Show Student Page 5 Life Monthly Review Cover Story continued 38 of the at given Dr Howard M Carlisle head of the Department of Business Administration the proposal has challenged in public debate Karl Lambert Registrar furnishes information about the machinery of the present system G grades USU last year were As Traditionally C or a 20 stood for average Robson pointed to figures that showed that 38 percent of the grades given at USU last year were A's Of the remainder 29 percent were B's 18 percent Cs 20 percent W's 4 percent D's and 2 percent were F's The effect of this large percentage of hiqh qrades is that the average to grade point at USU has jumped from a 20 almost a 30 Studies have shown that a parallel jump has occured at universities across the country Why have grades and grade point averages risen so dramatically? Both proponents and opponents of the proposal had suggestions Robson said that four years ago students began submitting faculty evaluations Aimed at providing the university with students' criticism and praise of their professors the evaluation became a way of "getting back" at their instructors Too many adverse remarks might cause department heads to investigate complaints and perhaps lead to admonitions or in an extreme case dismissal Robson also suggested that a professor might not want to get a reputation as a "tough" grader for another reason "How does a professor keep his job?" he asked "Schools only provide money for those classes that are in demand by students Consequently not only are students competing for grades departments are competing within the university and universities are competing with other universities for students" Another explanation might be that teachers knowing how difficult it is today to get into graduate school might give the promising ambitious student the benefit of the doubt in certain cases and stretch a close grade or two Students faced with the prospect of competing in a tight job market might receive the same boost by a sympathetic and concerned professor Dr Carlisle suggested that high school students entering college are simply better prepared thus leading to the achievement of higher grades Critics of the present system argue that an A on a student's transcript doesn't necessarily represent exceptional achievement questions such as are letter They ask probing grades too all inclusive? Can one symbol correctly identify all the student's performance? Xjmosfevery student has at one time or another received a grade which he felt reflected on only his classwork but also the personal differences between student and teacher ranging from incompatibility to a professor's bias against long hair Perhaps a student was experiencing personal problems or had a handicap which affected his performance that the teacher wasn't thought-provokin- r g aware of High marks can be the result of not so much a thorough understanding of the subject matter but a keenness at memorizing facts regurgitating lecture material and acing exams According to Grant Protzman ASUSU academic vice president students surveyed are opposing the proposal because they fear it would lead to a decrease in the information that graduate schools and employers look for when selecting applicants for admissions or jobs Faculty and students both emphasize a belief ihat the old system must be retained to insure the creditability of the degree and university Either creditability is a critical issue in the debate or it is not an issue at all Creditability or the reliability of the academic degree is important to those competing for graduate school slots or job openings It is important to universities that want to attract students to their campuses In both areas competition demands that selection be made from a field of applicants and usually the most qualified applicant gets the nod Grades are supposedly an indication of how qualified a student is - to fill openings It seems to follow that a transcript listing only acceptable grades wouldn't indicate to employers or graduate schools who actually is the smartest or best qualified because it wouldn't show who is the dumbest But if the previously noted figures are correct and both sides seem to agree that they are this problem already exists for those surveying records The majority of transcripts display above average grades "Creditability is not an issue" said Robsoi "There simply does not exist any information that would indicate ifct USU grades are easier to get or would be under the new system than at other universities" This fear led to the turmoil last spring over the publication of findings that USU supposedly ranked in the 99th percentile of institutional grade point averages illustrating the ignorance and confusion surrounding the creditability issue At that time a survey conducted by Keith Checketts of the counfreshseling and testing center revealed that fall quarter men at USU ranked in the 99th percentile when compared to other fail quarter freshmen at schools that also use the ACT tests The findings of this survey have been generally accepted as insignificant and inconclusive Never in the past or at the present time has there existed any in: formation that undermines USU's creditability Inquiries made by both Robson and the student council have shown that institutional averages are irrelevant and do not influence the selection process Instructions are given administrators at Stanford to disregard the whole issue and schools responding to a survey sent out by ASUSU officers indicate that institutional averages receive low priority when ACT-teste- d Dissatisfaction with the present system led to Prof Kent Robson's work with the academic committee on the new proposal Grant Protzman indicated that he and ASUSU president Rex Lund would let the majority student opinion determine their votes transcripts are reviewed One study referred to as the Eckerd’ study came to the fore during discussion This study was conducted to determine which grading system was most preferred by graduate school admissions After looking at the study the conclusion is indeed that most schools prefer to work with the traditional ABCDF system when deciding on admittance to the school continued |