In your article of Jan. 17 discussing the effects of plus/minus grading, the author asks whether a student who receives a C- in a course instead of a C would have to repeat that course to graduate. The answer is almost always "no."
The memo in which Dr. Rawlins approved plus/minus grading on Dec. 30, 1988 stipulates, "For policies that state a required GPA, the GPA will remain as stated.
For requirements that state a 'C' is required, a 'C-' will satisfy the requirement." Accordingly, any grade from C+ to C- fulfills requirements formulated in terms of the letter grade C.
Moreover, since a student's overall GPA is determined not by performance in a single class, but by a student's cumulative performance in all classes, the effects of a single minus grade on the student's overall GPA will also be negligible. For instance, a single plus or minus grade for a student graduating with 124 hours would change the overall GPA by less than a hundredth of a point.
If a student receives a slightly lower grade in one course, the best way to make up for that is not normally to repeat the course, but to do slightly better in another course that also fulfills a graduation requirement.
The only exception would be if a college explicitly and consciously decided to adopt a policy not to accept C- grades to fulfill specific degree requirements. In that case, the decision would not be a result of University policies concerning plus/minus grading, but of the college's decision about the appropriate standards for graduation in that college.
This policy was also communicated to the faculty and staff in a memo from the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs on April 3, 2000. In that memo, the Vice Provost encouraged anyone with questions about the plus/minus grading policies to contact me at 678-2156. I would like to underscore that offer and reiterate that I would be happy to talk to any students, faculty, or staff members who have questions about plus/minus grading or other academic policies at our University.
