To the Editor:
This letter is in response to the proposed changes to the grading structure at RPI. As a recent alumnus of RPI, I wish that the plus-minus system was in place when I was a student there for two reasons.
One, it is a more accurate reflection of a student’s academic ability than the current system. I know of several classmates that expressed frustration when they fell a point or two short of an A (and consequently received a B) and other students in the same class barely scored in the B range and received the same grade. Personally, I think the grade system sets a bad precedent for experience after graduation. How many managers would reward two people the same when one clearly outperformed the other? Organizationally speaking, rewards, promotions, and bonuses are usually based on performance, so why should a student’s grades be any different?
Two, there is no incentive for students to push themselves academically. For example, last spring I took a finance class with Professor Murtaugh. I walked into the final with 68 out of a possible 80 points (the final was worth 20). Knowing that I was mathematically eliminated from receiving an A (like a few of my group members in that class), I didn’t really study as hard for the final as if I had a chance at scoring an A. I did the questions I knew, made educated guesses at the ones I didn’t, handed the final in, and walked out. I never knew what I received on the final, but it was good enough for a B on my grade report. My preparation might have changed had there been a plus-minus system in place.
After being in the private sector for about five years before enrolling at RPI, tenths of a grade point make little difference after graduation unless you’re applying for a position in the federal government or select graduate schools, as some of them waive the required entrance exams if your GPA is above a certain level (usually a 3.0 or higher—much like the MBA program I am currently in at another college). Had there been plusses and minuses during my undergraduate time at RPI, my GPA would have risen slightly more than a tenth of a point at graduation. Would it have been worth agonizing over for two years? Most certainly not.
Speaking from experience, your internships and work experience, attitude, and personality will speak much louder than your GPA. It’s okay to stress over school and grades, but only up to a certain point. When you lose focus on your employment, hobbies, friends, and life in general over a number which may be meaningless in a few years, that is truly the biggest failure you can have in college.
As a matter of equitable evaluation for the entire student population for their four or five year stay at RPI, a plus-minus system should be put in place to reward those that perform well. Just bear in mind, your GPA after graduation, much like age, isn’t anything but a number.
Jeffrey Balcom
MGMT ’03
