Volume CXXXII, Number 1 September 13, 2002 f

Controversial grading and reporting changes approved
ALEC SCHLEY
STAFF WRITER

The Faculty voted on May 6 to include GPA on student transcripts; a decision that will go into effect for all students in the 2002-2003 school year. The decision to implement GPA was finalized one month after the faculty voted to add pluses and minuses to the Bowdoin grading system. Before the 2002-2003 school year, GPAs were calculated for the sole purpose of determining various academic honors, such as Sarah and James Bowdoin scholar list. Students often calculated GPAs unofficially for potential employers, frequently with inaccurate results. A major concern for administrators was the accuracy of GPA calculations.

According to Christine Cote, Director of Institutional Research and Registrar of Student Records, "it seemed only right that the very office responsible for grades and records should do an official calculation."

The addition of GPAs to transcripts, coupled with a new plus/minus grading system, has left students concerned that Bowdoin will take on an increasingly competitive atmosphere. According to Hallie Mueller '06, "The introduction of pluses and minuses and GPA at Bowdoin works against the school's liberal arts philosophy of self-discovery… Bowdoin's de-emphasis on grades and test scores was one of things that appealed to me most when I was a prospective student."

Craig A. McEwen, Dean for Academic Affairs, does not believe that the official calculation of GPAs will discourage students from taking advantage of their liberal arts education. Said McEwen, "I personally think [calculation of GPA] will have little effect [on the motivation of students]. Students previously knew that GPAs were computed for them by others and they often computed their own. This formal change does more to standardize how GPAs are computed than to create something that wasn't there before."

Cote agreed with McEwen's assessment of the changes, "previous to this policy change, Bowdoin students had been very aware of their GPAs (they did their own computations for resumes), so in a way I don't think anything has really changed," she said. "I think the vast majority of students come to Bowdoin seeking an excellent liberal arts education and are eager to be challenged. Having my office now produce an official GPA is not going to change that." Potentially more troubling than GPAs for students is the adjustment to a plus/minus grading system. Many believe that having pluses and minuses will irrevocably lead to more stress at an already rigorous institution. "People don't object to the fact that [the plus/minus system] is a more accurate indicator," said Haliday Douglas '05. "People object to the fact that they will have to work harder to achieve their desired grade."
Although many students fear for the worst, administrators suggest that pluses and minuses on a transcript will not have a discernable negative effect on students looking at graduate school or for jobs.

"I suspect there will be no net effect. Employers rarely look at fine distinctions on GPAs. Graduate and professional schools pay more attention, and for some students, this change may help a bit by increasing the averages; for others it may have the opposite effect," said McEwen. "But the marginal effects are likely to be very small and not very important in admissions decisions that take into account many factors, including a student's record of independent work, recommendations, and test scores."
This is not the first time Bowdoin has altered its grading system. The College made a much more radical grading transition in the early nineties when it moved from HH (high honors, H (honors), P (passing), and F (failure), to the more conventional A, B, C, D and F system.