Would you consider yourself a strict or lenient professor?

Regardless of your answer, figuring out how to provide grades fairly can constitute a minefield of complex choices. Each student you teach may have widely-varying, hard-to-rank strengths and weaknesses, yet most school communities consider objective grades extremely important.

You're intensely aware that providing extremely low grades could have long-lasting financial impacts on a student's academic career. You know that your students will be comparing their grades and disagreeing with your choices. (And, of course, your school's administration could step in with recommendations for your grading strategy, too.)

Some schools are starting to exert pressure on professors for grading too leniently. If this sounds familiar, it may be time to make sure you have an education attorney-advisor ready to protect your career.

Why Schools are Zeroing In on Lenient Grading Practices

There are a few reasons your school might question your ability to mete out fair grades:

• Schools have reputations to maintain. Academic integrity and difficulty both play a part, as some parents and students choose schools because they're seen as challenging or rigorous.
• Schools also face complaints daily from parents and students who wonder why professors hand out extra credit or provide high grades to those apparently undeserving.
• In other cases (often resulting in splashy media stories), school administrations have asked professors to grade certain groups of students more or less leniently than others. This can call your own academic integrity into question.

Ultimately, as a professor, your ability to assign grades should be up to you. You shouldn't have to answer to allegations from students dissatisfied with their grades, suspicious of the grades you're handing out to other students, or school administrations with agendas influencing grade strategy.

Unfortunately, your school may have different ideas. If you've recently received a notification that you're grading too leniently, you need to do something about it now.

Administration Overseeing How You Grade? Call Attorney Joseph D. Lento

Providing fair grades for your students is a huge part of your job as a college professor. The ability to provide feedback on student assignments and guide them as they progress might have been one of the reasons you got into higher education.

You might not have the freedom to set your own grading standards. If someone from your university has alleged that you're providing overly-lenient grades, your administration may be able to step in and (strongly) recommend that you reconsider your grading strategy or even take action against you that jeopardizes your career.

If you require assistance negotiating with your school or protecting yourself from unfair leniency allegations, you need experienced education attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento on your side. For years, Joseph D. Lento has helped professionals in higher education protect their interests, reputations, and career prospects. Attorney Lento and the Lento Law Firm can do the same for you. Contact us at 888.535.3686 or reach out online to learn more about the Lento Law Firm's services.