Everybody complains about it, but a mere student lacks the power to effect any type of change that might correct this problem.  It often negatively impacts every J.D. candidate at this law school, and the consequences of this behavior reverberate throughout future classes as well.  No, I'm not referring to the sanitary-less bathrooms and unpredictable classroom temperatures, I'm talking about late grades.

Tardy submission of grades is an issue of which we are all well aware.  Notwithstanding that logging into Banner only to see blank spaces instead of letters is incredibly annoying, it destroys any positive sentiment that students might have had about a course (if they can hold onto anything positive after taking the final exam), and causes a variety of other troubles.  Ian Moss, a 2L J.D. Candidate actively involved at the law school, is among those students who are currently struggling with an incomplete transcript.  "There is a lot of frustration among students," Ian said, "particularly those of us yet to find summer employment.  We need our grades!"

One 3L commented that she "can understand that professors are very busy and have any number of classes with many students to attend to, but it's frustrating to be anticipating grades so many weeks after we took the final exam."  And, of course, most students feel the same way.  Ian Moss also expressed his understanding that "it takes time to grade several dozen exams," but asked, "what about the classes that only have ten or twenty students in them?"

"Frustration" seems to be the word most commonly used by students who are anxiously awaiting their marks.  In addition to being another source of stress for already on-edge law students, late submission of grades affects students' job applications and can even cause a foreclosure of opportunities.  "As rough as the job market is currently," Ian Moss explained, "applying early can make a big difference.  It is kind of hard to apply early if you don't have grades, especially those grades from classes that are closely related to the jobs to which you are applying."

For example, in my own experience as a 1L last year, not having a complete transcript adversely affected my search for summer employment in a way I'm sure many others have experienced as well.  One job in particular informed me that they were not permitted even to look at my application unless I had all of my grades.  Unfortunately, my transcript was still incomplete when their deadline passed, and consequently, I could not be considered for the position.

This tardiness also has an impact on students regarding their course selection for the following semester.  The structure of this law school is such that our entire grade for a course is often wholly dependent upon a single final examination or paper.  Consequently, students assess their understanding of the course material and responsiveness to a professor's teaching style upon receipt of their grade for that course.  It would be incredibly beneficial for students to have their grades before the next semester's Drop/Add period so that if a student performed particularly well or particularly poorly in a given course, that student can adjust his current schedule accordingly.

The aforementioned 3L stated, "it leads me to wonder, seeing as how we have blind-grading, why doesn't the school employ teaching or research assistants to help grade these exams and lighten the professors' workloads when they are obviously too busy to return grades in a timely fashion?"  Not a bad suggestion.  This option might be particularly useful when the grading is totally objective.  Ian Moss lamented, "I have friends that took multiple choice exams that still don't have their grade yet.  Seriously, they are scantrons!"

The unfortunate consequences of an incomplete transcript are a unifying force among students this year.  Hopefully, we can work towards a solution for this problem.

My sincerest apologies for the seriousness of this column.  I promise to return to a more light-hearted topic next issue! J