 "Photo:")
University of Massachusetts student Brian C. Marquis felt a grade he received last semester was unfair.
In early January, he expressed this concern to university officials, but his grade remained unchanged.
Now Marquis is taking his complaint to a new level: He's suing UMass.
In an attempt to raise questions about the school's grading policies, Marquis filed a lawsuit against the university and its respective staff members last month, which lists 15 counts, including violation of the first amendment and breach of contract.
"It's a tragic incident," said Marquis, a 50-year-old legal studies and sociology double-major who is a registered paralegal and had a firm before enrolling at UMass. "Perhaps this is one of the ways that they'll listen to me, they'll take my claim seriously."
Marquis will represent himself in the case. After he serves the university with the complaint, a conference hearing will take place.
The dispute is over the final grade Marquis received in Philosophy 161: Problems in Social Thought, a course he took during the Fall 2006 semester. Marquis' final numerical grade for the class was an 84, which translated into a C for the semester.
Marquis alleges his exams, papers and participation grades for the semester equal 92.1, not 84. He said he deserves an A- in the course. Before filing a complaint with the district attorney's office on Jan. 31, Marquis exchanged e-mails with Jeremy Cushing, the T.A. who taught the course and gave Marquis the C.
"To make the grades more representative of student performance, I set a curve (or, more accurately, I drew up a new grade scale)," reads an e-mail from Cushing to Marquis dated Jan. 10, 2007. At the end of the e-mail, Cushing stated, "I thought your grade was a good reflection of your work."
Phillip Bricker, Philosophy Department Chair, and Cushing would not comment on this case because of the university's confidentiality rules regarding students.
"I'm afraid all I can really say is that I did everything in my power to see that Brian was treated fairly during the class and during every step of his appeal process," wrote Cushing in an e-mail to The Daily Collegian yesterday.
Last month, Marquis also received an e-mail from Catharine Porter, the UMass Ombudsperson. Porter's Jan. 12, 2007 e-mail states she met with Cushing and discussed the final grade scale that resulted in a C.
According to her e-mail, professors at UMass can develop their own grading scale. "For example, 84 points could range anywhere from a 'C' to possibly an 'A-' at the extreme end," wrote Porter.
Porter concluded the e-mail by urging Marquis "to accept this grade and continue on with your course work as there were no grounds for an academic grievance." Marquis described this statement as "highly dangerous."
"I didn't earn a C, I earned an A- and I should be entitled to what I earned," said Marquis. "All I want is what I earned. I earned it and I don't want to lose it."
Marquis is charging the university with 15 counts, including Violation of First Amendment, Breach of Contract and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress. According to the complaint's "Entitlement To Relief," Marquis is seeking monetary, retroactive, and prospective relief. He is also trying to get his grade changed to an A-, along with seven other objectives.
He is also hoping this case will raise awareness about the university's grading policy. He said there needs to be rules in place when professors and teaching assistants change a grading scale.
"My complaint is not an indictment on the highly educated and highly motivated and student oriented faculty," said Marquis. "I'm doing this to set up a structure. This type of action can never happen again. It can't happen and it shouldn't happen to anyone."
Marquis said he would rather not have filed a lawsuit, but feels this is one of the ways his concerns will be taken seriously. A commuter student, Marquis travels about an hour to and from Lanesborough, Mass. everyday. He said he has aspirations to go to law school after he graduates, and a C on his transcript could hinder that goal.
According to the complaint, two other students in the class earned grades of 83.5 and 84.5, and also received a mark of C. Because of this, Marquis requested class action certification on the complaint, in case the other two students come forward.
"The other two students also motivated me," said marquis. "I don't know who they are, I don't know what their future plans are, but they deserve what they earned. They earned Bs, and they should have Bs."
Eric Athas can be reached at editor@dailycollegian.com.
