Students want their grades to reflect their performance, not other people's. Grades based on preset cutoffs may be more satisfying to students than grades based on performance relative to the class mean. Students also expect to be graded individually for their contribution to group work. Individual performance on a collaborative project could include peer assessments or individual papers based on the assignment. Don't change policies in midcourse .
Students expect grading policies to be firm.
If alterations must be made, the changes and reasons for them should be fully explained. Ideally, the revised policy should benefit students, such as a new opportunity to gain points toward final grades. At a minimum, alterations in policies should at least balance costs and benefits. An excellent means of ensuring that students perceive an instructor to be fair, especially in terms of procedures and outcomes, is a complete syllabus. A syllabus should contain not only an outline of the course but also a complete description of ground rules for the course.