CLAS 365 | LIT 369, Spring 2022

Click here for a downloadable, printable Google Docs version of this contract.

Rationale: One of the problems with traditional grading methods is that the idealized standards (of quality, effort, labor, learning, etc.) by which students are evaluated are presumed to be objective and equitable, when the reality is far less straightforward: just ask any student who has ever experienced discrimination on the basis of language or neurodivergence. We do not all communicate, work, or learn in the same ways, or at the same pace. At the heart of this contract, then, is an intention to define “successful” course completion in terms that are relevant to course goals, supportive of student learning, and adaptable to learners’ needs.

Caveat: This contract represents one of two options students may use to define final course grades. Through this contract, we agree collectively to a set of broad criteria by which to determine the final grade for each student, though in writing their self-assessments, students may reasonably interpret or apply the contract stipulations differently, in conversation with their own circumstances (and with the instructor in a final conference meeting). However, if this contract does not provide sufficient flexibility for a student’s particular learning goals, they may choose a more individualized assessment plan, in consultation with the instructor, the basics of which should be negotiated within the first three weeks of the semester (in this case, by February 1).

I. Commitment to Openness, Presence, Respect, and Integrity

Students agree to honor, in their work and collaboration, the values laid out in the course syllabus, including a respectful openness to each other and a commitment to honesty and integrity. We have a lot to learn from each other, but we also commit to doing, sharing, and submitting our own work, with a good-faith effort to credit and document outside sources or influences that have informed or shaped our ideas. We agree that students who misrepresent the originality of their ideas or information will not meet minimum requirements for particular tasks and may, under certain circumstances, risk a failing grade for the course. Students also know that, when in doubt, they may consult with the instructor. Otherwise we will follow the procedures for responding to academic dishonesty outlined in the most recent catalog (http://catalog.unca.edu/).

II. Plea

The instructor (Brian Graves) pledges to administer and apply this contract fairly and equitably, holding all students accountable to the stipulations of the contract. However, we also agree that in their final self-assessment, students may petition to have a breach of contract forgiven due to extenuating or unusual circumstances beyond their control, subject to approval by the instructor, whose job it is to ensure that what we may work out will not prove detrimental to others in the class. 

III. Defining Requirements for Successful Course Completion

Minimum Requirements for a Final Grade of “B”

  • Make a good-faith effort to engage actively, persistently, and reliably with the work we undertake together as a group, in and beyond our classroom, seeking by your participation not only to invest in your own learning but also to honor and respect the efforts others are making alongside you.
  • Complete a Diverse Readings Project (DRP), following the guidelines laid out in the instructions.

Earning More Than a “B” (B+, A-, A)

In essence, earning more than a B would mean going beyond what’s listed above in substantive ways. This might mean, for example, that the DRP goes beyond the minimum requirements in unexpected, surprising, or exemplary ways.

Earning Less Than a B (B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, F)

Earning less than a B may be understood along a continuum from work that is mostly complete and suggests the student has learned what they can from this course, to work that is mostly incomplete and suggests the student would benefit from taking this course, or another like it, again. Here are some places to begin, with the understanding that in-between grades (plusses & minuses) may be proposed for work at the “edges” between these descriptions:

  • A final grade of “C” signifies a submitted DRP that is more complete than incomplete, and which suggests that the student is ready to move on from CLAS 365|LIT 369. What they may have yet to learn will be best pursued in other settings.
  • A final grade of “D” signifies a submitted DRP that is more incomplete than complete, and which suggests that the student would benefit substantially from taking the course again. They still have a lot they could learn or accomplish by re-taking the course (or another like it).
  • A final grade of “F” indicates that the student failed not only to submit a DRP, but also to invest much effort in the work of the course; in effect, they did so little that they may as well not have taken the course at all.

Incomplete (I)

At the instructor’s discretion, students may be assigned a grade of “I” (incomplete) under the following conditions (as defined by the catalog): (a) Extenuating circumstances beyond a student’s control prevent completion of a “limited amount of work towards the end” of the semester; (b) the student was actively attending and passing the course (that is, keeping up with submissions and deadlines) prior to the extenuating circumstances; (c) no additional class is required to complete the missing work (as students are not permitted to attend future class sessions).

IV. Amendments 

Once we have revised and adopted this contract (with at least 85% agreement), students may propose amendments for group consideration through Tuesday, March 15. Such amendments should also be approved by at least 85% of active course participants. 

Adoption / amendment notes: 

  • Adopted, by survey, with 100% approval of enrolled students, as of 01/05/22.