Miscommunication
sparks Senate furor over plus-minus grading
By
Daniel Linck Savino
Daily Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
The proposed plus-minus grading system is moving closer to becoming a reality.
At the Associated Students Senate meeting Wednesday, the first session of the
Ad Hoc Committee on Plus-Minus Grading was finally announced to be today.
The committee’s goal is to draft a recommendation for the Academic Senate,
a body composed mainly of faculty members from all colleges on campus. That
recommendation will play a significant role in how the Academic Senate votes
on plus-minus grading.
The new grading system has the potential to seriously affect students on campus.
Under a new system, a student could end up on academic probation, or even lose
financial aid for grades that previously would not have led to that. Professors
would have the discretion to give a plus or a minus grade, adding or subtracting
0.3 grade points. For example, a C- would be worth 1.7 in the new system, while
a B+ would earn a student a 3.3 grade.
The committee meeting was at the heart of a passionate debate over the change,
and poor communication left many senators feeling irate.
The Senate was left with the distinct impression the committee would determine
their final recommendation to the Academic Senate today.
“As senators, we should have been e-mailed,” Sen. Heidi Chavez said. “We
all just found out today.”
“Even if I had known about it ahead of time, it’s a closed meeting,” Sen.
Elisa Herrera said. “It’s kind of a slap in the face.”
Sen. Amin Km is the AS Senate representative, and one of two student representatives
on the committee.
“I wasn’t informed about this until yesterday,” Km said. He
also said he did not know the specifics of the committee’s agenda. In a
later clarification, he said he knew there was to be a meeting this week, but
did not know the exact time and date until Tuesday.
Student opinion has been consistently against the idea ever since the plus-minus
topic was introduced.
The Associated Business Students Organizations Council, which represents 13
student organizations in the College of Business, is opposed to the idea. That
college’s senator, Mike Emenhiser, attended a recent meeting about the
proposal.
“The general consensus was that the College of Business should oppose the
grading system,” he said. “Overwhelmingly, they said they were against
it.”
In a later interview, Km said the business students were not alone.
“All of the college councils are against it,” he said. “Students
are against it, generally speaking.”
The College of Education Student Assembly, an umbrella organization for Education
student groups, had also talked about the change. Sen. Herrera, one of two
senators for the College of Education, was at that meeting.
“When we were discussing it,” Herrera said, “it was clear that
everyone was against making the change.”
Sen. Sandra Olmedo has also been discussing the idea with her constituents.
She said the committee’s extremely short notice will keep her from representing
their views.
“My opinion won’t be heard,” Olmedo said. “I won’t
be able to write a full report of what I’ve collected.”
Though the Senate was not fully informed by the Academic Senate, the AS executive
branch was aware of the preliminary nature of today’s meeting.
“I knew personally that we weren’t going to be making any decisions,” said
Bobby Godina, ASI President Jamie Pollock’s chief of staff for, and the
second of two student representatives on the committee.
“It’s just an introductory meeting, to meet who you’re going
to be working with on the committee,” he added. “I knew about it
[Sept. 9].”
Km was approved by the Senate to be the second student representative.
Ultimately, the voices of the students will be heard. Pollock had informed
Merryfield that ASI was putting together a student survey. That plan has evolved
into a more structured effort, which will be done through the committee, Pollock
said.
“The grading system is always coming up on the Academic Senate floor,” Godina
said. “Margaret Merryfield wanted to get a rock-hard answer.”
Despite the initial strong negative response from students, the Academic Senate’s
opinions run toward making the change.
“About 2-1, faculty members support this plus-minus grading system,” Km
said.
The information the Academic Senate has that led to this support has not been
shared with Km.
“I haven’t seen any study or research that indicates that plus-minus
grading would improve the academic matter on campus,” he said. “I
cannot make a decision until I look into their research.” |
