Student Government Association recommends reconsideration of grading policy

At a meeting this past Sunday, the Student Government Association (SGA) voted to formally recommend that Provost Christophe Pierre reconsider the current grading policy in order to better reflect student interests as the situation due to COVID-19 continues to change. The vote was unanimous, with all present senators either voting in favor of the proclamation or abstaining.

The project was originally spearheaded by the Diversity and Inclusion Committee (D&I), which supported a Double-A policy as a better alternative to the current opt-in Pass/Fail policy on the grounds that Double-A would be more equitable. To determine student interest, D&I released a survey which asked for students’ opinions and thoughts on the policy.

Members of the SGA first officially proposed supporting a Double-A policy at an SGA meeting on March 29, but after over two hours of debate, the decision was postponed until the following meeting. During the discussion, the objectivity of the survey was questioned, so SGA officials drafted a new survey that would not be in favor of any one grading policy to distribute to the student body. Before distribution, the survey was sent to a professor with experience in statistics to ensure the objectivity of the new survey.

The data was compiled into a proclamation which avoided supporting any one grading policy. Instead, the proclamation claimed that the current policy was outdated and that better options could be available, stating, “Since the new academic policy was announced, the status of the pandemic has changed drastically. Global, national, state, and local officials have continuously rolled out measures to address the severity of the crisis and adjust to new complexities of a global crisis. Because the new grading policy was decided upon several weeks ago, the deciders could not have foreseen many of the implications of COVID-19.”

In the survey, students were given the option to choose between a variety of grading policies, including the current opt-in Pass/Fail system, a Double-A system, a grading curve, and more. This way, students would have access to a variety of options, which would allow the SGA to get a better sense of student sentiment towards different policies. The survey also included space for testimonials and polled for other information like the year that students entered Stevens.

Statistics obtained from the proclamation can be seen below, with all figures taken from the document. More information is included in the proclamation, including student testimonials and additional statistics, which have not been included for the sake of brevity.

The proclamation will be sent to Provost Pierre for review and analysis, who will then decide how to proceed. Readers with questions or thoughts on the topic are encouraged to contact an SGA representative for more information.