The Faculty Senate has been looking into a resolution that would change how the University awards GPA points.
The resolution, proposed by professor of finance and business administration Don Chance, will use a plus and minus system in determining students’ class grades and GPAs.
If passed, the resolution would keep an A at 4.0 points and make an A– worth 3.7 points. A B+ will represent 3.3 points and a B would be 3.0 points. The system would continue to lower by .3 to .4 grade points until D-, which would be worth .7 points.
“The introduction of a plus and minus grading system is a means to increase the accuracy of the evaluation of students,” the resolution states.
While it does increase evaluation, the system will inevitably cause tons of problems, and the cost will outweigh the benefits.
First, it seems students at other schools don’t like plus and minus systems to start out with.
I’ve talked to friends who attend schools with plus and minus systems, including Loyola University New Orleans and Spring Hill College. They said minuses essentially make them feel like they are being penalized for getting a good grade.
For example, one point can make the difference between an A and an A–. If you’ve worked hard all semester and simply miss an A by one point, you get stuck with an A–, which hurts your GPA.
Also, if you can be penalized for still earning an A, there’s the question of whether one point in a class average is actually proportional to a student’s performance.
Only .3 points separate an A and an A–. The difference between an A– and a B+ is .4 points, but both can represent a one-point difference in average grade in a class.
Basically, the one-point average change between A and A – already hurts you, but if you’re one point from A– and get a B+, you’re hurt worse.
With the B+ comes the big question about an A+, which the resolution omits. If there is going to be a plus and minus system that reward D+, C+ and B+ student, why not reward students who keep a grade high enough to be considered an A+?
There is no incentive for “A” students to try as hard as they can to get A+. The plus and minus grading scale allows a student to get “straight As” but not have a 4.0 GPA. Explain that when trying to get into Harvard Medical School.
More students asking for “sympathy points” is another problem this grading system will cause.
Numerous students already beg teachers for points to get bumped up a letter grade, but it generally occurs when someone is on the borderline of the next highest grade.
With more students closer to the next highest grade, just imagine the amount of people who will be in their professors’ offices pleading to get their B– pushed to a B or B+ knocked up to A–.
On the other hand, the grading system does have a few upsides.
Students may start trying harder to ensure they get higher grades. Also, the system will reward those students who are at the higher end of the spectrum — except for A+ students, of course.
For example, I earned a B with an 89.44 last fall, and I know people who also got B grades with a 79.50 average, so in that case, I would have liked to be compensated for the extra work I did.
But I earned a B, so I got over it quickly.
And that’s basically what it boils down to. Want to stand out? Get As. Don’t get Bs or Cs.
Fortunately, Student Government opposed the resolution to change the system. It’s easy to see they made the right decision.
The current grading scale is simple and effective for the most part. The University doesn’t need a new system to complicate things.
 
Chris Grillot is a 20-year-old English and mass communication junior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_cgrillot.
 
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Contact Chris Grillot at [email protected]