Concordia goes to court over changing grade

By: Mr. Kaya

Concordia political science student, William Groombridge, has taken the university to court due to an incorrect letter grade.

According to The Link, Groombridge had completed an elective political science course in Energy Policy in December of 2011 with a final grade of 81 per cent after the final exam. This grade would leave Groombridge with an A-minus, as the departments grading systems grants students with a grade of 80 to 84 per cent is an A-minus

However, when Groombridge received his final grade it had gone down one letter grade to a B-plus.

Groombridge has stated that this is a violation of a contract between the student and the university, which was clearly laid out in the course outline. It is Groombridge’s belief that the department has broken that agreement. 

Groombridge had attempted to sort the situation out with Casba Nikolenyi, the chair of the political science department, before taking his issue to small claims court, however Nikolenyi told Groombridge that his grade was final.

           Groombridge continued to question several bodies at the university over the next few months however he had no luck ever reaching a solution to his problem. Groombridge tried to set up a meeting with the dean of the political science department however his attempts were not successful.

           A demand letter was then delivered to the university by a bailiff that Groombridge had paid.

           Groombridge asked for a refund for the course on April 19^th because of non-performance and failure to respect terms of agreement. Concordia’s Office of the General Council contacted Groombridge and told him he would receive a response. This never happened.

            After their deadline expired, Groombridge filed his case, which caused the university to file a defense.

            As it currently stands under Section 16.3.1 of Concordia’s Undergraduate Calendar, the university reserves the right to make corrections to a students grade at any time in case of error.

            In Groombridge’s class, roughly 45 per cent of the grades in question were in the A range. However, due to policies grades had been curved because marks were seen as being too high. In this case, the policy was not enforced properly.

            Professor Felix von Geyer, now former Concordia part-time professor who had taught Groombridge’s class claims that he took the students who were at the lowest end of the scale of an A-minus and brought them down to a B-plus.

             This is a new policy in the political science department and one that doesn’t seem to have any written form. The Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association has requested a copy of the policy to review however one was not provided.

   Groombridge is now waiting for a court date but does not expect to see any results in the near future.