Appealing university grades

[sports_brah]

I got my grades today, and I was 2.something percent away from a 2:1.

However they had calculated it wrong, and I am 1.1% away from a 2:1

Anyway to appeal this?

There were a lot of circumstances which went against me, and the university messed me around a fair bit on a number of things.

 

[sports_brah]

Thanks for the replies.

I know it's a long shot but I'm going to give it a try. I had exceptional circumstances that affected my second year a lot (hell I wasn't even able to take a 12 credit exam which was not accounted for ).

3rd year, granted I did not work as hard as I could, but again, I had compounding factors on top of issues that were my fault.

My grades have ranged from 0%-75% and it is very clear where I was affected by things as my grades were very low, and everything else, even with very little work and usual late penalties, ranged from 65-75%.

On top of this, the university has messed me around massively and created a uniquely unfair situation for myself which disadvantaged me to everyone else.

Call it entitlement, but the reality of the world is that a 2:2 is going to get me nowhere, and for the sake of 1% I'm closing of most avenues.

I'm not defined by my grade, doing a degree was a poor decision I made, but I might as well try and get the most I can out of it.

1%

 

[sports_brah]

Would an impartial observer agree with this sentence?

The university has already admitted they made a huge balls up. They just haven't done anything to rectify it. And yes, I would say that people would agree.

By your own admission, then, you could have got a 2:1 if you'd worked harder. You might have had periods where you couldn't do better, but if you'd worked harder in the 'good times', you'd be looking at a 2:1 (or higher!).

This isn't a criticism, just an analysis of the cold, hard, reality. You could have got that 2:1 with more effort.

I should have done better, truth be told, on the few pieces of work I did right I got straight firsts. However I made mistakes and lost focus along with other issues. I just want to mitigate my damage now, which is surely reasonable even if you don't agree?

Same, I got a 2:2 from a top university, it never held me back. I now earn good money with prospects.

Maybe life is different in 2013. I finished my degree a decade ago.

Tbh, once you get a job, your degree is then meaningless. You then get other jobs from your work experience and attitude towards work.

The world is VERY different. Most graduate jobs don't even give a look in, and there is a general stigma attached. Don't get me wrong, if it stays a 2:2, I'm not going to let it get me massively down, I'll fight on anyway.

 

[sports_brah]

Yes, you can appeal your grade and live forever with the fact you only got your 2:1 because you were whiney whilst everyone else around you bothered to do decent work.

Better a live jackal than a dead lion.

Not to mention that after my first job, I don't intend on using my degree results again.

 

[sports_brah]

I'd also check that you are sure on your calculation, it is unlikely for the uni to have calculated it wrong - have you weighted your grades for the different weight of each year and the different credits each module was worth?

Anyone here an expert at calculating grades?

Also, I seem to have too many credits? Degrees are 360 credits and yet I've got over that???

 

[sports_brah]

Well, at least you're not reading maths.

I've missed a 1st class by about a % every year. Which doesn't feel great, but it's not stopping me sleeping.

I asked, because multiple people have said that it can be a difficult thing to measure with differing standards.

I've looked on my universities website but cannot find anything.

 

[sports_brah]

Mine was listed on the department page. 20% on year 2, 40% on year 3, 40% on year 4. But it varied significantly between courses. I suppose you could tell us what course you're on and where.

Mine is weighted 40/60 between 2nd and 3rd year. 120 credits a year with subjects either 15/30 (final year) in credits or 18/12 in second year.

So basically I calculated grades by finding what each module was worth as a percentage of the year. Eg one of my modules was 30 credits. That is 25% of the year, and I got 70% in it.

This means I got 17.5% for that year. Seeing as it is final year that gives it a 60% weighting, thus it accounts for 10.6% of my degree classification.

And so on.

 

[sports_brah]

Okay it says:

The 2011/12 regulations permitted a PAB to consider reclassifying a student who was within 2% of the higher class.

The 2012/13 regulations permit a PAB to consider reclassifying a student who is within 1% of the higher class.


****.

 

[sports_brah]

I thought your issue was that you'd been treated unfairly etc, and you wanted to appeal on those grounds (presumably to remove from consideration, or increase the mark of, exams in which you did particularly badly, thereby increasing your overall mark to within the range of a 2:1 anyway)? In which case you need to speak to your university (presumably Sussex based on above info?)

Or are you changing that story now, and you just want the higher class because you were close?

I figure that the university will be a lot more likely to help if it is within their existing framework, rather than arbitrary measures which would be a lot more difficult to quantify.

The university has messed me around, and I'm looking for consideration on the basis of this. My minimum is to see me right with my classification which, I reckon would have been easily achievable but for their messup.

 

[sports_brah]

I don't believe it's not there. And it's a simple thing to calculate, it's just different everywhere. Where did you go? If you tell me where you went, and give me a breakdown of your grades, I don't mind working it out for you (I've worked it out for numerous people at my uni, as somehow they couldn't work it out themselves). Message in trust, or whatever.

That'd be great. I'll send you trust now.

 

[sports_brah]

Sent.

 

[sports_brah]

Well, the situation is pretty murky. They are not playing ball. They've admitted again they've made errors and that it wasn't all a fair game. However they're insisting I go through the official appeals route.

Meh.