Grading Scale for Course: 

We are not huge supporter of the standard grading standards adopted by most universities.  We believe that the type of grading that is used all across the country is simplistic and creates unnecessary competition among students. 

But...there's always a but... 

It is the system we've all been using for years, and students, administrators and teachers have all been trained to use it. You will be working hard throughout this semester and will expect to know whether you're meeting the standards that we have set. So....this is an explanation of the grading scheme we will use in this course. At the University of North Carolina, grades in Graduate Courses are High Pass, Pass or Low Pass and are recorded as H, P, or L. These grades are similar to A, B, and C in other schools and will be recorded as such for students enrolled at Queens College and other schools that use an A-F scale. 

Our expectation is that you will all earn passing grades. The intensity of your efforts and quality of your work will determine whether you pass at a high or low level. 

H (or A) ----For work that shows you are paying attention,  thinking about what you say before you say it, and are open and willing to accept or at least appreciate other points of view.  You read the weekly reading assignments and reflect what you have learned from your readings in your discussion forum commentary, other communications and written assignments.  Your writing is always clear, precise, well-organized, and follows standard rules of American English grammar. You send all your work electronically, on time, or early and written in appropriate APA style. You demonstrate critical thinking skills and cite literary or credible WWW sources to support your opinions. You  are respectful of your fellow classmates and 'play well with others'  in group assignments, discussion forums and with  constructive comments on each other's work. 

P (or B) ----You meet course standards satisfactorially at an acceptable level. Maybe everything is in on time, but your work appears rushed, perhaps a little sloppy or not completely thought through. Maybe you haven't participated actively in all discussion boards, been open to everyone else's ideas in the discussion rooms, or you've been contributing so much that you are actually hogging all the space that someone else needs to express herself/himself. Perhaps the structures in your arguments are a little weak and may lack literary support. 

L (or C) ----You've got some problems. Your work is late more than once, and sloppy most of the time. You may not always be polite and reasonable in your comments to others.   You omit literary or credible WWW site sources to support your stated opinions.  Maybe you only contribute infrequently to the Discussion boards, or disappear for a whole week at a time without letting us know what's up or your contributions are a restatement of your readings without any original commentary or demonstration of critical thinking.. 

D----We won't give you a D. If you're doing this badly, you move right down to the next letter grade. 

F----You are cranky and hard to get along with online. You are rude to other class members. You fail to hand in two or more assignments. The work that you do hand in is obviously constructed at the last minute. You ignore my private suggestions to help you inprove or appear unable or unwilling to do the required course assignments. We do not expect any of you to reach this level.  These statements are simply an attempt to clarify our position on grades

Final Grades are determined by total points earned:
91 - 100 = H (A) 
81 - 90 = P (B) 
71 - 80 = L (C) 
70 or below (D or F) 

As always, if you have any questions about grading (or anything else), please email one of us immediately.  We look forward to a great semester filled with reciprocal learning and fun.