Grading
One thing that has set KU apart from most other schools across the nation as well as several other Pennsylvania State System of Education (PASSHE) schools is its lack of a plus/minus grading system. At other universities, for example, students could receive a grade of A+, A, or A-, while at KU, only an A could be given.
Changing this policy to a plus/minus grading system has been considered for years. While the University Senate has passed this change, the current financial program that is being used by PASSHE schools to process student records is unable to handle a change in the system, so the move to a plus/minus system has been delayed for several years, said Kevin Mahoney, English professor and executive committee member of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF).
“The primary reason for moving to a plus/minus grading system is to bring our university in line with other universities across the nation… Plus/minus grading is pretty much the standard across the country,” Mahoney said. He added that the plus/minus system allows for greater flexibility in grading and a more accurate portrayal of a student’s achievements.
“For example, if a student has a high B in my class, it is easier to justify a moving that student’s grade up to a B+ if she was a hard worker and an active participant in class. It is easier because we are only talking about a third of a letter grade. However, to move that same student up from a B to an A looks a lot like grade inflation. It’s just a huge jump between a 3.0 and a 4.0.”
The financial program currently used by PASSHE schools is a company called SAP, Mahoney told The Keystone. “SAP is a German program built for big corporations. PASSHE has used it for years despite the fact that it cannot handle the specific requirements of universities very well,” Mahoney said. “The reason why we don’t have [plus/minus grading] is because the administration has been unwilling to pay for a ‘fix’ to the current student records programs.”
Mahoney said that last fall, the new chancellor of PASSHE, John C. Cavanaugh, wanted to move academic records from SAP to a new platform designed for academic purposes. “Given that we will be getting a new platform for handling academics, we (both APSCUF leadership and the university administration) thought it would be a waste of money to fix SAP when it looked like it was going to be gone soon. The question now is, when will we be getting this new platform?”
University spokesperson Matt Santos said, “The plus/minus grading system is still being considered for implementation in the future. The actual implementation date will depend on the adoption of a new software system.”
Though APSCUF and president Javier F. Cevallos originally agreed that the new system should be implemented by this semester, Santos said that it is not likely that the change to grading will be in place any time next year. Mahoney estimated three years at least before a change will be made.
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