This isn't calculus! I've had calculus and this isn't it!
This complaint usually comes from exposure to the traditional high school calculus course where they spent a lot of time with symbolic manipulation. They may be a little disgruntled because they hoped that taking calculus in high school would give them a head start and possibly lead to an "easy A". Assure them that it is calculus but that we are purposefully using a different approach -- that they will understand how calculus is used and gain some valuable skills that will help them throughout college. Tell them that it's hard, that it's supposed to be hard, and that they have what it takes to do it.

My instructor isn't teaching; we have to teach ourselves.
Students are used to template learning. They think that a "good" instructor should simply lead them through each problem step by step. Real understanding, the kind that lasts, comes from struggling with the ideas. In this course we are trying to develop problem-solvers.

This course is taking too much time.
The University's rule of thumb is that a student should allocate at least two hours of study time for each credit hour, so they can expect to spend 8-10 hours a week minimum on calculus. We are requiring new types of work; they may be inefficient in performing it. We have to help students learn to read, write, work, think, and cooperate without spending endless hours of wasted effort. Talk with students in or out of class; listen carefully to what they say about study habits and related matters. Remind them of the Math Lab, both as an environment conducive to getting work done and as a source of help with whatever may be slowing them down.

Why are we having to do all this writing? Writing has nothing to do with mathematics!
Certainly traditional calculus courses do not emphasize writing. Many students adopt the strategy of writing as little as possible; their expectation (not necessarily a conscious one) is that the instructor will supply the right words to make sense of the mathematical symbols. "If I write something out, then I stand a better chance of being found wrong." You should make the case that writing is a crucial part of the thinking process, and that it will help them understand the material.

Our homework problems are completely right and you're taking all these points off!
This stems from the common student view of grades as reward or punishment rather than feedback. Tell them that they are not competing against other teams. Explain what you mean by good work. They may think of a homework score such as 15/20 (which they convert to 75%--a high school C) as well below average, whereas you probably consider it to be a score indicating good progress.

I've never gotten grades like these.
From the point of view of many of our first-year students, a great deal hinges on getting the very high grades they are accustomed to getting in high school. The mean high school grade point average (recalculated using only their strictly academic classes) of the entering freshmen is 3.6, so most of our students think of themselves as "A" students. There is bound to be some resentment as students acclimate themselves to college grading standards. Just try to be both realistic and encouraging.

I can't read the textbook--it is too confusing and ambiguous.
Often this type of complaint comes from the fact that when they read the book they cannot find a "formula" for answering the problems at the end of the chapter as they are accustomed to doing with math books. Help them understand why the book is written the way it is and that the problems are meant to be hard and to require sustained thinking. Once they get used to thinking hard and develop some problem solving skills, they will find that everything they need to work out the answers is provided in the text. Let them know that one of the reasons for having homework teams is to help them learn the skills they need to succeed.

Make sure they understand that reading mathematics is not like reading the newspaper. It is unlikely they are going to get everything they need the first time through. Help them learn how to read the text. Make sure they are trying the embedded exercises; encourage them to mark up the text, and ask to see their copy when you hear this complaint. Encourage them to discuss their reading with other students in the class (teammates or not), to ask questions in class, and to use the Math Lab.

We never know if our answers are correct.
There is a fundamental problem here. Students are conditioned to believe that the only way to know that an answer is correct is to see if it agrees with the back of the book or if the teacher says it is right. They need to be encouraged to look at problems in alternative ways, to see if the answer is consistent with intuition. Spend some class time on checking procedures. For example, it is not enough to tell students that derivative calculations can be checked by doing one or more difference quotients on their calculators-make them actually do it and share the results with each other.

It isn't fair for my grade to depend on the work of others.
Group work is a new idea; cooperation is a new idea. Tell students that there is research evidence that even the best students' grades can improve if their group is working together properly. Many students' normal mode of operation is cutthroat competition. Remind them that there is not a preordained number of A's, B's, etc. Point out that when they go to work in the real world, their performance will be judged on how their group works. Also, if you adopt some form of evaluation of individual efforts, this may help students accept the grading scheme as "fair."

Someone in my group isn't doing enough work.
One of the skills students need to learn is how to work together. Part of their responsibility is to ensure, as much as possible, that everyone is contributing. In most jobs they will work in later, they will be told to get together with certain people and do something. Their boss is not going to be impressed if they are not able to work together.