The LSU Faculty Senate is considering introducing a new, campus-wide grading system, and students have mixed opinions on whether the change in grades would be a plus.
Don Chance, professor of finance and business administration senator, introduced a resolution at the Senate meeting Thursday that, if passed, would implement the use of pluses and minuses in determining class grades and grade point averages.
Under the new system, a B- average would earn a student a 2.7 GPA, a B average would receive a 3.0 GPA and a B+ average would garner a 3.3 GPA. This differs from the current system, which assigns a 3.0 GPA to any type of B average, no matter where on the scale a student’s grade falls.
Pluses and minuses would be considered with all letter grades under the new policy with the exceptions of an A+, F+ and F-.
Chance said a plus-and-minus system will ensure grades more accurately reflect students’ academic progress and effort.
“There’s a big difference in performance between the highest B and the lowest B,” Chance said.
Chance said he researched grading systems for 82 peer institutions to better understand where the University’s current grading system stands. He found that 69 institutions used some variation of the plus-and-minus grading system, while 13 institutions used the traditional system the University currently employs.
Sociology senior Emily Berkey is an exchange student from Oregon State University, an institution Chance found to use a plus and minus grading system.
“I like it because it gives you a chance to boost your GPA,” Berkey said.
Chance said a plus-and-minus grading system would be advantageous as it would allow professors more control and discretion when assigning grades.
“We would have more flexibility, and those professors who may not like it can use the old system,” Chance said.
Chance acknowledged the new system may yield a few disadvantages, one of which would be an increased amount of appeals from students trying to attain higher grades.
“The more lines you draw, the more students you will have in your office at the end of the semester,” Chance said.
Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope said he felt the proposed grading system would allow students’ achievements to be more accurately recorded.
“I think students would welcome a system which gives them a chance to be better assigned grades within a hierarchy that reflects their work,” Cope said.
Cope felt the faculty voiced opinions for and against the bill. He suspects the resolution will pass, but he said it is by no means a done deal. The resolution would take at least a year to implement, according to Cope.
The Senate will vote on the passage of the resolution at its next meeting Dec. 7.
 
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Contact Josh Naquin at [email protected]