More than two months after the Faculty Senate tabled a resolution to implement a plus/minus grading system at the University, a task force made up of senators, faculty and staff members is still trying to determine if the system is the right fit.
Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope said the group is considering various types of grading systems to determine if the plus/minus system would benefit the University.
Mandi Lopez, associate professor of veterinary surgery for the School of Veterinary Medicine and chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Plus/Minus Grading, said the task force has met once and will meet again next week to discuss their findings.
She said group members posed several questions at their first meeting and narrowed those down to four critical points.
The group plans to research grading systems implemented by the University’s peers.
“They’re looking to see what has gotten the best reception,” he said. “They’re also looking at retention rates and soliciting opinion from faculty and students.”
The task force will also look into how the addition and removal of a plus or minus would affect students’ GPAs and grade distribution at the University. Specifically, the task force will determine how it would affect students receiving teaching certifications.
Finally, the group will discuss the cost of implementation and determine if the policy is worth the amount.
“Those were the four that we felt were most important to look at,” Lopez said.
Cope said he expects the issue to go before the senate again before the semester is over. The senate has two more meetings scheduled for this semester.
“I haven’t been notified yet that they’ve reached a conclusion and can present their findings,” he said. “But the April meeting is still 20 days or so away, so anything can happen.”
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]