This week, more students than ever are asking for their grades. This is not because undergrads have suddenly turned into strikebreakers en masse, or because anything has actually changed regarding how missing grades may affect them. It’s because they’ve been freaked out by a bunch of misleading messages from admin, that suggest undergraduates would be seriously harmed by not asking for grades. Our line has been that we “submit grades for any student who says they need their grade urgently, no questions asked”. We don’t want to change that, but we want to help undergraduates understand how they’ll be affected, and whether they really need their grade immediately. Here are some ways you could respond to students asking for their grades this week.
- Send the attached flow chart for students to determine if they need us to submit grades to the institution.
- Ask for an in-person meeting to talk through their concerns. Stress the importance of the continued withholding of grades: at the end of this, we want to better serve undergraduates and their education. In an in-person meeting, you can tell them their grades without a problem – if they want their grades via email, have them fill out a FERPA waiver.
- In addition, you could invite all members of last quarter’s section to a “strike office hours”.
- For those of you who don’t have time/ energy to meet: email your students, laying out the situations in which they will not be affected. These are laid out in the flowchart attached to this email, and in more detail in the undergraduate FAQs. Also, if they fill out a FERPA waiver, you can send them their grade. See the template for an email below.
- Talk with your department. In certain cases, such as when they require their grade to declare a major or minor, you can arrange this within your department – they don’t need to submit this to the registrar. Cordially ask your department if they would be willing to help support the strike by receiving grades from you, but not submitting to the registrar.
Template for undergraduate email
Dear [x],
Thanks for your concern and patience as the strike continues. While I’ll send grades to any student who needs their grade urgently – no questions asked – I want to make sure you’re informed of what circumstances may be more urgent than others. If you still feel that you need your grade urgently after, say so and I’ll submit it to the registrar.
I would love to meet with you in person to talk about your concerns. In person, I’ll be able to tell you your grade informally. I can also do so over email, though this requires you to fill out a FERPA waiver.
Please consult the flowchart below, designed as a handy tool to help clarify what situations will be immediately urgent for you. For more details, consult our undergraduate FAQs.
An important point – administration wants to end this strike. They want undergraduates to feel that TAs are harming them. So communications such as the January 6th email from Lori Kletzer, or the messages you’ll see on Canvas, are designed to make you feel that you are in danger of harm if the TAs do not submit your grades. These messages are often misleading, so I would be happy to give you more information to help you understand if/how you will actually be affected.
For COLA,
S.