Attendance: J. Perkins, C. Licata, H-P Bischof, L. Underhill, J. Venkataraman, J. Hornak, T. Trabold,
C. De Filippo, J. McCluskey, A. Savakis, D. Jacobs, M. Schweppe, J. Loffredo
Scheduled Topic : Discussion of R/F/I grades, S/F/I grades with feedback from Joe Loffredo, Registrar.
Meeting begins: 10:05am
J. Hornak began with a brief discussion of the rationale for modifying the current policy. He then opened the floor for discussion and questions for the Registrar. Topics of discussion included the following:
Any credit-bearing course can potentially impact a student’s GPA. A grade of “R”, “S”, or “U” has no impact on the GPA, either positive or negative. But a grade of “F” does have a negative impact on GPA.
Therefore, the Registrar recommended that we use “U” to indicate unsatisfactory performance in a thesis or seminar course, as opposed to the “F”, if we do not want these courses to negatively impact students’
GPA.
A question was raised about using “R” as a temporary grade to indicate satisfactory progress toward completion of the thesis. This would then convert to a grade after final completion/defense of the thesis.
The Registrar did not recommend this option as his office prefers not to change grades retroactively.
The current proposal includes the option of an Incomplete (I) grade if work is not completed on time due to extenuating circumstances. This would convert to a “U” if the work was not completed in the designated time. Faculty also have the option of extending the Incomplete beyond the usual timeframe.
Does the “U” grade earn credit, i.e., does the student still get credit for taking the class if they receive a
“U” or does it mean they must take the course over?
How do “R/U” grades impact fulltime equivalency (FTE), especially for foreign students who must maintain FTE in order to remain in the country?
Much of the discussion focused on the definition of the “R” grade. Current policy states that the “R” simply means that the student was registered for the class. It says nothing about the satisfactory completion of any work for that class. Adding the option of a “U” grade (Unsatisfactory) changes the meaning of “R”. The new definition of “R” would be something like “registered and making satisfactory progress”. This would have to be codified in Institute Policy.
M. Schweppe indicated that she prefers the current definition of “R” that the student is simply registered for the course. J. Hornak pointed out that faculty do not have to use the new “U” grade option. They could continue to assign “R” grades to all registered students if they so choose, regardless of the students’ actual progress. But adding the “U” grade option would give faculty a way to “send a message” to students who were not making satisfactory progress. M. Schweppe then pointed out that the new definition of “R” is the same as an “S” grade (Satisfactory). She raised the rhetorical question – if we change the definition of
“R”, why not simply eliminate the “R” grade and make all thesis classes “S/U/I”?
Meeting Ends: 10:55am