The prospect of changing the current grading system to include pluses and minuses is a touchy subject among students. Students pay nearly $30,000 to attend RPI because they have educational or career goals that they want to meet. The first thing potential graduate schools and employers look at is a student’s GPA. Whether they love it or hate it, it’s not surprising so many students are speaking up about the grade modifiers proposal being made by the Faculty Senate.
The faculty has been actively listening to what students want to be included in this proposal. Regardless of how I feel about the prospect of grade modifiers, I think that it’s great that they’re willing to consider what we think.
Two weeks ago I attended the grade modifiers forum held in the McNeil Room as a concerned student. After listening to what my fellow students had to suggest in an effort to make the proposal more student friendly, I began to wonder why the Faculty Senate was even listening. The ideas brought forth by students were, for the most part, ridiculous.
The biggest concern with grade modifiers is a selfish one: No one wants their GPA to drop. I don’t blame anyone for being worried about this; it’s the primary reason that I’m glad I’ll be graduating before the proposal will (hopefully) take effect.
In light of this apprehension, most of the suggestions made by students at the forum were ways to change the current proposal in such a way that GPAs will only rise. For example, one student suggested that only pluses be added to grades. I could have written this off as one student’s shortsightedness, but after a straw poll taken by the moderators indicated that nearly every student in attendance supported the suggestion, it became clear to me that RPI students just don’t get it.
Everyone wants a higher GPA. But, as students who live by the curve, I’d expect most RPI students to understand that creating a system that inflates everyone’s GPA won’t benefit anyone. Artificially raising our GPAs with a new grading system like the ones suggested at the forum won’t make RPI students smarter. It may make us look more appealing to graduate schools and employers initially, but after a few years they’ll catch on and simply raise the minimum GPA they’re willing to accept.
In its truest form, the Faculty Senate’s grade modifiers proposal isn’t all that bad. Yes, some people’s GPAs may drop, but other students will benefit. I’m convinced that most students will break about even. Beyond the overall change in GPA, there’s a lot of other things to consider before it the proposal is implemented, like the current minimum GPA required for graduation. While I’d rather see no change made to grading system, I’d much rather have a method that will not change grades much overall than one that inflates everyone’s GPA and renders the number essentially meaningless.
