Written by: Philippe Buteau/Staff Writer
Grenville Draper is one of many advisers and professors who know students are frustrated with a C-minus grade.
“Students think that they have the necessary C to meet the requirements, only to find that a C-minus will not meet the requirement,” Draper wrote in a letter to the University Faculty Senate.
The letter was part of a debate about the future use of C-minus started at an Oct. 6 Faculty Senate meeting. Professors voted to table the motion to eliminate a C-minus grade when they receive more data from the Division of Academic Affairs.
The grading system, if the proposal passes, would be A, A-, B+, B, B-, C, D and F.
“What I wanted was to relook at the grading system and where we cannot have the C-minus grade,” Draper said to Student Media. “It’s confusing.”
Draper works in the University as a geology professor, geosciences undergraduate adviser and associate director of Liberal Studies; he believes the C-minus is a “barrier to students’ graduation.”
The current system dates back at least 20 years, according to Draper. Draper has worked at FIU for 37 years and said during his first decade at FIU that the grading system was A, B, C and D.
“The C-minus is an insidious, if not pernicious grade that means that the student has to repeat a course, thus impeding their progress to graduation,” Draper wrote.
A C-minus is equal to a 1.67 grade point and on the University’s percentage grading scale it represents a score between 70 and 72 percent, according to Draper. A C is a 2.0 grade point and a score between 73 and 76 percent.
Draper suggested getting rid of the plus/minus and have a flat grading scale of A, B, C, D and F.
“We would have a lot less student frustration,” Draper said during the meeting.
The University of New Florida has a flat grading system and the Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University has a modified plus/minus scale: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D and F.
Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and the University of West Florida recognize C-minus as a passing grade for liberal studies, while the University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University and Florida Gulf Coast University do not.
Journalism Professor Neil Reisner, who opposes getting rid of the C-minus, said during the meeting that because he grades writing, which is more subjective, the “C-minus is useful.”
Kathleen Wilson, Faculty Senate chairwoman, said she would be more comfortable voting on the idea if she saw more data and heard from students on how they feel about the C-minus.
“The lack of clarity of what it means bothers students,” Wilson said.
“Most current discussions about grading scales across the nation revolve around moving from a flat grading scale to a plus/minus scale and understanding the pros/cons of each decision,” according to a Academic Affairs report prepared for the Senate’s Steering Committee.
Arizona State University has its own version of the plus/minus grading scale: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D and E.
ASU’s senate wrote in their executive summary, which was cited in the Academic Affairs report, that the plus/minus system raises the standard that the C grade sets. But if the system were to be replaced, 70, 71 and 72 would equal a C-minus and be no longer acceptable.
However, if C- becomes acceptable, it would raise the possibility that a student could pass all their classes and have less than a 2.0 grade point average.
“Which is less than successful academic standing for athletes and others and for graduation,” says ASU’s executive summary.
“It wouldn’t make a difference just getting rid of the C-minus,” said Chavante Marsh. “I can’t agree until I see the data too,” said Marsh, a senior electrical engineering major.
The University of Arkansas’ Faculty Senate voted against a plus/minus system, according to the Academic Affairs report, and they noted several cons.
It can put many undergraduate students in jeopardy of losing their scholarships and lower student retention. Retention and graduation rates will likely result in more students being put on probation and in the long run, could result in reduced retention and graduation rates.
A disproportionate number of C-minus grades associated with the plus/minus grading system could render more students ineligible for financial aid because of insufficient academic progress. It can also make it more difficult for students to be reinstated for financial aid.
The University proposal was a part of a meeting in which senators will send their disagreement with the State Legislature bill, which could allow concealed weapons or firearms on State University System campuses or facilities.
The next Faculty Senate meeting will start at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at the main campus in the Wertheim Conservatory in Room 130 and Room 317 in Academic One at the Biscayne Bay Campus.
philippe.buteau@fiusm.com
Image by Andres Limones Cruz, courtesy of Creative Commons
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