The Boston University Student Union passed a proposal last night that seeks to improve the perception of BU graduates’ grades.
In a 22 to zero decision with four voters abstaining, Union approved a contextual transcript proposal that would compare students’ grade point averages in each completed course to the average grade in that course. The transcript would also include a ‘phantom GPA’ that would match students’ overall GPA with that of a student who took identical classes and earned the median score in each course.
The logic behind a median-grade policy, as it as called at Dartmouth College, which began using this kind of transcript in 1994 and is one of a few schools in the country to do so, is to put every student’s grade into perspective. If a student earns a 2.7 GPA but employers and graduate school admissions offices see that the average was a marginally better 2.8, they will look more favorably on the grade, Sarah Chibani, a College of Arts and Sciences junior who co-wrote the Union proposal, said.
Chibani said the Academic Affairs Committee pushed the contextual transcript idea because its members want BU graduates to be able to compete against students earning high grades at schools with grade inflation practices. Grade inflation refers to more lenient grading policies often with a disproportionate amount of A grades being awarded.
BU has been linked with talks of grade deflation practices in the past. A June 7, 2006 New York Times article told the story of a student who earned a 3.2 at Columbia University, a 3.5 at Northeastern University, a 3.8 at Pace University and a 2.4 at BU.
Chibani said the Union is not accusing BU of grade deflation and respects its integrity to compress grades around a B average. But Chibani said she wants to make sure that everyone has a way of seeing what grades at BU really mean.
‘We want to be graded accurately and fairly, but we want to look good on our transcripts
so that when admissions people look at us in reference to other schools, they know how hard we worked,’ Chibani said.
Leo Gameng, who voted in favor of the proposal as a member of the Brownstone Student Council, said a contextual transcript would help him secure a job after he graduates in May.
‘I’m walking out of here with a 3.1,’ Gameng, a CAS senior, said during discussion of the proposal. ‘Most jobs are asking for a 3.2. I had to argue with potential employers about BU’s grading policies. This scales me up.’
Meredith Reid, who is also a CAS senior, abstained from the vote because she said a contextual transcript could confuse someone trying to evaluate her grades.
‘Without the proper documentation going out with it, it could cause problems,’ Reid said. ‘I worry that it’s just going to look like more gobblety gook.’
In a study published in 2007, Cornell University professors found that median-grade policies actually led to grade inflation because weaker students could see which courses yield higher average grades and then enroll in those classes.
Union members said they would be meeting with College of General Studies Dean Linda Wells on Friday to discuss the future of the proposal. Wells extensively studied grading policies, particularly CAS’s policies, in the late 1990s.
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