Re: Tutoring

[Robert A Cohen <bbq@ESU.EDU>]

On Fri, 19 Feb 1999, Wes Davis wrote:

>     At least ONE professor at UCLA has solved the old tutoring problem
> in General Education Physics.  'Mark'  (call me Mark, says his syllabus)
> guarantees students at least a 'C' in the class.  My daughter is taking
> Physics 10 at UCLA.  The minimum requirement for a 'C' grade is to
> "show up for one of the two midterms" (sic.) and to take the final.  There
> is no minimum grade on the tests for a C.
>
>     Granted I went to school in the '60s, but I am pretty outraged at the
> way instructors, even at noted universities, are pandering to non-science
> majors.  Heaven forbid we should hurt their self esteems by requiring them
> to actually perform!

I had to see this one for myself, so I checked the UCLA web page
  <http://www.physics.ucla.edu/class/99F/10_Cowan/syllabus.html>
and found the following part of the syllabus...

"Guaranteed passing grade of C: You will be guaranteed a passing grade,
i.e., a C, if you do the following: take the final exam (you must take the
final exam in order to pass the course!!!) , take at least one of the two
midterms, turn in 60% of the homework assignments, and turn in the
previously mentioned four page report."

This is more than just taking an exam or two.  I'm guessing that the
professor has evidence that students who do all of that work tend to do
well in the course and so there may actually be very few students who end
up doing all the work yet deserve a grade lower than a C.  Anyone have any
other information?

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| Robert Cohen               Department of Physics       |
|                            East Stroudsburg University |
| bbq@esu.edu                East Stroudsburg, PA  18301 |
| http://www.esu.edu/~bbq/   (570) 422-3428              |
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