Rationale

Notes to instructors

• We imagine that this might be useful for a syllabus or specific assignments.
• We imagine that one quote below might be helpful for certain assignments.

Revision in the Workplace

Ungrading might be a new term to you, but it's not a new idea. Academic grading processes don’t exist in professional office workplaces. Instead, employees and teams are assigned a task, a due date, and an expectation that they’ll produce high-quality work. When employees fall short of that expectation on their first try, they are rarely fired. Instead, their supervisor and team often meet with them to identify how they can improve.

Because I’ve designed this course to prepare you for a professional office workplace, we will adopt the revision model that employers use. This will not only prepare you better for jobs in your field but also help you focus on learning the material rather than achieving a (somewhat arbitrary) letter or number grade.

What Do Local Employers Say?

The following quotations are from employers and business leaders throughout the Inland Northwest who regularly advise the SCC Business Technology Department about important workplace dynamics, processes, and expectations.

• “In this environment, if failure does occur, then there is latitude to try again, if appropriate. Sometimes failure is treated as a teachable moment.”
• “One of my colleagues had fallen behind in a key area of his job – he was essentially failing. Why? Because he got caught up in another big project that took far more time and energy than anyone had anticipated, which left him without capacity to get the other stuff done, and he fell far behind. Our boss worked with him to develop a game plan to catch up on the area where he was failing – and she is tracking it.”
• “Failure can occur when there is little or no accountability.”
• “We value planning time and strategic thinking when it comes to our big projects and campaigns. We realize curveballs may be thrown, so we emphasize collaboration and working with each other instead of against each other.”
• “Understanding where and how the breakdown occurred is key to bouncing back from failure. Learning from mistakes is necessary. When we have events or big projects that have finished up, we schedule time to evaluate what was successful and what wasn’t.”
• “The difference between making an honest effort and not trying at all is usually pretty clear, so my supervisor will give me another chance to try again if I fail.”
• “Being open to feedback and accountability is important. Those qualities vary widely, so not everyone will be given the same latitude, but we aren’t completely shut down when we fail. Getting back to business and getting better is the goal.”
• “We are a very team-based company, so when someone needs help, they ask before there is a “failure.” When things don’t go as planned, we have a discussion about what can be done differently or better next time.”
• “Each employee meets with their supervisor to see what is going well, what isn’t, and what can be done better. I think this is one of the reasons we don’t have many “failures” because it is a preventative measure.”