RESOLUTION ON GRADING STANDARDS AND POLICIES
PROPOSED BY THE COMMITTEE ON CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
March 2004
Recognizing
that in February 2003 this body acknowledged the inconsistency between the college’s legislated grading standards and current grading
practices, and in December 2003 expressed support for specific measures to
address this inconsistency and reaffirm the college’s grading standards, the
Academic Council now resolves:
That
beginning in the first semester of the 2004-05 academic year the Registrar
shall indicate median course grades on the grade reports that students receive
at the end of each semester (but not on official transcripts); and that this
policy shall be re-evaluated by the CCI at the end of a three-year period;
That
beginning in the first semester of the 2004-05 academic year the mean grade in
100-level and 200-level course [1]
shall be no higher than 3.33 (B+); and that, for the purposes of calculating
the mean grade, instructors shall submit a letter grade for all students listed
on the course grade sheet (including students electing the course credit/non
and those who withdraw late from the course);
That in
100-level and 200-level courses with an enrollment of nine or fewer,
instructors may record grades with a mean above 3.33, provided that they submit
an explanation to the chair of the CCI;
That
beginning in the 2004-05 academic year the chair of the CCI shall report to
Council each semester on the grades recorded in the prior semester, such
reports to include the distribution of grades by course level and by department
and, if applicable, the reasons that course grades exceeded the B+ maximum; and
that these data shall be discussed at least annually in academic department
meetings;
That this
grading standard shall be reevaluated by CCI at the end of a three-year period,
with a view to determining whether it should be modified, inserted into college
legislation, or enforced in some other manner; and that such a reevaluation
shall take place before the end of this three-year period if the CCI’s reports
indicate significant lack of compliance;
That the
dean of the college and the chair of the CCI shall consult with department
chairs and individual faculty members to determine whether courses currently
offered on a letter grade basis but with a distribution of grades restricted to
the A range might be better offered as mandatory credit/non (with the
understanding that mandatory credit/non courses shall be so identified on
student records);
And that
the dean of the college shall write to all new and continuing faculty to inform them of this resolution.
[1] By “courses”, we refer to single-section courses or to sections of multi-section courses.