WGU likes to say that it's just so easy to submit something until you get it to the grader's satisfaction, but I'm here to tell you that that is not entirely true. Let me explain. (Please remember that I am only referring to the graduate-level courses as I believe that the undergrad are structured differently.) First, the tasks are defined as either "3-Level" or "5-Level" tasks depending on the rubric criteria. For example, on a 3-level task, you must earn a "satisfactory" or a 2 on each task to pass it. This is also the highest score you can receive. For a 5-level task, there are 5 possible categories and you must receive a minimum of a 3/competent to pass. This rubric also has a 4/highly competent score for when you really kick ass. The 5-level tasks are considered to be more rigorous since there is more variation within the grading system. A 3-level task is basically a pass/fail since anything below a 2/satisfactory does not meet the minimum requirements.
For more information, or to see that I'm not making this stuff up, check out this link.
With this new knowledge, I couldn't re-submit the paper again without gathering more information for the "what if..." scenario. What if I don't pass this, my fourth and final time? Would I fail the class? (Remember, as of April 1, I no longer need it because I'll be in a different MBA program that doesn't require this class.) Would I have to pay a fee to the grader to re-grade the paper? What? I also knew that I had to do something that I didn't want to do: Contact the the idiot who pretends to be a course mentor for this class. I need to get his insight as to what I could do to improve. I also wanted to ask him what happened if I didn't pass this time.
I first contacted Kelly, my student mentor to see what she had to say about the consequences if I needed a 5th try. The answer that I got from her was, "You don't want to let that happen. You'll have to go through an appeals process and you don't want to do that." This answer confuses me because I'm not asking to appeal the grades, just find out what needs to happen to allow me to submit the paper a 5th time. I sent her an email stating this.
I heard from the course mentor as well. This guy is such an asshole. Seriously, the guy hasn't had an original thought since 1992. He didn't do what I thought he would do, asking me to call him. Instead, he copied and pasted exactly what the grader had written. See? I told you he doesn't have original thought.)
Here's where I am now. I just submitted Task 3 for the fourth time this evening. Honestly, the textbook for this class is so poor, I don't understand what I even wrote. All I could do was paraphrase what was written in the book. I've looked everywhere but in that book for definitions. I wish that I could write this and say with any confidence, "I nailed this one, I just know it!" I still don't understand what the questions were asking, nor what the grader wanted. I'm becoming lazy and I know it. I'm too afraid to look too far beyond the text because the grader might not be familiar with it and thus, I get graded down for it.
This week I've been travelling. It's GeekCon 2012. This was the week when I was supposed to be supporting my husband as he tries to further his business. It was also supposed to be my spring break, where the last think that I thought about was school. I need a mental break. I'm getting burned out. This class is draining my mental energy and damaging my confidence. Just like with running, I can hang with it for a very long time, but I need to know that there is a finish line. I'm not sure if my finish line is 12 months from now, or in 3-5 days, which is the standard grading period.
You know I'll let you know when I find out what the answer to my question, "What happens if I don't pass on the 4th try of a 5 level task?".
In the meantime, wish me luck friends.
Forward.