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Online Class Not Included in GPA

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In the fall of 2008, my daughter, who was a sophomore, took a course online because the school could not fit the in-class course into her schedule. It was approved by the principal and chair of the Math Department prior to her enrolling in the online class. When she received her final report card in June 2009, this online course was not recorded. The following are the communications between my daughter and the principal.

Hi Mr. Principal:

I hope you are enjoying your summer so far. I received my report card today and was very satisfied with my grades (I also enjoyed reading the marajuana pamphlet
:D
), but I noticed that one of my classes was missing: Advanced Pre-Calculus. I called somebody from the guidance office to make sure that this course was included with my credits and GPA, but she said that since it was taken online, it does not count. (WHAT?!
:)
)

"Oh great," I thought. "All that year's-worth of intense studying packed in three stressful months was for nothing." Is it true that this course doesn't count? The provider Johns Hopkins University is a reputable source... and I even gave my score report and "certificate of authenticity" to my guidance counselor. I would grealy appreciate it if you approved my Pre-Calc through JHU as a credit-receiving, GPA-boosting course. Please, please?

Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Have a good day.

Hi Miss Student:

It is true that on-line classes are not included in the calculation of GPA. When determining class rank, we only count Our High School classes taught here and those taken as part of our cooperation with the Next Town High School.. As Principal, I approve (or not) he awarding of credit for various courses completed outside Our High School.

I don't believe that the course was taken for nothing. First of all, It satisfies Our High School credit requirement that allows you to progress toward graduation. Second, it allows you to move on to the next level of study in mathematics. Third, JHU is a very prestigious school and your successful completion of the course will be looked upon favorably by college admissions counselors.

I trust this answers your question. Have a fun and relaxing summer and we'll se you as we get close to next school year.

Hi Mr. Principal:

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my message. I noticed, however, that you did not include a rationale or reference to a policy as to why online classes are not included in the calculation of GPA. To satisfy my curiosity, I can do the research myself, with other schools as well as the state. I recently sent you an official transcript from Johns Hopkins for the Precalculus course. As you can or will see on the transcript, my final grade was a 99, and according to the grading system in the Student Handbook, it is an "A+." Who was responsible for recording an "A" on Our School transcript for this class? Maybe I should discuss this with him/her. If we cannot resolve this through email, do you think we should meet?

Hope you are enjoying the sun! (Who knows how long that will last?)

Hi Miss Student:

The rationale for not including on-line courses in GPA calculation and class rank determination is that they are not reasonably available to all students. To keep the playing field level in this competition, we include only those courses that are taught by Our High School or those taken as part of our cooperation with Next Town High School. As you know, there is no school money available to pay for on-line classes and sonme students would not be able to afford them.

As for your request to amend your Our High School transcript to show an A+ from JHU, I will forward that to the registrar to make that change.

My 15-year old daughter's response to this last correspondence was "It's not very objectivists. He's taking away from what I earned just because others cannot pay for it."

What do you think?

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What do you think?

Your daughter's exactly right.

Regardless of other considerations, her grade should count in her GPA. Regarding practical considerations, how much of a difference does it make? Her course of action largely depends on the answer to that question.

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I'm not sure I understand what's going on.

In the fall of 2008, my daughter, who was a sophomore, took a course online because the school could not fit the in-class course into her schedule.

Her school schedule was too full? There were other classes she wanted to take more than the Calculus? Did she not take a math class?

It was approved by the principal and chair of the Math Department prior to her enrolling in the online class.

What does "approved" entail? Did the principal and Math chair claim this class would be treated just like any other class? Why did it need to be approved?

When she received her final report card in June 2009, this online course was not recorded.

But here:

First of all, It satisfies Our High School credit requirement that allows you to progress toward graduation.

Who was responsible for recording an "A" on Our School transcript for this class?

As for your request to amend your Our High School transcript to show an A+ from JHU, I will forward that to the registrar to make that change.

Make it sound as if she did receive credit and the class appears on her transcript. Was this done only after your daughter brought it to the principal's attention?

My initial reaction is:

Your daughter should have made sure the class would be treated just like any class taken at the high school. You've chosen a particular form of schooling, and you need to abide by the rules of that system.

While this:

As Principal, I approve (or not) he awarding of credit for various courses completed outside Our High School.

is clearly subjective, your daughter knew, or should've known that going in.

I don't see what the big deal is, really. Your daughter knows she did the class, knows she did well in the class, and knows the class will help in the future. It's on her school transcripts, so colleges will know how well she did in the class. Why does she care about how she's placed among those unwilling to do the extra work she did? Especially given the fact that this one class could not have had that much of an impact on her GPA.

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"It's not very objectivists. He's taking away from what I earned just because others cannot pay for it."

What do you think?

Well, the very existence of his job (qua public school principal) is "not very Objectivist". Basically, the school system is rife with egalitarianism, so the silly rules that follow from this are to be expected.

Other than that abstract thought, I suppose the best way to argue this further is to point out that you ought to have been told about this when the course was allowed. Not sure if you have a case there, because the school may give reasons why you should have known this policy. Other than that, the principal speaks of competition, when referring to class-rank. In this particular instance, will the inclusion actually make a significant difference in class-rank? If not, you can probably argue for an exception, so that the GPA reflects it, and that better GPA can be reported for college admission, without significant change to the class-rank. From the principal's letter, I assume you paid for to course. If not, that would be another way to argue the case.

Be persistent. Sometimes, that itself can help, since people will try to get rid of the "nuisance".

All the best.

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This policy makes sense if you compare it to the rules at colleges and universities. For example, many people that attended my University were out-of-state students that went home for the summer. While at home, they took more classes at local colleges and universities to give them more credits towards graduating, but those courses could not count towards their GPA's because they were not taken at the University at which they were graduating. They got credit towards a degree, but not points towards their GPA.

I understand that this is not what the principal said as a rationale, and what he gave is nothing more than a terrible excuse. But, nonetheless, the policy itself does make sense to me.

Edited by Alex H
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I was very interested in reading your various opinions. Your posts offered more insight and helped me think about how I should handle the situation or not. They also helped to further relate this situation to objectivism. I am currently reading Atlas Shrugged, and I enjoy learning more about this philosophy. Thank you for taking your time to respond.

logan's daughter

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Good for your daughter! It sounds like she's on the right track and reading AS will only help. :)

The reasoning for the class not being included is disgusting and evil, of course.

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