Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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New( BY DUNCAN MANSFIELD of The Gamecock staff A vastly revised grading system, abandoning the No Credit (NC) grade, will be used at USC this fall. The new grade system will retain the following symbols from the present system: A, B and C (in their traditional meaning), in complete (I), satisfactory(S) and unsatisfactory (U) in courses taken on a pass-fail basis; and (AUD) audit. The grades for passing below average (D) and failure (F) will be reinstated to replace the NC. The University will not change the transcript of a past or present student who has received an NC in a course. Also, the procedure for with drawing from a class has changed somewhat. Similar to !ast year's system, withdrawal from a class before the free drop date will not be recorded on a student's transcript. Withdrawal after the free drop date (WF) will be treated at an F, affecting the student's Grade Point Ratio (GPR). A grade of WF can be changed to W if a student withdraws completely from the University, or has had health problems. In an intereseting change in this area, the new Faculty Manual explicitly states the duty of a professor to provide some mechanism of evaluation for the student before the drop date. John Herr, chairman of the Faculty Senate which composed both the new manual and grading system, AsiE "USC. I 5 S P E A At L S "We 101u c wrading said this specific revision in the Manual was "actually just a wording change, which will provide greater individual at tention (in the classroom)." The new grading system also allows for a no record symbol (NR) to be assigned by the registrar's office when a professor is late turning in grades. The NR is replaced with one of the above grades when it is received by the registrar. Under the new system grade points will be: A, four points; B, three points; C. two points; D, one point; and F, no points. A 2.0 GPR is still required for graduation. Under last year's system a graduating student had to submit his total GPR hours to his academic dean for graduation approval, but starting this fall a student may choose his "best 120 hours for graduation application purPo"su-N." In effect, this gives the student two GPR totals: one for the University, the other for his major school. The new ruling is designed for "the person who had a poor academic start, but was able to come back and have a good finish," explained Herr. A change in the requirements for being an honor graduate will also become effective this fall. GPR standards for graduating with honors will now be: 3.90-4.00 for Summa cum Laude, 3.65-3.89 for Magna cum Laude, and 3.40-3.64 for Cum Laude. Each honor er's Cc 5 Pts. Cot. s most popul Liebfraui Lambrust "Special groi * Rhine * Burgundy * Rose I popular Bra 355 pkg will underse Systen qualification has been lowered by 0.1 GPR. T. Luther Gunter, director of registration, is in charge of im plementing the new program. He termed the new requirements for honor graduation as "sliding down the scale." He said, 'A student is basically given one extra course ( to perform poorly in) and still qualify for honors." Herr said he would like to see the standards raised back to their original position. The new grading system will affect transfer students seeking graduation with honors. A new rule says a minimum of 60 ac credited GPR hours must be earned in residence at USC to receive honors eligibility. Previously under the NC system, a transfer's GPR was figured only on the basis of his hours earned at USC, disregarding his previous GPR at another school. The new program specifies that a transfer's total GPR will be registered, in cluding his work done outside USC. Each student's academic record will he reviewed at the end of the spring semester under the new system. If the student fails to pass half his courses of the preceding 12 months, he will be suspended. This will not apply for students carrying less than 12 hours work nor for those who maintain at least a 2.50 GPR and pass 12 credit hours. If a student is placed on suspension beginning in Sep tember, he can attend summer >rk &1H Harden 4V B ar spirits sho nilch bp-Calif. Wi $j.9 H/( Pabst nds Miller Lite 11 any other n 1 ToBe school preceding the suspension date. If he satisfies the 50 per cent rule, the suspension will be removed. Suspension will not last longer than two semesters. The present NC grading system was instituted in 1971, and as one faculty member said, "we've been trying to get rid of it ever since." The NC system has caused problems both within and outside the University. "When our graduates leave the University to go to a graduate school or find a job, they will often find that an NC will be considered as an F," said Faculty Senate Chairman Herr. "This is unfair," he added, "because a lot of NC grades are not failures." Herr also mentioned that within his classroom experience he has seen students accept an NC in a course if it looked like they could not get an A or B. Other professors questioned responded in similar manner. The Faculty Senate took almost a year to agree on their final proposal for the new grading system. It has not been significantly altered since its presentation in April. William Hawkins, chairman of the Com mittee on Academic Affairs and Faculty Liaison in the Faculty Senate, which studied the Senate proposal for the Board of Trustees, said, "We felt the proposal was well founded, and would be benefic:ial change for the University." ottle S. lossom St. p for 35 yea es" * lal. Iiwaukee $1 Blue Ribbon ~dvertised pri Used The new grading structure will be used in the fall in its present form, but there is the possibility some additions will be made by the spring. Half grades (B+. C+ etc.) might be incorporated into the system on a basis of a professor's grading preferences. Several Faculty Senate members are now in favor of such a plan. Also, a student survey taken last spring by the Student Government Association showed that 60 per cent of students surveyed would prefer the half grades. In fact, the motion for half grades was almost passed by the Faculty Senate in their April meeting, but was eventually tabled. President William Patterson has suggested that a student should be able to "erase" an F grade from his record if he later takes the same class again and passes it. Patterson is also in favor of letting a student clear his record of poor grades received in classes which he can not use after changing from one major to another. Generally, University faculty and administration members interviewed seemed pleased with the new grade system, if for no other reason than it would replace the present NC system. A typical response of faculty members was that both systems were workable and the new program will not af fect them significantly. But this is to be expected, for the new system is designed to specifically help the student, and particularly the USC graduate student. ho P hop .89 6 pkg. $1.67 $1.89 $1.89 ces."