After the release of final grades for the popular UTSC course, LINA01: Introduction to Linguistics, many students performed worse than they anticipated. Students were told to request a clerical check if their final grade was lower than expected. However, no errors have since been found in the grade calculations or completed clerical checks. 

LINA01 is a popular first-year course at UTSC, and is often described as a bird course — an elective you can fly through. This year, there were 1,054 asynchronous and 364 in-person students enrolled this fall.

One LINA01 student wrote to The Varsity saying, “some people have high averages on the assignments (80+), but ended up with 60s, while some other people have 60s on assignments, but ended up with 80s.” They added that they believe, “there might be a possibility of grade mix-up and miscalculation,” although this is just their theory. Since the grades have been released, this theory has been echoed frequently on the r/UTSC subreddit.

The theory seems to be unfounded. According to Professor Safieh Moghaddam, the only grade errors were from students not following setup instructions on the course’s integrated learning platform, Top Hat. If students did not connect their account to their student number, they were left with a zero for those assignments. 

The first announcement 

Shortly after grades became available, Moghaddam addressed student concerns in a Quercus announcement, writing, “If your final grade is lower than expected and you are not sure why, please contact the Registrar’s Office to request a clerical check.”

Moghaddam also addressed issues with Top Hat. For students with a Top Hat grade of zero, the setup instructions to connect their account were not followed, like entering their student number. The professor offered to update the Top Hat grades personally so students would not have to go through the Registrar’s Office.  

She emphasized that step-by-step setup instructions with images were posted at the beginning of the semester and stated, “If a student does not follow the instructions, it is the student’s responsibility. With more than 1400 students in the course, I cannot personally track whether each individual student has completed the setup correctly.”

The announcement reminded students of weekly teaching assistant office hours, additional office hours toward the end of the term, and many review sessions covering course content and the exam structure that could have been utilized. 

“I have done my part, and more than enough, to support your learning throughout the term,” Moghaddam continued. 

The second announcement 

In a course announcement on January 15, Moghaddam wrote, “The Head TA and I have double-checked the grade calculations and can confirm there are no errors.” She emphasized that all graded components were released throughout the semester, the same grading scheme was applied consistently throughout the class, and many students performed well.

The professor emphasized that students with a valid concern should go to the Registrar’s Office, and the only grades that can be updated are those of students with Top Hat setup errors. The announcement concludes, “In your future courses, please follow the instructions to avoid extra work for the professor and stress for yourself.”

A spokesperson for U of T wrote to The Varsity that, “There are no errors in the grades. Suggestions otherwise are false,” and that no mistakes have been found in the clerical checks that have been completed so far. They added that academic matters are “discussed with the students involved and not with the news media.”

 Moghaddam declined The Varsity’s request for an interview.