Students may begin planning their course schedules around the grades professors award, thanks to a recent Student Senate resolution asking University administrators to post grade distributions online.
If the administration agrees, students and faculty could learn how many As, Bs, Cs, Ds, Fs and withdrawals specific instructors assign for each course they teach.
“Students and professors should have full knowledge [of grade distributions],” said Melody Wells, a student senator and the resolution’s co-author. “This would be a way for students to responsibly schedule classes and choose the direction for their course of study.”
The Oct. 23 resolution called for the LSU Web site to post grade distributions but does not give a timeline for that request.
Wells said posting grade distributions would hold instructors accountable for the grades they assign. She hopes students would use the grade database to create a balanced schedule, instead of simply searching for the “easy” professors.
“This is the first step in making sure grades are equal and fair,” said Katherine Nolen, the resolution’s other author.
Robert Kuhn, associate vice chancellor for budget and planning, said his office routinely sends grade distributions to deans and department chairs for administrative use. However, he is concerned about posting that information online.
“If there are only three students in the class, and one makes an A, one makes a C and one makes an F, have we protected the rights of that student who made an F?” Kuhn said.
He said the information could be made available to the general public, as long as student rights are protected.
Making grading histories available online also could curb what some faculty perceive as “grade inflation” at LSU.
Math professor Carruth McGehee plans to address that issue in Thursday’s Faculty Senate meeting. McGehee wrote a resolution asking each academic department to share and discuss grading practices to create more uniform standards.
“Students’ educational interests are better served when they are challenged by academic programs of good quality,” the resolution states.
McGehee notes the percentages of As and Bs instructors award has increased during the past 35 years.
But if faculty could compare grade histories, they might curb grade inflation.
McGehee’s resolution urges administrators to make grading histories available to instructors, but not necessarily to students. McGehee said some faculty members may not want their grading histories published for students because it could affect which students enroll in their classes.
“If students are just shopping around for an easy course, that’s not something faculty are generally thrilled about,” he said. “But students will do that anyway, so maybe it’s better if the correct information is out there.”
Right now the Student Senate measure is in limbo — Wells and Nolen are waiting to see how McGehee’s resolution fares in the Faculty Senate. They also doesn’t want to rush into something if the faculty are not ready.
“It’s still so early — we don’t know how receptive the faculty and administration are going to be,” Wells said.
The University of Georgia already has been through this process, and according to their Student Government Association, it was well worth the effort.
Georgia’s student government officials recognized the want and need for public access to grade distributions in 1995.
It printed a catalog listing professors’ grading histories, but went online with “The Key” during the 1996-1997 school year.
“Everybody uses The Key to check their classes,” said Brendan Murphy, Georgia’s SGA external affairs chair. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t use it — everyone loves it.”
The Key was so successful that University of Georgia’s administration took over running the online database. The database is linked through SGA’s Web site, www.uga.edu/sga, and also through www.ugatoday.com.
Georgia students can use The Key to search for courses or instructors that meet specific grade point average requirements. For example, a student could search for an instructor who teaches a 2000-level accounting class and gives a B average.
Murphy said while some students use The Key just to find easy classes, it still is a useful tool.
“For science majors, sometimes they’ll have a heavy load,” he said. “They’ll need a liberal arts class and don’t want one with a really tough grade distribution.”
LSU students had mixed reactions to the concept of an online grade database.
“I’m against that,” said Brian Spence, a computer science junior. “It would bring to the forefront what has been passed along in secret.”
Ashley Himel said a grades database could help her find out if classes are really easy or if faculty grade on curves.
“I would definitely look at [a grades database],” said Himel, an elementary education freshman. “But if the class didn’t fit into my schedule, then I wouldn’t use it.”
Other students said making grade distributions public would not affect the classes they schedule.
“At this point, I don’t think it would matter to me because all the courses I take are only taught by one professor,” said computer science junior Daniel Lewis.