During Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting, most of the attention was focused on a recommendation submitted by the Academic Standards Committee that would not allow students to improve their grade point average by retaking a class in which they received a poor grade.
The most recent draft of the proposal reads as follows:

“Once a student has completed two semesters of full-time enrollment (defined as 12 or more credits attempted at the start of a semester), all grades earned will count toward the grade point average. Thus, in a student’s second and subsequent academic years, any earned grades will be permanently included in the grade point average.”

The impetus behind the recommendation is a growing concern on behalf of select administrators and faculty members for grade inflation on campus. During the April 13 Faculty Senate meeting, the ASC reported that average cumulative GPA has increased from 2.68 to 3.14 from 1996 to 2007, while the percentage of students admitted with an ACT score of 19 or less has increased by four points to 23 percent over the same time. The committee also cited the displacement of students who are pushed out by students repeating a course as a problem they hoped the proposal would address.

During the meeting, debate mostly swirled over the specific wording of the recommendation. Student Senate President Johnathan Predaina pointed out a loophole that was created that would allow students to retake classes they excel in as a means to cushion their GPA. Senator Phillip Sealy, a professor of electrical engineering, indicated that unless explicit language is added to the recommendation, current students would not be exempt from the change in policy.

After nearly an hour of discussion about potential problems with the recommendation’s wording and proposed amendments, members of Faculty Senate voted to table the motion until their next meeting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11 in the University North Room of the Pioneer Student Center.