We all have pet peeves. If you're a journalist, perhaps we share a few. Poor grammar is at the top of the list. I have collected some common mistakes—mostly from people I drove insane. I love learning these, and I love sharing. But people take that obsession as self-righteous or annoying. So, I would rather share these blunders with those of like mind, and more importantly, I want to know what you've found so I can annoy even more. Together we can fix the world . . . one comma splice at a time.
Universities are notorious for making a student’s job complicated—figuring out what classes to take, how they affect a degree plan, and how the heck GPA works. At UNM, my life has been quite complicated. I basically have to plan my entire future every semester—over and over again, based on the class schedule, graduation stipulations and all of the wrenches that get thrown at me from my advisors. Trying to get honors in the process has made things all the more complicated.
This semester, I was informed by my advisor that , YES! I will graduate this semester, but oh, no . . . no honors for me. Though I have earned honors, they won’t give it to me because half of my education was at CNM. They stipulate that 98 credit hours must be earned on a UNM campus to be eligible for honors. As much combing of fine print as I have done every semester, I missed that one. The saddest part – I only need one more class to meet those hours, and it’s too late to register now. So, I have to decide to graduate without honors or pay for another class next semester simply to get those 98 hours. I chose the latter. Now I will graduate a semester later, throwing my life completely off because of one class—a class that is not even required. Whatever elective I want to take is fine because I will have met the requirements for both my majors.
I have spent years of my life taking 18-21 credit hours each semester, juggling required courses and living through educational hell so I can graduate this semester. But I didn’t work this hard to live without honor. I am not happy.
There are over 35,000 students at UNM and its branch campuses. But what is interesting to me is that the average GPA at graduation is 3.04. Over 1200 will graduate every semester. But only 275 graduate with honors. Only 60 of those will get the highest honor, Summa Cum Laude, which requires a 3.9 GPA. What’s wrong with this picture? That means as a student, I have only a 5 percent chance at receiving this honor. The percentages are the same for Magna Cum Laude, which requires a 3.75 GPA. (In other words, 10 percent of students receive one of these honors.) Are UNM students really that stoned in class? I don’t think so. I doubt these scores—or students—are much different than other universities.
I am one semester from graduating, and I have exhausted myself trying to get an A+ at this university. I have never got one. I have never got less than an A- either, but that still means I don’t cut it. I will probably not make Summa Cum Laude, unless by some freak act of nature someone decides to give me an A+ this semester. That’s the other wrench—UNM doesn’t care about my GPA from CNM. If they did, I would make it. But now I will sacrifice my 3.9 because I didn’t get my entire education at one university. I’m not saying I have always given an A+ effort, but I have many times, and I am always devastated to find out that when I have worked my darndest, I still walk out with an A, or even an A-. This is entirely discouraging. Why is it that professors won’t give an A+? Why does every syllabus I have seen at UNM include an A+ option if it doesn’t exist? I attended a class where I received a 100 on every paper with the exception of one 98. I got an A in the class, not an A+. I suppose Mr. C student got his C on a curve, but there is no curve for me. The harder you try, the less opportunity you have to get a better grade. I know many students who have gotten curved grades. I never get one. I guess if I just showed up to class and gave little effort I could get a pity degree. But I am just not cut out for that. So, now, I will have to take the Magna Cum Laude and kick myself for something I really had little control over. I am happy I am getting the honors I am getting, don't get me wrong. But it bothers me that there was a carrot dangling in front of me all this time when "they" know it will never happen. I guess my best wasn’t good enough.
I retrieved the data for this post from the following URLs:
http://www.unm.edu/~thegrad/AACRAOGraduationProject.ppt - Graduation information http://www.unm.edu/~oir/factbook/2005FB/1st%20Version/sld014.htm - UNM fact book http://www.unm.edu/~oir/cds/2004-05/cds_200405.htm -Enrollment and Persistence
I enjoyed your column. Are you really going to delay your graduation and then take an elective class (to meet the 98-hour residency requirement) so you can graduate with honors? Could you petition the College of Arts and Sciences to waive the 3 hours?
Hi, thanks. Yes, I am. I was told by my advisor that she has no control over it, and she did point me in another direction to appeal, but my understanding is that it is highly unlikely, and if they did approve it, it will take so long that I may end up finding out a week before graduation that I will or will not have it when I walk the stage. My family will be coming in from Oregon, Texas and Florida, so I can’t plan it last minute. The whole thing has been so stressful that I decided to give up and just do it next semester. Crazy.
4 comments:
Universities are notorious for making a student’s job complicated—figuring out what classes to take, how they affect a degree plan, and how the heck GPA works. At UNM, my life has been quite complicated. I basically have to plan my entire future every semester—over and over again, based on the class schedule, graduation stipulations and all of the wrenches that get thrown at me from my advisors. Trying to get honors in the process has made things all the more complicated.
This semester, I was informed by my advisor that , YES! I will graduate this semester, but oh, no . . . no honors for me. Though I have earned honors, they won’t give it to me because half of my education was at CNM. They stipulate that 98 credit hours must be earned on a UNM campus to be eligible for honors. As much combing of fine print as I have done every semester, I missed that one. The saddest part – I only need one more class to meet those hours, and it’s too late to register now. So, I have to decide to graduate without honors or pay for another class next semester simply to get those 98 hours. I chose the latter. Now I will graduate a semester later, throwing my life completely off because of one class—a class that is not even required. Whatever elective I want to take is fine because I will have met the requirements for both my majors.
I have spent years of my life taking 18-21 credit hours each semester, juggling required courses and living through educational hell so I can graduate this semester. But I didn’t work this hard to live without honor. I am not happy.
There are over 35,000 students at UNM and its branch campuses. But what is interesting to me is that the average GPA at graduation is 3.04. Over 1200 will graduate every semester. But only 275 graduate with honors. Only 60 of those will get the highest honor, Summa Cum Laude, which requires a 3.9 GPA. What’s wrong with this picture? That means as a student, I have only a 5 percent chance at receiving this honor. The percentages are the same for Magna Cum Laude, which requires a 3.75 GPA. (In other words, 10 percent of students receive one of these honors.) Are UNM students really that stoned in class? I don’t think so. I doubt these scores—or students—are much different than other universities.
I am one semester from graduating, and I have exhausted myself trying to get an A+ at this university. I have never got one. I have never got less than an A- either, but that still means I don’t cut it. I will probably not make Summa Cum Laude, unless by some freak act of nature someone decides to give me an A+ this semester. That’s the other wrench—UNM doesn’t care about my GPA from CNM. If they did, I would make it. But now I will sacrifice my 3.9 because I didn’t get my entire education at one university. I’m not saying I have always given an A+ effort, but I have many times, and I am always devastated to find out that when I have worked my darndest, I still walk out with an A, or even an A-. This is entirely discouraging. Why is it that professors won’t give an A+? Why does every syllabus I have seen at UNM include an A+ option if it doesn’t exist? I attended a class where I received a 100 on every paper with the exception of one 98. I got an A in the class, not an A+. I suppose Mr. C student got his C on a curve, but there is no curve for me. The harder you try, the less opportunity you have to get a better grade. I know many students who have gotten curved grades. I never get one. I guess if I just showed up to class and gave little effort I could get a pity degree. But I am just not cut out for that. So, now, I will have to take the Magna Cum Laude and kick myself for something I really had little control over. I am happy I am getting the honors I am getting, don't get me wrong. But it bothers me that there was a carrot dangling in front of me all this time when "they" know it will never happen. I guess my best wasn’t good enough.
I retrieved the data for this post from the following URLs:
http://www.unm.edu/~thegrad/AACRAOGraduationProject.ppt - Graduation information
http://www.unm.edu/~oir/factbook/2005FB/1st%20Version/sld014.htm - UNM fact book
http://www.unm.edu/~oir/cds/2004-05/cds_200405.htm -Enrollment and Persistence
I enjoyed your column. Are you really going to delay your graduation and then take an elective class (to meet the 98-hour residency requirement) so you can graduate with honors? Could you petition the College of Arts and Sciences to waive the 3 hours?
Hi, thanks.
Yes, I am. I was told by my advisor that she has no control over it, and she did point me in another direction to appeal, but my understanding is that it is highly unlikely, and if they did approve it, it will take so long that I may end up finding out a week before graduation that I will or will not have it when I walk the stage. My family will be coming in from Oregon, Texas and Florida, so I can’t plan it last minute. The whole thing has been so stressful that I decided to give up and just do it next semester. Crazy.
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