need Straighterline advice

[cookderosa]

I need advice from those of you who have done any of the writing courses. My son is doing ENG099 Developmental Writing as a warm up for ENG101, but we are having a HECK of a time, so I want to hear from others.

First off, he's finished the 16 modules of class work. Within them, he has 7 writing assignments, but we can't get these graded. First off they require a draft, so he sends in the draft. We wait for the comments (about 2 days, no biggie) They get commented on, he makes revisions, and the submits a final. Then, it all stops. We have work from March not yet in the grade book. This is a pay-by-the-month program, so either they are milking it for all they can, or there is some problem I'm not aware of. At this rate, will he ever be "done?" The one he JUST got back tonight (which is the frustration that prompted my post) was a final paper, so he should have gotten a grade. Nope, instead the tutor thought it was a draft (despite the form you fill out and the header saying otherwise) so the tutor made comments for his next draft. WTH!? Now, I have to submit yet another email and yet another voice mail to my "advisor" and wait for her to never call me back and try to get this straightened out. So far, 100% of the modules, quizzes, homework that required a human instead of the computer have been screwed up in no less than 1 way. I've asked my invisible advisor, but well, she's invisible. (don't get me started on their bad customer service- and I have a high tolerance for bad service)

I seriously think this is our last SL class that has anything to do with Smarthinking, because IMO, that has screwed everything up for him. He should be done and starting his next class. He has signed up for 2 more classes under their promo, but I'm thinking about dumping the lab science which requires human contact and sticking to the computer-only classes. I'm in my 3rd billing in the next 3 days (for a non-credit class, deep breaths) and I'm ready to just be done with this class...but I'd like him to finish.

Has anyone else had problems with this??? I seriously have no clue how to get him through this barrier???!!!!

[burbuja0512]

Ummmm.. yes there is a minor issue right now. The problem is that any time in the past that there was an issue, you would email Andrew Hoon and he would hop right on whatever it was and voila! Everything was fine. I don't know how much the poor guy worked but any time we ever had any issues with anything, he would fix it. I say we because DS is currently enrolled in the developmental writing as well as medical terminology.

We haven't had problems with the English class, but the Medical Terminology text and book assignments don't seem to match up. It was really confusing. I finally just had to create my own assignments to help him memorize the material. With medical terminology, it doesn't matter all that much - it's just memorization so no matter how he does it, as long as he knows his stuff, he's fine.

Anyway... back on the topic of Andrew. He always seemed to help us and now that he's left, the service has gone down considerably. I'm sure that his replacement will eventually do just fine, but she isn't up to speed yet... "invisible" as you mention. Or perhaps Andrew was just an insane workaholic and was working on SL stuff 23 hours a day. Maybe they worked him into the ground and he quit. Perhaps they just need to hire more people.

They do have a Facebook page. If you can't get attention when you call in and end up being sent to the advisor, you may want to join their page and then send them a message. I would hope that they have someone different working on the FB page that might be able to help. If they have the poor advisor doing their FB updates too, then that would help explain her inability to help.

[cookderosa]

Ummmm.. yes there is a minor issue right now. The problem is that any time in the past that there was an issue, you would email Andrew Hoon and he would hop right on whatever it was and voila! Everything was fine. I don't know how much the poor guy worked but any time we ever had any issues with anything, he would fix it. I say we because DS is currently enrolled in the developmental writing as well as medical terminology.

We haven't had problems with the English class, but the Medical Terminology text and book assignments don't seem to match up. It was really confusing. I finally just had to create my own assignments to help him memorize the material. With medical terminology, it doesn't matter all that much - it's just memorization so no matter how he does it, as long as he knows his stuff, he's fine.

Anyway... back on the topic of Andrew. He always seemed to help us and now that he's left, the service has gone down considerably. I'm sure that his replacement will eventually do just fine, but she isn't up to speed yet... "invisible" as you mention. Or perhaps Andrew was just an insane workaholic and was working on SL stuff 23 hours a day. Maybe they worked him into the ground and he quit. Perhaps they just need to hire more people.

They do have a Facebook page. If you can't get attention when you call in and end up being sent to the advisor, you may want to join their page and then send them a message. I would hope that they have someone different working on the FB page that might be able to help. If they have the poor advisor doing their FB updates too, then that would help explain her inability to help.

Yes, I miss Andrew, he was our advisor when we first enrolled. My new advisor (your advisor too no doubt) doesn't even answer emails or return calls.

I just used the new SL BOGO code and signed my son up for Med Term last night, I'l love to hear any of your tips for making that class go well.

Let me ask you, have you guys tried skipping the drafts in Developmental Writing? Are his Smarthinking grades showing up in his SL gradebook?? Also, I'm thinking about just having him submit without the "help" (conflicting advice and extra time) from Smarthinking.

[Bunbu]

I have taken both English composition courses at SL and although it wasn't the best experience it could have been much worse. I learned from my mistakes and ENG102 went much more smooth. Here’s what I learned:

First. do not submit drafts. It’s not worth waiting for tutors to send you a revised version. SmartThinking is flawed and the grading tutor is not the same as the one commenting on your draft. You’ll find that more often than not the grading teacher won’t even like (or care) about the changes suggested by the commenting tutor.

Second. Submitting a draft and a final version for grade are two different processes. If you’re submitting your final version intended for grade to the same area as your draft the receiving instructor will keep turning it back with comments. I can’t tell you from the top of my head where you go to submit your final version but you can find this information on the submission instructions on each lesson in SL.

Third. SmartThinking and SL grade books are two different entities and you need Vanessa to update your SL grade book after you get your grades from SmartThinking. I usually wait until the end of the course and have her update everything at once.

Please let me know if you need any more help

[cookderosa]

I have taken both English composition courses at SL and although it wasn't the best experience it could have been much worse. I learned from my mistakes and ENG102 went much more smooth. Here’s what I learned:

First. do not submit drafts. It’s not worth waiting for tutors to send you a revised version. SmartThinking is flawed and the grading tutor is not the same as the one commenting on your draft. You’ll find that more often than not the grading teacher won’t even like (or care) about the changes suggested by the commenting tutor.

Second. Submitting a draft and a final version for grade are two different processes. If you’re submitting your final version intended for grade to the same area as your draft the receiving instructor will keep turning it back with comments. I can’t tell you from the top of my head where you go to submit your final version but you can find this information on the submission instructions on each lesson in SL.

Third. SmartThinking and SL grade books are two different entities and you need Vanessa to update your SL grade book after you get your grades from SmartThinking. I usually wait until the end of the course and have her update everything at once.

Please let me know if you need any more help

:hurray: SUPER helpful. Thank you. We are done with drafts. We absolutely HAVE been sending in finals through the same drop box as drafts...off to go figure that one out. Thanks again.

EDIT: Just found the "other" drop box. Not the one titled "submit your writing" but the one simply called "written assessment" and that's a copy/paste box, not a document upload process. SIGH. I was on the phone today with 2 different people, and neither thought to suggest this. Both told me to resubmit my work, never mentioning what you just told me. Eye roll. So, he should be able to rock through the rest of these right away. Thanks again, you outta send them your resume, they could use a good advisor

[Bunbu]

The SmartThinking integration into SL left a lot to be desired, especially in English courses. When I took ENG101 I talked to one of the tutors grading papers and she told me that they had no idea they were actually 'grading' papers for a college course. She thought she was giving a final assessment to a draft that was going to be submitted to my actual teacher. She didn't even know what SL was or how it worked. She even apologized and told me that if she knew hers was the final grade she would have given me a different grade. I guess when you're paid to find flaws you're going to look at the paper in a whole different way.

[ryoder]

I knew they were using smarthinking that way! Smarthinking tutors are great. I used them for comments on my graduate papers and the guy who I was assigned made much more substantial and helpful comments than my ncu mentor ever did. I received a somewhat low grade on my final paper at straighterline in biz comm and I have received nothing but a grades at ncu.
The short answer is, learn from the experience but don't beat yourself up over a b grade if smarthinking is responsible.

I miss Andrew too. That guy was so fast and so courteous. Luckily I finished all of my three courses while he was employed.

[cookderosa]

Bunbu and Ryoder-

I will share this with my son. His writing is "fine" but it's not his passion. He can do what's necessary, but his first grade of 14 out of 21 left him pretty deflated. I didn't agree with the score (mostly "2" on everything) even on the points that his tutor gave him praise for. (can you say confusing!?) At the end of the day, I'm his teacher, and I give him his high school grade (made up of more than his SL course) so it's not a huge deal.

[vsantos316]

"Third. SmartThinking and SL grade books are two different entities and you need Vanessa to update your SL grade book after you get your grades from SmartThinking. I usually wait until the end of the course and have her update everything at once."

I'm handing in all my assignments tomorrow for English 2, but I suppose this could apply for any SL subject.

I understand she (advisor Vanessa :o ) doesn't work on the weekends, but my subscription ends on the 8th.

What happens if she doesn't update my grade book by then? Should I wait for her to update before I unsubscribe, I dont want to lose my work. :willynilly:

Andrew said that as long I hand in my assignments on time, there should not be a problem. Not sure if Vanessa knows that though, should I unscubscribe any way and give it a chance ( or pay another $100).:confused:

[Bunbu]

I'm handing in all my assignments tomorrow for English 2, but I suppose this could apply for any SL subject.

I understand she (advisor Vanessa :o ) doesn't work on the weekends, but my subscription ends on the 8th.

What happens if she doesn't update my grade book by then? Should I wait for her to update before I unsubscribe, I dont want to lose my work. :willynilly:

Andrew said that as long I hand in my assignments on time, there should not be a problem. Not sure if Vanessa knows that though, should I unscubscribe any way and give it a chance ( or pay another $100).:confused:

I guess that's the way they make their money. I was told and retold that I can't unsubscribe while there are grades or submissions pending. So your score should be at least 75% AND you should have completed every graded assignment and taken every test before you hit the unsubscribe page. However, I'm pretty sure they make exceptions all the time.

To be fair with Vanessa she tries really hard. She even have answered a couple of questions on a weekend so it's worth a try. Also during the transition Andrew->Vanessa I was getting nowhere so I used the contact form on their website and I received a response before the end of the day.

Let us know how it goes for you...