Members of the Faculty Senate at The University of MemphisTuesday moved to oppose a measure that would post gradedistributions of classes.
Opposition was strongly supported by members of the senate, whocited concerns over the possible negative ramifications thepostings may induce and whether the postings would be any benefitto the student body.
The posting of grade distributions would have to be approved bythe University’s top administrators to become reality.Postings would allow students to review the performance rates ofstudents who had previously taken the class by indicating thefailure percentage in a given class, as well as the number ofA’s, B’s, C’s and D’s.
However, members of the senate indicated that the listings maybe misleading to students, who may use the listings as a“major factor” in deciding which classes to enrollin.
Charles Schultz, a senate member and associate professor in themusic department, said the postings may not accurately reflect thedifficulty of a given course.
Moreover, Schultz added that the size of the class is often acontributing factor to the failure rate among students, but wouldnot be included in the proposed grade distribution reports.
Members said the posting of grades could possibly cause studentsto enroll in a professor’s class who seemingly gives a higherpercentage of passing grades.
“The students might look at how easy the teacher is whenenrolling,” Schultz said.
However, a high or low pass rate does not necessarily reflectthe difficulty of the course, according to Schultz.
“Sometimes a huge class has more F’s because studentsdon’t show up, and a smaller class has more A’s becausethere is more personal contact,” Schultz said.
Numerous reports submitted to the Tennessee Board of Regents,which is one of the governing educational bodies that oversee thestate’s higher education institutions, indicate that studentstypically perform better in classes of smaller size due to greaterstudent-teacher interaction.
In addition, the members of the senate also voiced concerns overthe possibility of casting a false or negative light, due to thepostings, on The University that is not reflected in theschool’s actual objectives and mission.
“Students enrolling for easy classes could lower theappearance of quality at the university,” Schultz said.“Students should not judge how hard a teacher is but thequality of the education.”
Students at The U of M expressed mixed thoughts on thesenate’s disapproval of the proposed postings.
“I’m trying to get the most out of my education and mymoney,” said Taquina T. Luster, a student majoring in publicrelations at The U of M.
Luster said a teacher who seemingly passes a higher percentageof students would probably be a big factor in taking a class whenweighing it against a teacher who gives a lot of F’s.
Luster added that the postings could be beneficial as well.
“I think the posting of grades will cut down on studentshaving to repeat courses because they will know where they willhave a better chance to pass.”
“I would enroll in the class with more A’s,”Luster said. “I know I wouldn’t have to study as much asin the other class with F’s.”
Valerie Grandberry, a junior majoring in psychology, said theposting of grades is a bad idea.
“I don’t think a student should go into the classthinking a teacher will give a certain grade,” Grandberrysaid.
Grandberry added she would still use the posting of grades toher advantage.
“Although I don’t think it is a good idea, I willstill have to take the class with more A’s,” Grandberrysaid. “I will have a better chance of passing.”
