Every student at Brandeis is likely aware of the consequences resulting from academic dishonesty. New students are required to view a skit outlining the policy during orientation. In addition, they receive warning from professors on the first day of classes. At the onset of every semester, this issue is revisited. Most students, however, are not well informed of their right to appeal an academic injustice against them. Though this right is publicized under "Academic Grievance Procedure" in the Rights and Responsibilities Student Handbook, most students are still unaware that it exists. A series of personal grievances have motivated me to remind Brandeis students of their rights.First, professors don't always inform students of their rights, mainly because upholding student rights is not always in the best interest of the professor. A friend of mine felt her grade was miscalculated and wrote a letter to her professor asking if she could discuss her grade with him. He wrote her a rude reply, conveying that students have no right to bargain for a better grade.

According to the student handbook: "Any student who feels she or he has a grievance with a faculty or staff member regarding an academic matter should meet as soon as possible with the persons immediately involved. If such a meeting results in a mutually acceptable solution, the matter shall be considered closed ... If the grievance is unresolved, the student should submit a written statement, specifying the nature of the complaint and the remedy desired, to the graduate advisor or the chair of the department in which the faculty or staff members reside. The chair or graduate adviser will seek to resolve the matter within 14 days from submission of the complaint, either personally or by assigning the matter to one or more faculty members."

Not only did this professor neglect to inform the student of her right to academic grievance, but he actually expressed to her that students have no such right!

Second, in some instances teaching assistants (TAs) or professors may exhibit academic dishonesty. A TA of mine lost the class' grades for a lab report. Weeks later, the class was told to resubmit the graded report. But, some students, including me, had not kept the report. I resubmitted the ungraded report and later received an e-mail from this TA saying "as far as I remember u had got a (score omitted) on this one. DO u remember anything from memory? I dont think that i am going to regrade that report ... if u remember let me know ur score ... or I will go with the (score omitted)."

Other students received similar e-mails. The handbook dictates the consequences of academic dishonesty for students, but no consequences for dishonest TAs or professors are listed. The handbook does state, "Graduate programs review students' academic progress annually and recommendations for readmission are made. Satisfactory academic progress in a program involves maintaining the professional standards expected in a particular discipline or program." The behavior of this TA was certainly not professional, but the handbook does not define "unprofessional behavior" or list its consequences. Thus, it is unlikely that this TA would suffer any consequences for her unethical actions.

Finally, the TA system at Brandeis is very disorganized for most multiple-section laboratory classes. Teaching assistants grade lab reports for their own sections and grades are then scaled within each section. This is unfair for many reasons.

1. Lab sections are too small to get an accurate grade distribution.

2. Small sections make it statistically likely that one section may have students who perform better overall than do students in another section, yet the grades are still curved to the same average for each section. Thus, students who display stronger performance may in fact receive lower grades.

3. Some laboratory classes are scaled down so that each section may receive the same average grade. Therefore, if a TA is lenient and gives all high grades, all students in his section will receive the average grade (usually a B).

4. Finally, participation grades usually factor into the final grade. These grades are determined largely by the TA, yet no standardized system exists to rate students.

Therefore, TA partiality is a concern. As one can easily see, luck determines a student's final grade almost as much as his performance. Grading will be much more just if strict guidelines designate exactly how lab reports should be graded. Guidelines imposed by professors would eliminate TA bias and the need for a curved grading system.

I'm sure the previously mentioned instances of injustice within the grading system are but a few of the infractions that actually occur. Grades often determine a person's future; thus, it is crucial for students to be aware of their right to challenge unfair grades that may deter their admission to a good graduate school. In addition, as more students challenge current grading practices, TAs and professors will be more motivated to set up fairer, more honest systems of grading.

-- Lynne Gauthier '04 submits a column to the Justice.