Prior to enrolling at the University, freshman Brian Smith had never heard of a regulated grading system. But after attending the first three weeks of his introductory business class, which is regulated, the pre-business administration major said he only hopes the system is fair.
“As long as its standardized across the board, I could care less,” he said.
In an effort to prevent grade inflation and answer questions of fairness in grading, the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business implemented a new guideline last fall to ensure student grades stay within certain ranges.
As the first policy of its kind in the business school’s 108-year history, the standards outline average grade point ranges by class type and require professors to ensure that overall class GPAs fall within set models. For the most part, average GPAs for undergraduate pre-business classes should fall between 2.3 and 2.8, while GPAs for undergraduate core classes in the major program should fall between 2.6 and 3.1.
Despite defined limitations, Associate Dean Dale Morse said the system is truly based on fairness.
“Once students understand the meaning of this system, they appreciate it more,” he said. “But we’ve got the consistency we’ve been looking for.”
Although not all professors have followed the one-year-old system “to the letter,” Morris said only about two percent have been allowed to give higher grades to provide a more accurate grade point average. However, the system has been extremely beneficial to new teachers who would otherwise have to create a personal grading system, Morris said.
Where some professors might have used percentage grades, which involve borderline decisions and extra credit, Morris said they now have more specific limits on how to approach grading.
“When professors have too many A’s, they now have to re-adjust the curriculum to make things harder,” he said. “They can also defend themselves when students think they have graded too harshly.”
Charles H. Lundquist marketing Professor Del Hawkins said he has never been accused of giving out too many A’s. After receiving numerous student requests to have grades changed for the better, Hawkins said the new system will not really affect his current teaching style, which some consider to be a bit harsh.
“My class should fall into the set range without the need for adjustments,” he said.
Hawkins said the designated GPA range for students in his fall term introductory business course is 2.7 to 3.2. In his 33 years as a business professor at the University, Hawkins said he calls the set range “huge,” which is why it should stand as an effective guideline.
“If you get an average above or beyond that, there’s a problem,” he added.
Considering that the improved GPA system is designed to tackle excessively high and low grading problems, Hawkins said the whole idea of the system is “spectacularly sound.”
“The number one predictor of a grade used to be the section students were in,” he said. “The new system is designed to make the process fair, and I think that’s a commendable effort.”
But for the students who can’t make the grade to become approved business majors, the relatively new grading system isn’t so great.
“Classes have been a lot harder over the last year,” senior Heather Low said. “But it’s still worth it.”
As a pre-business major, Low said she has yet to obtain the 2.75 GPA required to enter the school and has seen more business major friends switch majors than stick with it. And although she admits the system has some good intentions, she said it’s been quite a setback in her experience.
“I would think it would be better if each teacher had their own system,” she said.