Graduate Academic Policies 
Affected by the New +/- Grading System

Senate Document No. 01-07

PROPOSAL TO THE ACADEMIC SENATE

TITLE: Graduate Academic Policies Affected by the New +/- Grading System

SUBMITTED BY: Academic Policies Committee

DATE:  November 30, 2001

ACTION IS: Legislative  Authority                    

REFERENCES ARE: (1) UD Graduate School Bulletin, January 2001.  (2) Senate Document 01-02 - Alternative Grading System, approved on March 23, 2001.

DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSAL:

Background

During the 2000-2001 academic year, the Academic Senate considered and passed a new graduate grading system.  This new system is a +/- system and the new possible grades (in addition to the grades of the current system) that may be awarded are the following:  A-, B+, and B-.  The Executive Committee of the Academic Senate requested that the Academic Policies Committee review all academic policies that may be affected by the new +/- grading system.

Based on information provided to it by the Graduate Council, the Academic Policies Committee identified the following policy that may be affected by the new +/- grading system.

Transfer Credit.  The Graduate School Bulletin, January 2001, page 17, specifies the policy for graduate transfer credits.  This policy includes the following qualification on transfer credit, "...graduate work may be transferred from other accredited institutions to the University of Dayton provided the work is of B grade or better."

Question:  Should this requirement be changed to "B-"?

Consultation

As a key input to its deliberation on the potential impact of the new grading system, the Academic Policies Committee requested that the Graduate School and the Graduate Council review all graduate policies that may be affected.

Rationale

The current graduate grading system provides for the following grades:  A, B, C, and F.  The newly approved grading system will contain these grades:  A, A-, B+, B, B-, C, and F.  The Committee developed the following premise concerning how the new system will be implemented:

Based on this premise, the Committee has drawn the following general conclusion:

Any university-wide, graduate academic policy that refers to a grade of "B" should be interpreted, under the new grading system, as referring to grades of "B+ or B or B-."

And, the Academic Policies Committee reached the following specific conclusion:

The graduate transfer credit policy should state that one requirement for graduate work to be transferred to the university is that the work must be of grade "B-" or better.

The Graduate Council reported "general consensus" with this conclusion on transfer credit.

Note 1:  Policies Based on Cumulative GPA.  Whereas the above academic policy involves grades awarded for specific courses, there are two graduate academic policies that involve a student's cumulative grade point average (GPA):  (1) specifications of good standing - cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, and (2) graduation requirements that include a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.  The Committee noted that the cumulative GPA is a measure of average academic performance for a collection of courses and is not the same type of measure as a grade for one course.  Thus, the Committee determined that these policies that involve cumulative GPA are not directly affected by the new grading system.  The Graduate Council reported "general consensus" with the conclusion that these policies should not be changed.

Note 2:  Policies of Individual Academic Units.  The Committee also discussed graduate academic policies developed by individual academic units and applied only to specific programs.  These policies are not in the purview of the Academic Senate.  However, the Committee urges faculty and academic leaders in the various academic units to review carefully all such academic policies in light of the newly approved graduate grading system.

Motions:

Based on the foregoing background and rationale, the Academic Policies Committee submits the following motion:

The graduate policy on transfer credit should include the requirement that for graduate work to be eligible for transfer, the work must be of grade "B-" or better.