Assessing students’ right to Grade Consultation Day

One of the academic rights of students stipulated in the student handbook is their right to see their final examination papers and the computation of their final grades during Grade Consultation Day (GCD). The GCD, typically held before the term officially ends and after final exams week, is a time for students and professors to clarify concerns regarding grade computations and class standings.

The student handbook also states that the departments must ensure that the said professors will be present at the consultation, where students can voice out their concerns. The provision also emphasizes that students are “entitled to an ample duration of time to consult with the professor.”

Despite most professors announcing a fixed schedule for GCD, some professors prefer conducting online consultations where the breakdown of grades are posted via online groups or sent via e-mail. Some other professors even fail to show up during the scheduled GCD. These circumstances leave students questioning the regulations relevant to the GCD.

Schedules, policies, and low turnouts

Every term, the official schedule for GCD is determined by the different college departments before being handed ahead of time to their faculty members, who are all mandated to be present on GCD. Likewise, a copy of the schedule is released and disseminated online to the students with the help of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as My.LaSalle.

In cases where a student is not aware of the consultation schedule of a professor, the student is expected to ask the professor for the schedule. In turn, the professor must also be knowledgeable about his own GCD schedule.

“Clear communication between the student and the professor is a must,” states Dante Leoncini, president of the Faculty Association. This way, GCD becomes fair both for faculty members and students, he explains.

There are no strict guidelines when it comes to GCD. However, in cases where professors don’t show up to their scheduled GCD, Leoncini encourages students to go straight to the professor’s respective department and report the absence of the professor. On the other hand, the professor should find a way for students to still be able to consult about their grades. A common suggestion is to conduct consultation through e-mail or online groups, such as on Facebook.

When it comes to incidents where a professor is unable to return quizzes or exams, Leoncini mentions that there is no existing policy regarding the matter. However, he believes that professors should be able to return outputs to the students between one to two weeks before the GCD.

It is also a common occurrence for the GCD to have a low turnout in attendance. Leoncini shares that, from the three classes he handled last term, only three students showed up during the GCD. With the presence of online means of communication between the professors and the students, the turnout for the students attending GCD have been relatively low for the past years.

On the students’ side

Although there are doubts on the relevance of GCD, some students still believe that it has advantages as well as disadvantages.

One positive aspect of GCD, according to Clarisse Po (IV, BS-MGT), is that it is only done for one day. The students do not have to go back to school again during the break and there is also a fixed schedule for the consultation times, she shares.

Meanwhile, Alice* (III, BS-APC) explains that grade consultation “allows students to have a sense of control over their grades in terms of having the opportunity and right to ensure that they get the grades they deserve.” She points out that attending GCD has allowed her to correct miscalculations in her grade on several occasions.

For Rebecca* (V, BS-APC), the GCD is especially helpful for students with concerns such as excused absences and miscalculated grades. However, she laments that some students use the GCD for their unfair advantage, when they bargain for extra credit by begging, asking for additional requirements, or simply being present at the GCD.

However, despite having a given schedule for GCD, Po notes that she has noticed that some classes were not listed on the schedule.

In this light, Alice suggests that better scheduling practices must be implemented. She shares, “I had a professor once [who] told the class that her grade consultation day was on a certain date. When I got to school, she wasn’t there anymore, so basically there was no grade consultation. I wasted my entire day waiting for her and she didn’t even bother to consider online consultation.”

Alice, however, commends the fact that there are now more professors starting to use the internet to communicate with their students for GCD.

On instances where a professor does show up, Mary Novales (III, BS-LGL) acknowledges that the professors do show the breakdown of grades and provide explanation as to how the grades were computed.

On the low attendance turnout to GCD, students note that various factors can prevent students from attending GCD. Alice observes that the possibility of conflicting GCD schedules can potentially prevent students from consulting with all of their professors for the term.

The issues faced both by the students and professors call for a revisiting of the policies and implementation of the GCD. Although the overall process of GCD seems informal to students despite what is at stake, Leoncini says, “It is simply an opportunity for students to be informed.” He suggests that there should be more dialogue between the students and professors in terms of complying with the GCD schedule and policies.

*Name changed for anonymity