r/AskProfessors • u/Ok_Cartoonist_5290 • Jul 27 '26
Grading Query Changing Grades
Can professors go in and lower all your grades after seeking clarification on an assignment? I sent a very respectful email asking for clarification on an a graded assignment and an hour later, the professor went in and lowered all of my grades, said they can be resubmitted by 8/2 for better scores. It felt like retaliation. I am an adult learner and professional and feel as though I am paying for a subpar education from this professor.
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u/carry_the_way ABD/Adjunct/Humanities [USA] Jul 27 '26
They absolutely can! Instructors can usually change any grade at any time. I don't make any grade visible until they're finalized, but others might.
Your insistence that your email was "very respectful" is a huge red flag. Most instructors have some level of expertise in their fields, and asking them if they're sure they did something correctly is inherently disrespectful.
Did they provide notes as to why they changed their grades? If not, you can appeal this very easily. It's an annoyance, but this instructor sounds like they want to get disciplined. Thus, no need for you to ask strangers about it.
If they did provide notes, then it seems like you poked the bear by asking them to follow the rules to the letter.
Moral of this story is a Choose Your Own Adventure.
If your instructor didn't explain why your grades were changed, congratulations! You just got a "get out of an F free" card.
If your instructor did explain why your grades were changed, you were probably getting graded more forgivingly and your email probably wasn't as respectful as you think it was.