What does it take to get an A at the UO?
EUGENE, Ore. -- Grades are going up at the University of Oregon, but not simply because students are smarter or studying harder.
Karen Sprague, vice provost for undergraduate studies, says it has more to do with grade inflation -- professors giving high marks that aren't necessarily deserved.
A study conducted by the Undergraduate Council found the number of A's given increased 10 percent over a 12-year period. The school's overall grade point average rose 5 percent. Meanwhile, the average SAT scores of the student body remained the same.
"It's always easier to give a student a higher grade -- the student's going to be happier so there'll be fewer complaints and so forth," Sprague said.
Members of the Undergraduate Council are now proposing that each field of study come up with its own grading standards, which are clearly conveyed to the faculty.
The school's student handbook already gives grading guidelines -- 'A' = excellent; 'B' = good; 'C' = satisfactory; 'D' = inferior; and 'F' = unsatisfactory.
But Sprague says the one-word definitions are subject to interpretation, and what works well in one department may not fit another.
Sprague said grade inflation is an important issue because it makes it harder for employers to trust transcripts. It also undermines the work of students who truly deserve high marks.
"If all the grades are squeezed in between B+ and A+ what are we really communicating to students about the quality of their work?"
Grade inflation isn't unique to Oregon -- it's a trend confronting most schools across the country.
The reason why, isn't entirely clear.
Sprague says she thinks much of it begins with the rising expectations of students. Grades are being inflated in high school, so when students arrive in college and receive a 'B' or 'C', they can't believe it, and schedule a meeting with the professor.
And without clear guidelines in all departments, professors, in some cases, are willing to oblige.
Truman Capps, a senior, said he's known friends who've pleaded with professors, saying if they don't get a good grade, they won't be able to get into grad school, or get a good job.
"My friend even tried crying -- and it worked," he said.
Capps wrote an editorial for the Oregon Daily Emerald, the student newspaper, criticizing a culture in which "everyone gets a B just for showing up."
"We should be giving grades refective of the work, not just that (a student) got out of bed at 8 a.m and went to class," he said.
In raising the issue of grade inflation, Sprague said she hopes to put the focus on the broader issue of "grade culture." "Students are just knocking themselves thinking they need to get all A's," she said. "That's no way to live. That's no way to learn."
