I support the policy of changing grades, but I’m getting tired of the PR spin from the executives responsible for the change.
Some of the statements in “Minuses added to grading policy: Administration doesn’t anticipate dramatic GPA changes” on Sept. 6 were either misleading or pushing away the problem.
“There is no data to indicate that GPA’s will go down” is a weak defense. Considering that low A’s, B’s, etc. just lost 0.33 GPA points and plus grades are down 0.17, there is no combination of grades where the new system will yield a higher GPA than the old system.
The statement that “we anticipate that the change will mostly be a wash” is also misleading.
Just because professors decide to round up from a B+ to an A- more often does not offset the fact that A-’s are still worth 0.33 less than the A that was formerly awarded.
I am not opposed to the change in the GPA system.
I believe the new system is more transparent and honest. The administration needs to exhibit this transparency and honesty when discussing the issue.
Chris Wells, senior accounting major from Cameron Park, Ca.
