Now we can approach this one from a purely academic integrity approach and say yes, marks/grades matter and are vital for employment purposes. But I think its fair to say that as a postgraduate student balancing work, study and life, the picture is a little more complicated than academia portrays. Motivation to learn, busy at work, busy in life, illness, children, pets, friends, family all show how complicated the balance of our lives really are. If we throw in additional study on top of normal nursing shifts, the art of maintaining a healthy work-life balance is key to success. Not everyone can afford to pay for studies and reduce work hours to allow greater focus on study, and so already an unintentional compromise has been made. Planning ahead with timetabling and assignments is key, but you still have those pesky night shifts to recover from.
Yes, the marks matter
Adams, S. (2013) Do Employers Really Care About Your College Grades? Forbes.com
No, its a little more complex
SMH (2014) Do high distinctions matter? The Sydney Morning Herald.
Isn’t the purpose about the learning and development rather than a simplistic approach to hitting the aims of a marking rubric?
Summary
We all set ourselves targets and deep down hope to achieve those, but we must ensure we set realistic targets and if we don’t happen to achieve them, then use this as a learning experience and not beat ourselves up over a lower grade. I have seen massive growth in some students who really struggled to pass but toughed it out, often with adversity in their private lives. Yet these people I had so much respect and admiration for getting through to that graduation ceremony, does anyone care what the final mark was or is the learning agility, emotional intelligence traits, the resilience and ability to finish what they started part of important learning outcomes?
Keywords: learning agility; emotional intelligence; innovator; creator; learning.