ASUW voted to maintain the current grading system at its Tuesday meeting.
Opinions on switching to a plus/minus grading system varied among the senators.
College of Arts and Sciences Senator Alex Brink was in favor of switching to the plus/minus grading system.
“I’ve seen this debated a few times and I’ve always been in favor of staying with the current grading system. However, now I feel we’ve always voted against the plus/minus grading scale because we’ve had A minuses and we’ve felt we worked hard for those, but the goal for changing to this grading scale is to make us more competitive if you’re going to graduate school,” Brink said.
Eric Ogle, College of Arts and Sciences senator, offered similar sentiments.
“My first thought was that I was against a plus/minus grading system. It wouldn’t really affect the grades of seniors who were graduating, but rather it would act as a benefit for students who are coming into the university because it would act as an incentive for them to strive higher for the B plus or A plus,” Ogle said.
College of Arts and Sciences Senator Jaryd Unangst was one of many ASUW members who asked students about their feelings on the proposed change. About 80 percent of the 150 students who were surveyed said they preferred the current grading system, Unangst said.
The concern isn’t the difference between an A and an A minus, but rather the difference between a B and a B minus, because it could make a difference when students are striving for their doctorates, especially for students in health sciences, College of Health Sciences Senator Misty O’Lexey said.
The discussion continued as more senators gave reasons why they believed the current grading scale works well as is.
“A lot of people I’ve talked to believe that the plus/minus grading system pushes the belief that academics is your only priority in college, which I don’t agree with because my resume sets me apart with all the activities that I’ve been involved with,” College of Arts and Sciences Senator Brody Tate said.
Some senators felt that while switching could help some students, it would only hurt others, so there was no real purpose to switch.
“A plus/minus grading scale is just as much of a disadvantage to some students as it is an advantage to some students, so there really is no gain from this system. It was said that the faculty have a problem with us not switching to this system, but that’s not who we’re representing,” College of Arts and Sciences Senator Adam Lehmitz said. “And I don’t see that our university has a problem sending students to graduate school or medical school.”
Michael Barker, president for Faculty Senate, addressed ASUW to clarify questions that had been brought to attention.
“The grading is up to the individual faculty member. The purpose of this was to point out those who were doing well and point out those who weren’t,” Barker said.
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Senator Josh Messer informed ASUW why he felt passing the plus/minus grading system would not benefit the students and reminded them of their duty.
“While people would get their just rewards for just skating by with the plus/minus grading system, but there are also students who aren’t as strong in some subjects. The students are saying what they prefer, and if we go against them then it would be a violation of why we were elected,” Messer said.
