u/Loose-Arrival303

Grades.

The letters on transcripts we all stress over each term.

The thing we're all told measures our knowledge and determines our future life prospects. But is this 100% true?

Sure, getting A's means having a high level of knowledge of the material, as without it, it would be impossible to lose less than 10% of the total grade.

But what about B's and C's? Does that mean there is a lack of knowledge compared to someone who earns an A? Possibly, but not necessarily. It could be due to a lower level of knowledge of the course concepts, or it could be a result of not completing all the busywork.

It is possible to have a high level of understanding of course concepts while at the same time focusing more on health and wellbeing than completing everything perfectly to receive straight A's. This means it is possible for students who receive lower grades to essentially have more knowledge and be more well-rounded by ensuring to focus on health and real-world learning.

So, if they may not provide a definite picture of knowledge to employers, what could they mean?

I think it may provide a measurement of how much shit someone is willing to put up with. To get the highest grades, it requires doing all the work requested at the time requested. Failing to do this or having and maintaining boundaries to protect health and wellbeing would directly correspond to lower grades.

It seems to me that grades may provide more clear of a picture to employers of who will do whatever they desire without any pushback. Or who is not a "quiet quitter," will go "above and beyond," and is a "team player" without regard to their own needs.

In high school, I had a teacher who had a unique course policy that I didn't really fully understand at the time. Like most courses, the different assignments (including the final exam) were certain percentages of the final grade. However, if the grade earned on the final was higher than the overall grade, the higher grade on the final would be the final grade received for the entire course (as a higher level of knowledge was demonstrated at the end). This means if a B was earned through the total grade breakdown, but an A was earned on the final, the final grade for the course would be an A.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone with this post; obviously, try to get the best grades possible. But I just think the actual meaning of grades may be different than we have been lead to believe....

It may not seem apparent, but there are additional costs to the implemented 2-Step Verification process. I usually have to complete this 2 to 3 times every time when logging in, as PCCs systems don't track the completion between all systems, such as D2L and Gmail.

Let's just estimate these 2 to 3 completions take about a minute each time logging in, and there are 3 logins per day 5 days during the week.

This would be a grand total of 15 minutes per week (doesn't sound like a lot, does it?). However, this multiplied by 36 weeks (assuming most students take courses 3 of the 11 to 12 week terms out of the year) is a total of 9 hours a year, just for completing 2-Step Verification.

So, on average, students now spend 9 HOURS, or about AN ENTIRE EXTRA DAY OF WORK EACH YEAR, just sending, receiving, and entering 6-digits codes.

This is in addition to all the days already spent on college coursework or other responsibilities such as working, which then reduces an entire extra day of what limited free time was previously remaining.

Even worse, using the most recent published numbers from 2023, which say there were on average 19,221.7 Full-Time Equivalent students, this would be a total of 19,221.7+ DAYS OF LOST PRODUCTIVITY PER YEAR, or 172,995.3 HOURS PER YEAR....

WHY....?

Are there any other Economists who have thoughts on this?

I think this would allow students the ability to ensure all the policies and schedules are agreeable when registering. With the current system, students do not see the course policies until the course begins, which are agreed upon by continuing in the course; but at this point, it may be too late for the option to drop and switch due to availability.

I have noticed an uptick in instructors ending the term and not accepting assignments earlier during the finals week for 11 to 12 week courses, to ensure adequate time to grade all work and submit final grades before the deadline (the Tuesday following the end of the term). I think it is acceptable for final projects to be due around the Thursday or Friday of Finals Week, as this still provides the majority of the week for students to complete the project in the dedicated Finals Week.

However, this term, I have an 11 to 12 week course in which the Final Project is due on the Monday of Finals Week. The course still has a regular workload up through Week 10, essentially making it so students have to complete double the work during Week 10, just so the instructor has 8 days to complete grading. I would understand if all prior late work was cut off at the end of Week 10 to prevent a massive amount of grading at the end, but I think the Final Project should at least be allowed to be completed during the dedicated Finals Week. This is a week that students have paid for as part of the course; and the instructor is being paid for teaching that week.

What do others think about this issue, as well as what remains reasonable for both students and instructors?

Did the unforeseen shortened term as a result of Dr. Bennings desire to fight with the instructors impact your academic performance from the following uneven/higher workload causing issues with failing grades or less than ideal grades (as a result of term incompletion), and a course retake would be required or desired? According to the PCC tuition appeals website, it may be possible to submit an appeal due to educational experience:

"If your issues are related to the quality of instruction, your educational experience, or you feel you have been mis-advised, use the complaint process. Your complaint will be reviewed by the appropriate college administrator. In extreme cases, you may be allowed to retake the course at no cost or receive a full or partial tuition waiver."

Submit a Complaint Here: Complaints and Feedback Form

Following the recent post about the purpose of late penalties and the implications throughout the term, I have some thoughts about the impact on final grades.

I believe that grades should be representative of a student's knowledge of the material, an A level of knowledge earns an A, a B level of knowledge earns a B, a C level of knowledge earns a C, etc...

But, what happens if the final grade is a result of late penalties rather than knowledge? This then makes the final grade a reflection of scheduling and available time, rather than actual knowledge of the material. Like, if you have an A level knowledge of the material (as shown by submitted work) but earn a B as the result of late penalties, a C instead of a B, etc...

Yung Joc - It's Goin Down (Official Music Video)

This song is now permanently linked in my brain to The Bennings Brand.

I just realized that there is one lesson that students can learn from Dr. Bennings, and that is how to switch jobs.

She is taking leave until June 30 and then receiving 9 months of severance and health benefits. However, I just realized that with this setup, she is technically not separated from employment at PCC until June 30, which means she now has nearly two months to become employed at a new job while still being able to say she is employed as the President of PCC. Then, if she lands a new job during that time, she not only will get paid at the new job but also the 9 months of severance from PCC at the same time. Oh yeah, and if the new company calls PCC, PCC is not even permitted to say anything negative as a condition of the mutual separation.

What a way to do poor performance work for a company and get paid extra...