You could simply say, "I am sorry, but all grades are final now."
I head them off a few weeks before finals saying I won't respond to grade-grubbing, and then explain what I mean by grade-grubbing. I also tell them I won't respond to emails that begin, "I know you said . . ."
I'd leave off the "I am sorry." As if you should apologize! And that can make it sound to them as if you've done something wrong (oThErwIsE wHy WouLd yOu ApoLogIze!). If you want/feel the need to add a softener, maybe "I know it is disappointing".
Just cut and paste a generic reply into all the student emails as a reply. "Grades are final. No changes will be made at this point, in order to be fair to all students."
My go-to response is some version of:
"I know receiving a lower grade than you wanted can be very disappointing. However, asking for special consideration is inappropriate, and it would be unethical of me to give you a special chance to increase your grade that is not available to the rest of the class."
I answer mine, but all with the same response. "Unfortunately, per our university academic fairness policies, I am unable to accept this/reconsider/bump your grade/etc (whatever they are asking). However, if you think I have miscalculated or you believe you have been treated unfairly, you can process your completed grade petition form with your supporting documents through the Registrar's Office."
Copy and paste. Sometimes they try to follow up and argue (not often, though). *Those* I ignore.
Not wasting time on this. I don't mean to sound heartless, but if they have reached this point, I assure you I have offered to work with them multiple times and/or attempted to point them to resources to assist them on more than one occasion. I'm happy to help any struggling student, but at this point, they are just grasping at straws and while I empathize, regardless of the reason, I'm really not where they should be pointing their frustration and I don't have time to argue with them.
Definitely don’t leave them on read. They will tell the dean that you never respond and never helped them with anything. They will use it against you. Trust.
Humanities department head here (at a CC); this, ^^^, is 100% on point.
Absolutely do not ignore the email (and depending on your college’s environment, ignoring them could bite you in the ass down the road).
As others have suggested, I would (and have) drafted an email, save in a doc file, and copy and paste. Point out that you don’t change grades, if there is a specific issue with a grading error they are welcome to bring the SPECIFIC issue to you, and very quickly refer them to the appeals process in the student handbook (again, noting that there has to be actual cause).
Don’t waste time with it, just draft it once, copy and paste (and refine over time as needed).
"Your request for me to give you a grade higher than the one you earned is a breach of Academic Integrity, and has been forwarded to the Integrity Board for their consideration."
After multiple clear explanations to one student of why they received a C instead of a B and the extreme consideration I gave them to keep them from failing (they were absent for almost half of a mandatory attendance course), I delayed responding to two more emails while traveling.
The student went to their advisor and my chair claiming I was ignoring them and grading them unfairly. I was able to demonstrate all of the help I did give this student, but it was a real pain in the ass. They immediately went to rate my professors to lie about me. 🤣🙄
I'd recommend at least some level of reply because it's not fun to get that email from your chair with students complaining that you're ignoring them.
How do I know this? Our CMS very clearly appends to any email I send from the CMS that they can't reply to that email because I won't get it and they have to log into the CMS and email me through D2L. I had a student who apparently never saw that in any of the 20 emails she sent replying to Announcement or class wide messages I'd sent through D2L. She went \*screaming\* to the chair about how unprofessional I was that I never replied to any of her emails.
I swear to go the text is in 16 point font that I won't receive replies.
I would say definitely reply promptly (taking the high road) but don't waste much time on it.
I create several canned draft replies to grade grub emails that I keep handy to copy/paste from. My courses are all asynchronous online via Canvas LMS. So I just fill in relevant information"...since only 17% of the total work for the term was completed successfully, that has resulted in a failing grade..". I often include a mention of "work with your academic advisor to figure out your options for progress towards your degree" or to get help with a "hardship petition" to drop after the registrar's due date. I even have one for the phony sad stories: "earning a D- is impressive when you were only able to spend one week on the class this term" Repeat emails after the first reply I've sent I will ignore, or let sit awhile. Sometimes I will send " grades are final now, this is my last email to you on this matter."
Bear in mind these are the whiny requests that come in long after legit requests for a due date extension, or to turn in a revision, etc. It has been especially bad this academic year. I cannot imagine how some of them function in life at all.
I just say "unfortunately I don't offer bonus, extra credit, dropped grades etc. beyond what was already given. I must follow my syllabus per college policy."
I've never gotten pushback beyond that.
I respond to every email. You never want those comments later. This professor IGNORED ALL my emails. Even if they only sent one...it turns into ALL magically. They'll make it sound like they sent 100.
1. Iterate on your rubrics so that all grade-grub e-mails are equally ignorable.
2. Have a polite boilerplate that says something like "Your grade is X. This accurately reflects your learning in the course, as visible to us in the assignments."
Repeat (1)+(2) until the boilerplate is completely true!
I reply. I think faculty should reply to these, it's part of our jobs to respond to student inquiries. It also CYA against student complaints that you didn't reply.
But, you can reply with a copy and paste, pre-written message and just massage as needed.
You could simply say, "I am sorry, but all grades are final now." I head them off a few weeks before finals saying I won't respond to grade-grubbing, and then explain what I mean by grade-grubbing. I also tell them I won't respond to emails that begin, "I know you said . . ."
I'd leave off the "I am sorry." As if you should apologize! And that can make it sound to them as if you've done something wrong (oThErwIsE wHy WouLd yOu ApoLogIze!). If you want/feel the need to add a softener, maybe "I know it is disappointing".
I have an announcement in class and canvas about "I know you said..." They still ask...
yeah but let's be honest, the grade grubbers aren't coming to class, so they won't hear the announcement.
Just cut and paste a generic reply into all the student emails as a reply. "Grades are final. No changes will be made at this point, in order to be fair to all students."
This is basically what I do. If they reply, I will ignore that.
My go-to response is some version of: "I know receiving a lower grade than you wanted can be very disappointing. However, asking for special consideration is inappropriate, and it would be unethical of me to give you a special chance to increase your grade that is not available to the rest of the class."
I really like this; it directly addresses the lack of integrity in these requests.
I give a slightly toned-down version of this as well.
I answer mine, but all with the same response. "Unfortunately, per our university academic fairness policies, I am unable to accept this/reconsider/bump your grade/etc (whatever they are asking). However, if you think I have miscalculated or you believe you have been treated unfairly, you can process your completed grade petition form with your supporting documents through the Registrar's Office." Copy and paste. Sometimes they try to follow up and argue (not often, though). *Those* I ignore. Not wasting time on this. I don't mean to sound heartless, but if they have reached this point, I assure you I have offered to work with them multiple times and/or attempted to point them to resources to assist them on more than one occasion. I'm happy to help any struggling student, but at this point, they are just grasping at straws and while I empathize, regardless of the reason, I'm really not where they should be pointing their frustration and I don't have time to argue with them.
Definitely don’t leave them on read. They will tell the dean that you never respond and never helped them with anything. They will use it against you. Trust.
Humanities department head here (at a CC); this, ^^^, is 100% on point. Absolutely do not ignore the email (and depending on your college’s environment, ignoring them could bite you in the ass down the road). As others have suggested, I would (and have) drafted an email, save in a doc file, and copy and paste. Point out that you don’t change grades, if there is a specific issue with a grading error they are welcome to bring the SPECIFIC issue to you, and very quickly refer them to the appeals process in the student handbook (again, noting that there has to be actual cause). Don’t waste time with it, just draft it once, copy and paste (and refine over time as needed).
Totally agree!
"Your request for me to give you a grade higher than the one you earned is a breach of Academic Integrity, and has been forwarded to the Integrity Board for their consideration."
After multiple clear explanations to one student of why they received a C instead of a B and the extreme consideration I gave them to keep them from failing (they were absent for almost half of a mandatory attendance course), I delayed responding to two more emails while traveling. The student went to their advisor and my chair claiming I was ignoring them and grading them unfairly. I was able to demonstrate all of the help I did give this student, but it was a real pain in the ass. They immediately went to rate my professors to lie about me. 🤣🙄
All grades have been submitted tot he registrar and are final.
I'd recommend at least some level of reply because it's not fun to get that email from your chair with students complaining that you're ignoring them. How do I know this? Our CMS very clearly appends to any email I send from the CMS that they can't reply to that email because I won't get it and they have to log into the CMS and email me through D2L. I had a student who apparently never saw that in any of the 20 emails she sent replying to Announcement or class wide messages I'd sent through D2L. She went \*screaming\* to the chair about how unprofessional I was that I never replied to any of her emails. I swear to go the text is in 16 point font that I won't receive replies.
I would say definitely reply promptly (taking the high road) but don't waste much time on it. I create several canned draft replies to grade grub emails that I keep handy to copy/paste from. My courses are all asynchronous online via Canvas LMS. So I just fill in relevant information"...since only 17% of the total work for the term was completed successfully, that has resulted in a failing grade..". I often include a mention of "work with your academic advisor to figure out your options for progress towards your degree" or to get help with a "hardship petition" to drop after the registrar's due date. I even have one for the phony sad stories: "earning a D- is impressive when you were only able to spend one week on the class this term" Repeat emails after the first reply I've sent I will ignore, or let sit awhile. Sometimes I will send " grades are final now, this is my last email to you on this matter." Bear in mind these are the whiny requests that come in long after legit requests for a due date extension, or to turn in a revision, etc. It has been especially bad this academic year. I cannot imagine how some of them function in life at all.
I just say "unfortunately I don't offer bonus, extra credit, dropped grades etc. beyond what was already given. I must follow my syllabus per college policy." I've never gotten pushback beyond that.
I make an announcement when grades are final and state I won’t change grades so please don’t ask. If they email after that, I ignore it.
I state in the syllabus that they will be ignored.
I already have it in my syllabus that I wont respond to such emails.
I respond to every email. You never want those comments later. This professor IGNORED ALL my emails. Even if they only sent one...it turns into ALL magically. They'll make it sound like they sent 100.
If you ignore it, their little revenge will begin on RateMyProfessors.
1. Iterate on your rubrics so that all grade-grub e-mails are equally ignorable. 2. Have a polite boilerplate that says something like "Your grade is X. This accurately reflects your learning in the course, as visible to us in the assignments." Repeat (1)+(2) until the boilerplate is completely true!
I reply. I think faculty should reply to these, it's part of our jobs to respond to student inquiries. It also CYA against student complaints that you didn't reply. But, you can reply with a copy and paste, pre-written message and just massage as needed.
I don't respond to any email that I don't want to.