Spring 2020 Semester is Over

Final grades have been submitted to KeanWise.  When they distribute them to you I have no idea.  This was an unusual semester.  The range of grades was from A to F, which is normal enough.  Failures were mostly for not turning in work. Out of 31 students, 11 never submitted a paper, and missing those 25% of points digs a big hole.  13 students didn't complete one or more of the two major projects, worth 20% each. Most did some of the portfolio, but some submitted nothing.  It all adds up.  At the request from above, all late and absence penalties were eliminated, which boosted some grades. 

The university's solution to the corvid problem was to create a Pass/Fail option for students- you may invoke it for up to two classes from the spring, and the grades on your transcript will be changed to Pass or Fail and the class will be removed from your GPA.  Not a complete solution, but it may benefit some students.  This has to be done through your academic advisor, so they are the ones to ask about it.  I don't know if this is the final decision of the university, so keep your eyes open for future changes.

From my point of view, one of the biggest disappointments of this semester is that the students don't get to see all the final projects, some of which are quite good.  As the professor I got to see everything that was submitted to me. I'm going to share some with you now.   These are ones that I particularly liked, and ones that also allowed me to download them.  They do show the possibilities of the assignment and found materials.  I've included the phrase that inspired them.

Some examples of Final Projects

Delicate Wilderness

In from the dreams

Crazy for desires

Isle of Love

Coincidental Wilderness

Perhaps there will be more images later, or maybe some of the other projects.  Depends on the time.  (during the last week of the semester I received over 300 student emails, most of which had attached images or papers to be gone through) Grades are in, so now it's time for assessments.  Luckily for students this has nothing to do with grades, just some fun we teachers get.  Each student has to be evaluated in 10 different categories, given one of 4 or 5 levels achieved.  Maybe it's due in a few days, maybe in a week. 

Enjoy your summer, and good luck with the fall.