As of the end of last semester, professors can no longer select A, B or C grades "with distinction" for students. Last April, the faculty voted to standardize the University's grading system by removing the possibility of an "A with distinction," essentially an A+, from Banner's grade options.
"Removing A's with distinction makes the (grading) process more transparent and gives students a clearer idea of where they stand," said Registrar Michael Pesta . In the past, professors have given students A, B or C grades with distinction, but those grades were never recognized on official transcripts.
The new policy intends to clarify and make the current grading scale more consistent, said Associate Professor of Psychology Ruth Colwill, the former chair of the Faculty Executive Committee. Beginning last semester, professors were not able to assign A, B or C grades with distinction.
Pesta plans to send an e-mail to faculty updating them on the usage of distinction grades, he said.
Faculty members weren't sure when to use the distinction mark. "Professors were using the distinction mark with the A to make an A+, which runs counter to the ideas of the New Curriculum," Pesta said, adding that in determining magna cum laude, the "A with distinction" was counted as a regular A.
However, distinction grades can be added to a satisfactory grade to become the equivalent of an A as counted towards magna cum laude degrees, Pesta said. The University awards the top 20 percent of the graduating class with magna cum laude.
"This all came up because it was unclear whether any faculty member agreed on what a distinction grade was used for," Colwill said. "The procedure described for calculating magna was not consistent with how it was being done."
The College Curriculum Council will review the procedure for determining magna cum laude this year, Colwill said, adding that some faculty are debating whether a student with a C or NC should still be applicable for magna cum laude.
Professors were divided on whether distinction marks are beneficial for students.
"We already have enough grade inflation," said Professor of Mathematics Thomas Banchoff.
"People should have a real A or something that is not a real A. (Using distinction marks) is very untraditional and I don't think people outside the University would understand it."
However, other professors argued that they should be able to reward students for exceptional work.
"What do you do when you have work that is so great that you wish you could recognize it in a special way?" said Luiz Valente, associate professor of Portuguese and Brazilian studies. "The distinction mark is a good way to recognize work that is essentially off the scale."
Valente added that the two grading systems should be kept separate - making the "S with distinction" equivalent to an A provides students an easy alternative to reach magna cum laude.
"The trend is to equate the S-check with what would have been an A when that kind of translation wasn't supposed to be there. The student should choose S/NC on a philosophical basis - not as a way to manipulate the system."
