department raised the students’ scores without informing professor

[mahagonny]

Senior colleague told me that changing scores without telling the professors is common in my department. I don't know if this is really true but some they ways they treat me...

I mean "...from the ways they treat me...".

It sounds like there's no union. Is there a faculty handbook with instructions/policies about grading?

There is no faculty handbook, I asked already. I heard that the college does not like people to know about the existence of the union.

Of course not. And some of the people, at least one of them anyway, who advises you here, is of the same mind as your niggardly administrators. If there is a union, it's your best hope for a just solution.

[polly_mer]

The union can't help on this.    Apply for other jobs and get out.

[mahagonny]

The union can't help on this.    Apply for other jobs and get out.

well, the union accomplishing something constructive for its members is a setback for people who hate unions, activism, and employees who won't be cowed.

[mahagonny]

'Apply for other jobs and get out' is both insulting and banal. Obviously you already know you have the option to do that, unless you are somehow challenged by irrational fears or mental instability, which I don't believe you are; for that matter one never knows for certain which forumites might benefit from a checkup, as I suspect someone else is...never mind.
Whether or not you're looking for other places to work (it's frequently part of the adjunct's semi-annual routine anyway, as everyone here knows) you could talk with the union. I would even wonder if negotiating for a policy handbook from the department chair might be good for everyone. Lots of important things are unsettled over there. Maybe you will give them a good idea to work on for the near future and also find a better place to work.

[mr_spicoli]

How much of a grade change are we talking about?  F to a D?  F to an A?  I'm not sure if that matters, but I'm curious.  At my CC, a D will pass most programs, several are C or better to pass.  I know faculty that have bumped a D to a C, because students need a 2.0 gpa to keep financial aid.  Otherwise, the D students get the same diploma as the A students.  Part of me is offended, part of me is, meh, it saved me meetings and paperwork.

[polly_mer]

The union can't help on this.    Apply for other jobs and get out.

well, the union accomplishing something constructive for its members ...

Academic unions tend to not get involved with the academic freedom aspects of the faculty job.  Changing the grade without the proper process is a violation of academic freedom, not the typical employment contract. 

I don't expect hamburger to believe on the Nth mention to get a different job, but I'm committed to ensuring that people in the lurkeriate know this is not normal and not acceptable.  It may seem obvious that one can leave and yet I read articles weekly in various venues indicating that people don't seem to know they have the option of leaving bad adjunct situations for something outside of academia that isn't minimum wage (although that's one place to start, especially when a full-time minimum wage job pays more with fewer hours with better chances of advancement than the adjunct situation).

[mahagonny]

Of course hamburger knows he can leave, and he knows he will at some point. He's just continuing the discussion here because he feels like it. Are you, like, insisting, that he take certain actions before posting here again? Do you have difficulty processing reality?

The union can't help on this.    Apply for other jobs and get out.

well, the union accomplishing something constructive for its members ...

Academic unions tend to not get involved with the academic freedom aspects of the faculty job.  Changing the grade without the proper process is a violation of academic freedom, not the typical employment contract. 

Uhm, how many adjunct faculty bargaining agreements have you actually read, all the way through? I expect it is one or fewer.  I have worked under faculty unions that had a written guarantee of academic freedom, which was necessary, because nothing else in writing anywhere provided any clarification of the matter. Actually, no, the tenure track faculty union bargaining agreement stated that we adjuncts have academic freedom, but since we were not one of the parties in the agreement it would have been that union's option to go to bat for us or not. Better assurance than that was needed. All of this was discussed prior to bargaining.

Obviously, you fight adjunct faculty unionizing on these fora for reasons that involve a lot of emotion. Your one-sided discussion of adjunct unionizing is not adding anything to these discussions. Well, perhaps a useful negative example.

[downer]

I thought of signing up to work at rover.com but I worked out that it would still be more work than my lowest paid adjunct job. I haven't ruled it out yet though for the future, because the pets are cuter than the students.

[mahagonny]

I thought of signing up to work at rover.com but I worked out that it would still be more work than my lowest paid adjunct job. I haven't ruled it out yet though for the future, because the pets are cuter than the students.

Most people I know would read a statement like this one and conclude, reasonably, that something needs to change in higher education hiring/employment.  A few would not, and that would be a good definition of apathy.

[downer]

I thought of signing up to work at rover.com but I worked out that it would still be more work than my lowest paid adjunct job. I haven't ruled it out yet though for the future, because the pets are cuter than the students.

Most people I know would read a statement like this one and conclude, reasonably, that something needs to change in higher education hiring/employment.  A few would not, and that would be a good definition of apathy.

Let's get some perspective. American society is fucked in just about about every way we can imagine. Medicine, medical insurance, addiction, gun control, schools, prisons, pollution, climate change, religion, consumerism, and of course politics. Higher ed is pretty low down on the list of things that have got problems. Maybe the market will self-correct, or maybe the workers will unionize and get power. Or maybe higher ed will just stay pretty much the same for the next few decades.

One person's apathy is another person's picking their battles.

[polly_mer]

So, do you really think the union here is going to help hamburger?  We have zero evidence that this place does anything else in accord with normal practices.

[mahagonny]

So, do you really think the union here is going to help hamburger?  We have zero evidence that this place does anything else in accord with normal practices.

Hamburger, why do they not want you to know about the union?

I heard that the college does not like people to know about the existence of the union.

The point of a union is not just that the union helps the employee, but that the employee helps the union where he can.

Whether or not you're looking for other places to work (it's frequently part of the adjunct's semi-annual routine anyway, as everyone here knows) you could talk with the union. I would even wonder if negotiating for a policy handbook from the department chair might be good for everyone. Lots of important things are unsettled over there. Maybe you will give them a good idea to work on for the near future and also find a better place to work.

But of course when you resent the employee's legitimate right to a union, you would be hoping for a breakdown in the process anywhere you can find it.

[hamburger]

So, do you really think the union here is going to help hamburger?  We have zero evidence that this place does anything else in accord with normal practices.

Hamburger, why do they not want you to know about the union?

I heard that the college does not like people to know about the existence of the union.

The point of a union is not just that the union helps the employee, but that the employee helps the union where he can.

Whether or not you're looking for other places to work (it's frequently part of the adjunct's semi-annual routine anyway, as everyone here knows) you could talk with the union. I would even wonder if negotiating for a policy handbook from the department chair might be good for everyone. Lots of important things are unsettled over there. Maybe you will give them a good idea to work on for the near future and also find a better place to work.

But of course when you resent the employee's legitimate right to a union, you would be hoping for a breakdown in the process anywhere you can find it.

I heard that the school does not want employees to know the existence of the union as they don't want employees to know their rights and get help from the big brothers!

[mahagonny]

So, do you really think the union here is going to help hamburger?  We have zero evidence that this place does anything else in accord with normal practices.

Hamburger, why do they not want you to know about the union?

I heard that the college does not like people to know about the existence of the union.

The point of a union is not just that the union helps the employee, but that the employee helps the union where he can.

Whether or not you're looking for other places to work (it's frequently part of the adjunct's semi-annual routine anyway, as everyone here knows) you could talk with the union. I would even wonder if negotiating for a policy handbook from the department chair might be good for everyone. Lots of important things are unsettled over there. Maybe you will give them a good idea to work on for the near future and also find a better place to work.

But of course when you resent the employee's legitimate right to a union, you would be hoping for a breakdown in the process anywhere you can find it.

I heard that the school does not want employees to know the existence of the union as they don't want employees to know their rights and get help from the big brothers!

Whatever that help can be, you need to find out about it. Also, you will be helping them by giving them this information. The school has no legitimate input or right to intervene in your need for the union to protect your rights. They could get in trouble for interfering or intimidating. Check your labor laws. Also, National Labor Relations Board provides certain rights to all workers.