Students
Debate Credit System
by Michelle Sharkey
A
heated debate ensued Wednesday when a proposal was suggested to
replace Oberlin Colleges Credit/No Entry grading system with
a standard grading scale. A group of about thirty students gathered
at the student forum held this week by the Educational Plans and
Policies Committee (EPPC) to discuss three major policy changes
the committee is proposing. The purpose of a student forum, which
was announced a week ago via an OCMR notice, is to elicit student
input before the EPPC makes its recommendations to the College faculty.
The proposals must pass a faculty vote to become a part of college
policy. Though the EPPC does take students views into account
in making its recommendations, there is no mandate that they must
do so. The recommended policy changes will most likely be voted
upon in April, though any approved changes will take years to come
into effect.
The EPPC discussed lengthening reading period, as well as a change
in how the college distributes credit hours. The change that seemed
to concern students the most, however, was eliminating the No Entry
grade, and replacing the current grading system with a grading scale
that includes A+ to C-, as well as D and F grades. To a huge
portion of the faculty, its time for the No Entry grade to
go away, Robert Geitz, Associate Dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences and Chair of the EPPC, said.
The current grading scale, which does not record No Entry grades
on a students transcript, was approved by the faculty in 1970.
At that time, the faculty was looking for ways to encourage student
experimentation in different academic subjects, as well as decrease
the pressure on students to achieve good grades. According
to Geitz, a third of the faculty even went so far as to vote to
abolish grades at Oberlin; the Credit/No Entry system represented
somewhat of a compromise. Many schools experimented with nonstandard
grading systems in the 1970s; However, Oberlin and Brown University
are the only remaining schools that do not enter failing grades
on student transcripts.
The goal of the EPPCs proposal is to maintain room to experiment
while eliminating some of the problems with the Credit/No Entry
system. The current system makes no clear distinction between dropping
a course mid-semester and failing a course, potentially preventing
support services from reaching students who are in danger of failing.
In addition, the faculty has expressed concern that the No Entry
option discourages a sense of accountability for classes, and encourages
students to deliberately fail in order to improve grade-point averages.
In addition, a nonstandard transcript may adversely affect students
applications to graduate schools. When evaluating an Oberlin students
transcript, an admissions officer knows that theres
fine print. That difference
creates an uncertainty wed
be better off without, Geitz said. Though Geitz acknowledges
Oberlins strong academic reputation, he still expresses concern.
Having a hippie-dippy transcript is not doing you guys any
good, Geitz said.
Credit/No Entry is nice because it lets you take classes you
dont know about
[the new system] will preserve that function
with less stigma, senior and EPPC member Eli Wheeler said.
The EPPCs proposal includes a pass/fail option that would
allow students to take any class for a passing or failing grade,
rather than a letter grade. Unlike under the current system, the
deadline for taking a course pass/fail would be after midterm grades
are released, when students have a better sense of their performance
in a particular class. Students would also have the option to withdraw
from a class after midterm grades are released, unlike under the
current system.
Many students in attendance, however, were opposed to the elimination
of the No Entry option. If I wanted ABCDF, I couldve
gone to Swarthmore or to Haverford, College first-year Jadele
McPherson said. Students suggested that eliminating Credit/No Entry
grading would lead to changes in the makeup of the student body,
as students attracted to Oberlin may choose instead to attend other
schools with liberal programs. Many students expressed concern that
Oberlin is trying to attract a different type of student, a concern
which Geitz attempted to dispel. We have no interest in becoming
Amherst. We have a very different student body, Geitz said.
Students at the forum also expressed concerns that reading period
does not provide adequate time to study for exams. Students,
including myself, stop sleeping and just study for finals
Its
really unreasonable, College junior Juliet Libes said. Students
emphasized that a longer reading period would mean less stress for
students, cutting back on unhealthy behaviors such as going without
sleep or consuming drugs, including caffeine and Ritalin, for study
aids. EPPC members acknowledged this concern. Whether youre
taking amphetamines or staying awake through sheer willpower
lack of sleep is just not good for you, Geitz said. Oberlins
reading period is comparable to peer schools.
Other colleges tend to have their fall break later and combined
with Thanksgiving, Associate Dean for the College of Arts
and Sciences Grover Zinn said. Ultimately, lengthening the reading
period will probably mean taking time from fall break.
The EPPC is also considering raising the value of many classes to
four credit hours.
The perception among faculty is that students attention
is fragmented; [under the changed system] people would take fewer
subjects but work at them harder. Ultimately, students
workload wouldnt change drastically under the new system,
according to the EPPC. The bottom line is that ordinary progress
toward graduation would be four ordinary courses per semester,
Zinn said.
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