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I guess I'm part of academia in the Netherlands, doing a PhD and teaching students. I have seen students who 'game' the system, but our job is not on the line i

I guess I'm part of academia in the Netherlands, doing a PhD and teaching students. I have seen students who 'game' the system, but our job is not on the line if we refuse to play ball. This is likely only so because our universities are publicly funded, and don't require rich students and alumni for funds. In the case of disputes on grades and extracurriculars, the commission of exams will nearly exclusively side with the teacher. Except when it can be shown that the teacher dropped the ball severely. Another factor in this matter is that once you have reached your second year, you can do your coursework for as long as you like, so there is little consequence in failing a course other than extending study time. That being said, I work in a field that is not as sexy as some others (medicine, psychology), and I would guess the issues are bigger there, due to the kind of students that are attracted to these types of majors.

joris 8y ago
Yes, in Holland students know they can simply fail an exam and usually know that’s on them. In the US, students can literally complain to the dean who then puts pressure on the professor. And they do, so professors know to err on the lenient side. In fact: the average grade at Harvard has been an A- for some years now. So grades from Harvard are basically meaningless.
- throwaway32479 8y ago
  > the average grade at Harvard has been an A- for some years now. So grades from Harvard are basically meaningless. I won't deny grade inflation, but Harvard allows students to drop classes very late in the semester. For "hard" classes, it wasn't uncommon for less than 25% of the students present in the second week of class to still be around to take the final. I never saw anything like that at the public university I went to as an undergrad. Some amount of the high average grade is because the students not doing so well in the course drop with little to no penalty.

joris 8y ago

Yes, in Holland students know they can simply fail an exam and usually know that’s on them. In the US, students can literally complain to the dean who then puts pressure on the professor. And they do, so professors know to err on the lenient side. In fact: the average grade at Harvard has been an A- for some years now. So grades from Harvard are basically meaningless.

throwaway32479 8y ago
> the average grade at Harvard has been an A- for some years now. So grades from Harvard are basically meaningless. I won't deny grade inflation, but Harvard allows students to drop classes very late in the semester. For "hard" classes, it wasn't uncommon for less than 25% of the students present in the second week of class to still be around to take the final. I never saw anything like that at the public university I went to as an undergrad. Some amount of the high average grade is because the students not doing so well in the course drop with little to no penalty.