OLD GRADING SYSTEM (2007 & earlier: 200-point system)

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NOTE--New Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy: As of summer 2007, all Inver Hills students must maintain a 67% completion rate for all credits attempted. This is in addition to the existing requirement that students earn a cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.0 or above. You can drop a class in the first week, and this does not affect your completion rate.  However, if you withdraw after that, fail to finish the course, or take an "I" (Incomplete), this will affect your completion rate and also may affect your eligibility for financial assistance.  See www.inverhills.edu/Enrollment/CollegePolicies/SatisfactoryAcademic.aspx for the complete policy.

For most purposes, passing this course means a "C" or better--if you want to go on to Comp II or you need to transfer the course to another college.  You must have at least a C to be able to go on to Comp II at Inver Hills College.  (The Comp II course is either "Eng 1111" or "Eng 1114.")  If you are trying to get one of IHCC's two-year degrees, most of them require that you finish "Goal 1 (Communications)" of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum.  To finish "Goal 1," you must complete both Comp I, Comp II, and a Speech course.  In addition, if you get a "D" in this course, you may not be able to transfer it to another college.  If you must transfer your college work course by course, many colleges will not accept transfer of courses with a grade below a C.  

So, technically, passing this course means getting a "D." However, in actual fact, it won't transfer to some schools, and it won't allow you to move on to IHCC's Comp II course.  There are only three limited ways in which a "D" will help you: (1) you are getting a certificate or degree that requires only a Comp I course and no Comp II, (2) you need to get at least a D to stay in school and/or keep financial aid, or (3) you are still in high school and need a D for high school credit.  With all this in mind, please decide what grade you want in this course so that you can work to achieve it.  Then, for safety's sake, you might want to aim for a grade slightly above that.  (E.g., if you want to get at least a C in this course, it might be wise to aim for at least a B- or even a B.) 

So, with that explanation, above, out of the way, here are three things you absolutely must do to pass this course:

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As mentioned above, there are 200 X's or points (1 X = 1 point) for attendance, writing, and participation:

Writing: about 100 points
Attendance: about 50 points
Participation: about 50 points

You'll receive X's by attending and by turning in your papers.  If you get all 200 points, you get the equivalent of an A+.  If you get less than 120 points, you get an F.  Here is the grading chart.  (It's exactly the same  grading system as an "A" equaling  90-100%, a "B" 80-89%, "C" 70-79%, "D" 60-69%, and "F" 0-59%.  The only difference is that the numbers are doubled so the total is 200 points instead of 100.)

TABLE OF GRADES FOR THE 200 POINTS

GRADING OF HOMEWORK (WEEKLY PAPERS and DRAFTS): 100 Points/X's

            This portion of your grade will be determined by how many of your weekly, rough-draft, non-graded assignments you turn in. You will get X's rather than letter grades once your work is sufficiently completed.  The total point value is high--100 points/X's or half of your total grade--partly because this is a course in learning how to write better, and partly because there are no graded papers.  Instead of graded papers, there are X's for a series of rough drafts in four stages: Draft 1, Draft 2, Draft 3, and Draft 4.  There are several of each of these.  See "HOMEWORK/Weekly Papers" for more details.  For more details, also see the chart of assignments and the X's they are worth: this chart is in your "Course Packet" you must buy from the bookstore for this course.  The chart there shows you how all 100 X's/points are distributed.  

REVISION, PARTICIPATION, IMPROVEMENT, ETC.: 50 Points/X's

            Is this an area in which you can coast?  Nope.  You'll have to actually work at this, too, even if writing is easy for you.  Your participation/improvement grade gets better as the number of points you earn increases.  The easiest way to estimate how many points you have coming for participation/improvement is to add up all your X's/points for attendance and papers, then add another 1/3rd to that total.  For example, if I have 40 points for attendance and 80 points for papers, that equals 120 points; I then add another 1/3rd, or 40 points, to get a grand total of 160 points, which equals a low "A."  

            However, you should be aware that using the above averaging method does not necessarily give you the final number of points you will get for participation/improvement.  These participation/improvement points can be higher or lower, depending on how well or poorly you have performed and acted in the course and class.   If you have performed and acted unusually well, they'll be higher.  If you've performed or acted unusually poorly, they will be lower.  Here is what you can do to make your participation/improvement points be as high as possible:  

Positive Performance and Action

• (a) Participate very verbally by talking in the face-to-face class--or in written form on the bulletin boards in online classes--and in your small-group sessions and class trips, and/or in seeking me out for questions and help before/after class, in my office, or by emailing or telephoning me, 

• (b) get 1 hr. or more of tutoring help from tutors (or me) when you are revising and editing your drafts (more time counts for more credit), 

• (c) form and work in study/writing//editing/help groups of two or more people outside of class, and report the time you spent working together, a sentence or two about what you did, and the person/people with whom you worked,

• (d) show significant extra effort on assignments--by extra length of writing or, clear for me to see, extra time, 

• (e) Attend the individual consultations between you and me that are planned as part of this course, or otherwise get help from me when you need it in my office, and 

• (f) demonstrate significant attention to and good attitude about learning--not just to me but also to others in our class.  

Can this part of your grade go lower? Yes. Here are some behaviors you can demonstrate to make your total participation/improvement point count go lower:

Negative Performance and Action

• (a) keep quiet in class (or give few, poor, or overly short or overly simple answers and responses), 

• (b) avoid me, 

• (c) avoid consulting with me or with Writing Center tutors, 

• (d) be negative or cynical about learning or about other students, 

• (e) leave work unfinished, 

• (f) have poor attendance, 

• (g) have a poor turn-in rate for your weekly papers.  

There is a checklist in the "Figuring Your Grade in 3-4 Easy Steps" part of this page (below) that discusses the participation elements in much greater detail.  

ATTENDANCE GRADE: 50 Points/X's

1. You get only half credit for attendance if you are 15 min. late/early, or if you are late/early for even five or ten minutes on a regular basis.
         

2. You can automatically get an F for the class if you do not attend and I do not hear from you for two weeks or more.  Usually I give you three weeks, and then I give you an F.  (The school then informs you of the "F" and asks you if you want to change it to a "W"--a "Withdraw Passing."  Do so before the deadline that is about 2/3s of way into the semester.  I would give "W's" myself, but the school will not let instructors give "W's.")
         

3. It is possible to do make-up work for missing attendance and also to get extra credit (extra X's or points) in the same way--by doing additional attendance make-up work.  In this way, you actually can increase the number of total points you earn for the semester.  For a list of the all the different types of make-up/extra-credit work available, see the Web page "ATTENDANCE/Make Up and Extra Credit."  

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The answer is, simply, "Yes!"  This is the part of this Web page in which I want to purposely scare you because it is all true.

If you keep up with the weekly assignment schedule, turn your work in on time, and attend regularly, you should be okay.  However, this is not a course in which you can read a little, then sit back, and relax: you MUST WORK HARD.  The expected amount of time for the first two years of college work across the nation in all colleges and universities is 2 HOURS OF HOMEWORK FOR EVERY 1 HOUR OF CLASS.  In other words, double the number of normal class hours or credits, and that's how much homework you should do:

a 2-credit course for 16 wks. = 2 hrs. class time/wk. + 4 hrs. of homework  (6 hrs./wk. total)

a 3-credit course for 16 wks. = 3 hrs. class time/wk. + 6 hrs. of homework  (9 hrs./wk. total)

a 4-credit course for 16 wks. = 4 hrs. class time/wk. + 8 hrs. of homework (12 hrs./wk. total)

Because this class is worth 4 credits and meets about 4 hours/week, the amount of homework you are expected to do outside of the class is EIGHT HOURS PER WEEK of homework.  In addition, there is another FOUR HOURS PER WEEK OF CLASS--physically and, in some sections, on the bulletin boards.  That's a total of TWELVE HOURS PER WEEK you need to devote to this class.  

If you have a job, cut it back to 10-20 hrs./wk. if you are attending college full time and want to pass.  Full-time college is a full-time job of 35-45 hrs./wk. of class and homework (and travel time is additional).  If you work more than 10-20 hrs./wk. and go to college full time, then plan on giving up your entertainment, travel, sleep, drinking/eating time, sleep, girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse/partner time, family time, sports time, (did I mention sleep?) and everything else because a full load of credits in college is a full-time job.  

And if you are a high school student taking this class as a PSEO (Post-Secondary Education Options) student, this class is not high school, where almost no work at all is required compared to college courses, especially this one: you cannot pass this class just by attending, and every year some high school students taking this course do not graduate from high school because they fail this writing course or drop it.  

No matter who you are or what age, you will need to at least come close to doing TWELVE HOURS PER WEEK of work for this class in order to do well.  You cannot replace the time, skip it, or hope I will ignore it.  (I won't.)  And if you are not already a strong writer, then you will need to come close to doing this amount of work just to pass the class.  I am not an ogre and actually love teaching--and most students report that I'm tough but fair and that they had a very good time in my classes.  However, please do not take this class until you are ready to commit about TWELVE HOURS PER WEEK to it.  

Only about a half of you will likely still be here in your seats in this class by the end of the semester, and only about one-third to two-fifths of you will actually pass the class.  However, if you can commit about TWELVE HOURS PER WEEK to this class, then the likelihood of you getting a C or higher is very, very great.  The key to passing this class is not brilliance or memory; it is simply hard work.  If you do the time, I can not only make it reasonably enjoyable and interesting for you, but I can give you a lesson in writing that you will never forget and will always be able to use in the future.  You also will, as a result, get much better grades in other college courses in which writing or speaking formally is required.  

Again, though, please drop this course or switch to a different course if you are not yet ready to commit TWELVE HOURS PER WEEK to this class.  I would love to work with you, but you are wasting your money if you are not willing to work about TWELVE HOURS PER WEEK to this class.

There--the scary part is over (but it's still all true!).

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            You may figure your grade simply by adding up your points.  Recommendation: Try figuring two times--once for how many points you actually have, and once for how many points you expect to get.  

            Another helpful hint is to decide ahead of time what grade you reasonably can get: that is, develop a reasonable, rational goal.  Be honest with yourself and ask yourself what grade you can actually achieve, given how much time you can put into the course and how much work you would actually like to do.  For example, if your goal is simply to pass the class and go on to Comp II, then you should aim for a "C"--140-160 points.  If, however, your goal is to get a full A, then you need to plan on earning 186-200 X's.        

HOW TO FIGURE YOUR GRADE IN 6 QUICK STEPS ( 12-28-05 )

If you need help, do as much of this table as you can and then show it to me or ask about it.
You can print it by (a) copying it, (b) opening an MS Word page, and (c) copying it into the MS Word page.      

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The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.