OnlineProfessor

You ever wonder why an instructor doesn’t just give you a point to push you to the next grade? What would it hurt to give you a point that moves you from a C+ to a B-? Well, here’s why instructors often do not budge when it comes to giving away even the smallest fraction of points.

• Instructors like to keep things fair. As the saying goes, if a instructor gives you a point then, to be fair, the instructor needs to give a point to everyone. Few people are willing to do that.
• You should get what you earned. Quite often when a student asks me to “give them” a point to help them pass, I look over their assignments and find that almost always, they neglected to complete all the assignments. So if they are missing a point to pass, they should understand that they squandered that opportunity on their own earlier in the term. It’s not the instructor’s responsibility to give you points. It’s the student’s responsibility to earn every point.
• Academic institutions frown upon this practice. Honestly, instructors can get into trouble with the Deans or Academic Directors for giving points away just to help a student pass. This is an ethical issue, and it’s taken very seriously by the administration. Instructors these days need to account for every point, and they can be questioned at any time about their grading practices. So most instructors, even if they want to give you that point, will not risk damaging their reputation with the school to do so.
• Academic integrity makes your diploma mean something. If a school gains the reputation for lenient grading practices, over time, this means your diploma won’t carry as much weight. The value of getting your degree is that you survived and conquered the toils of higher education. If the school you attended becomes known for grade inflation, this tarnishes your diploma and your own reputation.

Of course, if there was a grading error, instructors will often be happy to make that correction and add the missing points. However, this is a justified point adjustment that is not deemed arbitrary by the school’s administration. So it’s a little different in that case.

The important element is to complete all your assignments, no matter how small, because you never know if you might need those points later on down the line.