You may have noticed that it’s been awhile since the last Unconstrained Discourse. I am of course still afflicted with that disease called procrastination, but that’s only a part of the problem.

It seems that there’s so much stuff lately that just really ticks me off. The older I get, the more ticked off I get. Maybe that’s why Andy Rooney is such as obstinate, old fool.

Anyway, each time that I thought I had the next topic picked out, something new would come along and derail my thinking. One solution to that problem is to write about them all but hey, I’m doing this for free and I can’t really afford to spend all my time on it. Hmmm, could it be that I’m just rationalizing procrastinating?

I finally decided to pick an easy one and just write it – so here goes.

Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. recently fired two professors for their refusal to follow the college’s grading policy for freshman and sophomore students. Specifically, the professors took issue with the policy that based 60 percent of a freshman’s grade on effort and 40 percent on the student’s knowledge of the material (50/50 for sophomores).

Much of what was written in the various news rags revolved around the question of “academic freedom” and whether or not the professors were too restricted by the college’s policy. I saw very little though actually critiquing the grading policy itself.

The college claimed to implement this policy in order to give students with poor study habits and poor high school records a chance to succeed.

I have a problem with that on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to start (there’s that procrastination thing again).

First of all, if I take a course my grade should reflect my level of knowledge of the materials covered. There’s an expectation by everyone that looks at that grade – such as future employers – that the reported grade accurately reflects my knowledge. How hard I had to work or not work to achieve that grade is (should be!) immaterial with respect to my mastery of the subject. A potential employer may want to know how hard a worker I am, but that should not be confused with how well I know a particular subject.

Secondly, many courses build upon courses taken in earlier years. This is particularly true of junior and senior level college courses. To succeed in those courses often requires that a base of knowledge be established in the freshman and sophomore years. If a student is “passed” in the first two years because of hard work (regardless of whether or not the student is dumb as a rock), they are just being setup to fail.

Some students won’t realize they aren’t cut out for their chosen field of study until after they have spent considerable time and money following an ill-advised path their first two years of college. [At this point a true cynic would point out that this could very well be the intent of the college – milk the student for as much as you can before they flunk out. Not being a full-fledged cynic yet, I would not of course make that argument here.]

Finally, this grading policy does a disservice to all students. It degrades all incoming students by making the assumption that “you can’t succeed here on your merits so we’re going to help you along”; it harms those that do have problems with subject material by giving a false sense of security and accomplishment; and it is cheapens the accomplishment of those that do master the material (whether by hard work or a God-given natural ability).

Benedict College’s vision statement says in part “We seek students, faculty, staff, and administrators who are committed to creating a better world through the discovery and application of knowledge”.  This is one developing cynic that believes this can only be accomplished by practicing intellectual honesty in the grading system.

Wayne