Academic
Senate ends grading debate
By
Joseph Serna
Online Forty-Niner
Assistant City Editor
The Cal State Long Beach Academic Senate chose not to institute plus/minus
grading following a pointed argument and strong opposition from student leaders
Thursday.
Fresno is the only other university that does not have plus/minus grading of
the 23 California State University campuses. Associated Students Senate and
student advocates such as James B. Davis, a student representative on the Academic
Senate, claimed a change in grading was pointless.
They argued it was a needless change, especially after The Princeton Review
recently ranked CSULB third Best Value College in the nation.
The Academic Senate is a body of students, faculty, staff and administration
that serves as the voice of the faculty to CSULB, according to its Web site.
Originally, the Academic Senate supported a change to plus/minus grading. However,
research and informed campaigning by AS leaders helped turn the tide, said
Richard Haller, ASI executive director.
Among the arguments students raised was for grades of B or lower, adding a
plus would raise the grade .3, making a B + worth 3.3. An A+, however is worth
the same as an A – 4.0.
Also, while plus/minus would be instituted campus-wide, faculty would not be
required to use it, creating potential problems as students might flock to
or away from certain professors depending on their grading.
The Academic Senate’s ad-hoc committee researched the consequences of
instituting plus/minus grading and found its implementation would have no positive
effect on graduating students’ competitiveness in later education such
as graduate school.
While advocates for the change could argue students would try harder to go
from a B to a B+ if it had a positive effect on their GPA, opponents argued
the penalty for a minus on the GPA outweighed any benefits.
A student receiving a C would get 2.0 grade points, but a C- would be worth
1.7.
Because a C- could keep student athletes and students on financial aid or academic
probation below the 2.0 GPA requirement and the opportunities that come with
it, plus/minus grading opponents argued its implementation did more harm than
good.
Davis also credited the faculty and staff that successfully voted down the
proposed change.
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