respond to these statements and he confirmed that you received a grade of 53.5/120 on the final exam, your aggregate assignment grade for the course was 6/20 and your aggregate quiz grade was 11.3/30. The final exam was weighted at 50 of the final grade, giving you a final grade of 40 or F. Dr. McLeod also confirmed that he indeed did offer you an opportunity to meet with him and offered several possible times but he did not receive a reply from you. He also confirmed that he provided two 3 hour slots to all students who wished to look over their exams along with sample solutions on January 20 and 21. It does not appear that you took advantage of this offer.
I have carefully weighed all of the information presented by you as well as Dr. McLeod and I have determined that your CISC 124 final exam mark was assessed fairly. Your participation represents a genuine course attempt and demonstrates to me that you have not reached the level of mastery required to receive credit for CISC 124.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, you must submit an appeal to the Board of Studies within 21 days of the date this decision was sent. Guidelines for appealing to the Board of Studies and the appeal form can be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on €œBoard of Studies€) Do not use the on-line application for this process. You may contact Mr. Harry Smith, Office of the Ombudsperson for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative. His office is located in room 237 Robert Sutherland Hall and he can be reached by phone (533-6495) or e-mail (ombuds@queensu.ca).
Sincerely,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10013035Yuan
Generated February 17, 2015 at 11:16:21 AM.