The College of Sciences gave out lower grades per unit than any other college in the fall 2013 semester, with the College of Engineering in a close second place, according to data from the Office of Budget and Planning.
Bernie Braun, applications consultant for the Office of Budget and Planning, said the University compiles all grades given and arranges them by college. The average GPA of undergraduate grades awarded by unit is an average of all grades given for all courses within a college, including students whose majors are not included in that college, Braun said.
Per-unit GPA is a reflection of the grades that a college gives to all students enrolled in its courses, while average student GPA refers to the average GPA of a student enrolled in a particular college.
The College of Sciences had a per-unit GPA of 2.717 last semester, according to the data. This means the average of all grades given in College of Sciences classes was about a B. This contrasts with the average College of Sciences student GPA for last semester, which was 3.230.
Chemistry instructor Linda Allen said the discrepancy between the College of Sciences’ per-unit GPA and average student GPA is not new, and it is likely because of the abundance of service learning courses the College of Sciences offers. Allen said the College of Sciences offers many courses not aimed at science majors, where students may be unsure of their major or looking to fulfill general education requirements.
Allen said although the College of Sciences is not the only college that offers classes not catered to its own students, the College of Sciences “tries to recruit the best students.” She said many “overachievers” in high school tend to go for careers in medicine or in engineering, which draws those high GPA students to the College of Sciences.
Data from the Office of Budget and Planning shows the discrepancy between per-unit GPA and average student GPA does not carry to a college with a similar area of study to the College of Sciences such as the College of Engineering, in which per-unit GPA and average student GPA is about 2.7.
Sharif Ishak, undergraduate programs coordinator for the College of Engineering, said the 2.721 average GPA for percentage of grades awarded for the College of Engineering sounds reasonable. He said his civil engineering students often have jobs on the side, which might focus their attention away from the class work.
Ansis Tobiss, physics freshman, took exclusively College of Sciences classes in the fall 2013 semester. Tobiss said the rigor College of Sciences courses have is different from something like a writing-based course. He said we all know and speak English, but being neck-deep in a calculus equation is a completely different language and thus presents a different kind of challenge.