- Target:
- John Capone, McMaster Dean of Science
- Region:
- Canada
The disclaimer in the course outline states that:
The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.
Is this really reasonable to be re-assigned an assignment which was cancelled due to the teaching assistant strike? This assignment was originally due on November 27th. The new deadline is December 4th.
This is an assessment that is worth more than 15% of the students' final mark. During lectures, the Professor told the class that there are to be 4-5 weeks to work on these group projects. However, we now have only 3 weeks remaining to complete the assignment.
These 3 weeks fall in the busiest weeks of the semester. We have midterms in every class, assignments due, various other group projects, etc. We even have a midterm for THIS CLASS this week – preventing any group from successfully co-ordinating a meeting of any kind to discuss the project!
Just this Friday, it was suggested by the Professor himself to split the weighting of the project into two: 7.5% of the mark towards our best midterm and 7.5% of the mark towards the final exam. This seemed like a very reasonable idea. It lasted less than a few hours.
ASK YOURSELF:
Am I willing to sacrifice 15% of my final course grade? Am I able to perform to the best of my abilities in a group with people I do not know during such a stressful time period, on such short notice?
I motion for the class to take a stand. This course assignment has been on very shaky ground for a very long time and as such, should not have an influence on our final course grade.
To the Dean of Science:
We, the undersigned, are forced to call upon a higher level of authority to question the Chem Bio 2P03 Group Assignment that is to constitute 15% of the students' final grade.
The Senate adequately identifies certain rights that apply to students in the event of a work stoppage. Namely it is that students shall be kept informed in a timely manner of any changes to the course requirements and the rescheduling of any academic activities. If accommodations to course requirements are made with the agreement of both the instructor(s) and student(s), the alternate arrangements cannot be reversed without the agreement of both parties.
As a whole, we feel that it is unreasonable to be re-assigned an assignment which was cancelled due to the teaching assistant strike. This assignment was originally due on November 27th. The new deadline is December 4th - giving us three weeks to complete this task, rather than the five weeks as was originally mentioned by the Professor himself. These three weeks fall in the busiest weeks of the semester.
Due to the highly unreasonable circumstances, we believe that this course assignment should not have an influence on our final course grade.
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The Cancel the Unreasonable 2P03 Group Assignment petition to John Capone, McMaster Dean of Science was written by Sarah Lal and is in the category Education at GoPetition.