Eleven months after the Student Government Association first introduced a resolution involving the C minus grade, the University Senate will consider a motion this afternoon to end the C minus debate and maintain the current plus/minus grading policy.
The Senate Executive Committee will present the motion "after careful consideration and deliberation, and on the advice of the Academic Standards Committee," according to the meeting agenda.
Unsatisfied with the motion, SGA representatives have posted fliers and sent e-mails encouraging students to attend the Senate meeting to protest the grading policy. The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. in University Union Rooms 314-316.
"The SGA believes that our current grading system is unsatisfactory to many students and faculty alike," a message on the Daily Digest said last week.
SGA representatives hope to introduce a motion to change the plus/minus system at today's meeting.
When the Senate approved a consistent plus/minus grading system last March, it was seen as a victory for the SGA, which had identified the issue as its biggest academic goal of the year. But their second motion, to eliminate the C minus grade, has become entangled in debate and committee consideration.
"The Senate may see this as the only workable way to get off the dime at this point," Provost James Brennan said. "Often times when people really can't agree, after talking and talking and talking it through, one solution is just not to change it. I think that's where some of the thinking is."
University Senate Chairperson Tim Sullivan said everyone involved wants the grading system to be fair, equitable and appropriate.
"This is clearly a topic of great concern to a number of constituents, which of course the reason this debate has continued on now for as long as it has," he said.
Sullivan said he is confident the Senate will be able to reach some sort of resolution that addresses the concerns of all sides.
SGA Vice President Darcy Accardi said students would try to introduce an alternative at the meeting.
The SGA hopes to present the benefits of the University of Maryland College Park's "compromise" grading policy.
At College Park, "An A minus is a 4.0, and a B plus is still a 3.0," Accardi said. She explained several advantages of the system, including students and professors would have an easier time keeping track of grades. Additionally, Accardi said if a student applies to graduate school, any plusses or minuses they received will still show up on their transcript, and grades will still be reconfigured for applicants from different undergraduate schools. Finally, in the case of scholarships, there would be no differentiation between the minus grade and the straight grade in a pass/fail situation. "It solves a lot of the inadequacies and the problems with the plus/minus system, but it also gives the teachers...a way to differentiate students in the same grade range," Accardi said.
Accardi said a student in the honors college could be removed from or maintain their scholarship based on whether their performance was a straight or a plus/minus grade.
Even if the SGA doesn't accomplish what they want, she said, letting the Senate know how the students feel is important.
"All we can do is try," Accardi said. "It's been mentioned that the same issues come up, but they keep seeing it for a reason. If there's no compromise, it's not going away. We're SGA. We represent the students. If they don't listen, we'll do it next semester." In major and minor classes, the C minus grade is a failing mark.
"In a way, it's not fair because professors choose to use the C minus or not," Accardi explained. "If I have an English class and you have an English class, but you don't have the C minus grade, I could fail with a C minus, but you would pass."
Some students have noticed not all professors are implementing the plus/minus system, despite the requirement.
"There are professors who say 'I'm using it because I have to,' and there are other professors who say they don't use it at all," Accardi said. "You cannot effectively or efficiently monitor whether professors are using this."
She called the grading situation unfair, messy and confusing.
"I want everybody using the same grading system," Provost Brennan said. "If it isn't consistent, that's a serious issue."
Brennan said he relies on college deans and department chairs to maintain and enforce the grading policy.
"When it's brought to my attention, or deans', that there is some discrepancy, I try to look into that immediately," he said.
Brennan added he would be reviewing Fall semester grade reports to ensure that professors are using the plus/minus grading system.
The Senate Executive Committee seems to recognize the problem.
Today's motion also recommends "that the Senate ask the Registrar to communicate this grading policy clearly, in writing, to all faculty at the beginning of each semester in order to maintain consistency throughout the University."
All faculty members, including adjuncts, were reminded about the grading policy in a memo over winter break.
Brennan said he hopes the grading debate will conclude at today's Senate meeting.
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