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With Fran Northcutt, Honors Adviser, Hunter College of the City University of New York
The Alphabet Game: When You're Thinking A, But Your Professor Is Thinking B, C, D -- or F
HEAD Start
There are plenty of times when you and your professors won't exactly agree. Maybe they think 400 pages of reading material a week is reasonable - and you don't. Maybe you think a broken leg is a decent excuse for being five minutes late - and they don't. But as you can guess, the biggest conflicts are usually over grades. What if you've thrown yourself heart and soul into this class, and you still got a B? Or what if you calculated exactly how much work would get you a C (because "Cs earn degrees", right?), but you ended up with a D? Definitely not part of the plan!

HEAD Lines
Time for a reunion with your loyal, reliable friend: the syllabus! Dig it out from under the stack of papers next to your bed, take a look, and ask yourself:
  • What were the key concepts for this course - did you learn them?

  • Have you been showing up enough to get high marks for attendance (if attendance is factored into the grade)?

  • Do you participate? And to paraphrase a wise elementary school teacher from this adviser's past, have you been raising your hand physically as well as mentally?

  • If your class has a large writing component, has your writing grown based on your professor's comments and suggestions?

  • And last but not least, do the math - when you add up your known points and estimate your grades for subjective areas like participation, do you get a letter very different from the one your professor came up with?
If you can say "yes" to these questions, a conversation may be in order. Hopefully, you and your professor can figure out how there came to be such a mighty gulf between his or her assessment and yours!

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From Other HEADS
MY FAVORITE PROFESSOR WAS THIS NUTTY GUY who taught Intro to Popular Culture. He would wear his pants legs rolled up in winter for no reason and would use the beak of a rubber chicken instead of a pointer in class. For the first time in his class, I started to see things in a larger context, which is what college is for.

-- ANNA
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY


TAKE PROFESSORS UP ON THEIR OFFERS of help. If they tell you they are willing to look over a paper or a project before the due date, take advantage of that. It's like getting a "do-over" in case you didn't do it right the first time. It can also make a difference in your grade. Several times I have taken papers to my professors for their review and have been told that what I have will receive a B. With their feedback, I was able to make changes and receive an A.

-- NATALEE
MARTINS FERRY, OHIO
XAVIER UNIVERSITY




Web Resources
Some additional tips from the University of Colorado:
www.colorado.edu/Ombuds/TalkingWithaProfessor.pdf

and St. Edwards University:
www.stedwards.edu/cte/content/view/1542/49/


HoH Tips
  • When you go to see your professor, remember to smile! You probably won't be smiling on the inside - if you're mad, frustrated, confused, or resentful about your grade, why would you be a little beam of sunshine? But if you're crafty, you'll make an effort to keep your bitterness in check. The conversation is much more likely to go your way.

  • Practice makes perfect! Rehearse what you're going to say before you walk through that door. Do anything you can to make sure you'll be calm and articulate. It's pretty easy to get rattled when you sit down to have this kind of high-stakes conversation. So run through it in the mirror a couple times. If you've ever asked out someone you really liked, or had to tell your parents that you totaled the car, you know how helpful a little practice can be.
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