STAFF EDIT: Encouraging Students

To be sure students are receiving the best education possible at Boston University, the College of Arts and Sciences will reevaluate the Advanced Placement credits awarded to incoming students. This is a strong incentive for students to take the most challenging courses available at their high schools.

Currently, the University accepts AP exam scores as low as a three, which is an average assessment of a student’s abilities. One of the main recommendations the Academic Policy Committee will make in its request for a change is to raise the minimum score for classes currently accepting threes to four. With BU’s constant improvement of the academic levels of its students, this change would be in keeping with maintaining high university standards.

AP scores are used to show whether or not a student has been prepared well enough for certain college courses. Since BU prides itself in offering challenging classes, students must be able to prove they deserve to place out of a course.

This move also represents the University’s attempt to remain competitive with other schools at this level. By raising the bar, BU is showing that its students will leave the University with the best education offered.

For this type of change to work most effectively, the University must examine each individual class and its curriculum to determine the minimum level of mastery in a subject. It should evaluate the level of the courses and then compare that to the level of the students taking them.

Furthermore, students must realize how important it is to prove themselves in order to be exempt from a certain class. Not only do they have to do well in an advanced high school class, but they also have to score well on the exam to display the knowledge they have gained.

Reevaluating the level of AP credits acceptable for class exemption is a commendable act by the University. It will encourage students to do their best to prove they fit the standards of this advanced learning institution.