Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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An Opinion Last week, the USC Board of Trustees held another of its in creasingly popular secretive policy revision meetings. The Board showed total disregard for the concerns of the student body and law school administration and faculty. In a memorial tribute to last spring's decision to allow a com mittee appointed by te University President to admit 7 per cent of the entering freshman law class, the Board dropped the standards of the TRUSTEE Saleeby, according to sources close to him, believes the anonymous grading system was not followed and his son failed because of his political con nections. In a statement issued by Law School Dean Robert W. Foster this past week, the anonymous grading system is outlined: "There is no requirement im posed on members of the Law Center faculty to employ an anonymous grading system either in the regular program or the SPAT Program. For the past several years several members of the Law Center Faculty have elected to employ an anonymous Welcome Bc Friday, Russell - Choppec Baked Potat Cole Slaw, Bi Chocolate Cc 'En joy the i Music begi COMI Pre-game B Enjoy a good before the G SSaturdc (JNIVERSITY DINING SERVICE$ Trustee Summer Pre-Admission Trial Program (SPAT), which allows unqualified students a chance to earn a spot in regular classes from the 2.0 generally required to 1.66. Thus allowing 14 additional students to enter the freshman class, several of whom have major political onnections, namely the sons of State Senators Edward E. Salleby, Norwood Gasque, and U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings. The controversy's major question is why the Board of From Page One grading system for final examinations in the regular program and all of the SPAT professors have used some form of an anonymous grading system during the three summers of the Program's operation. In the summer of 1975, three different methods were used by SPAT professors. One used could be called a "pure anonymous grading system" in which the students record their social security numbers on their exam booklets and after grading the papers, the professor called in the grades by social security number to the Admissions Office." ckC@@I )ept. 12 louse Patio Steak a >, Corn on th aiked Beans, R ike,Iced Teao music of:Bs ns at 7:00 E JOIN US4a uffet at Top c meal with friends amecocks kickoff iy, Sept. 13, 4 $3.95 per pe Call! 81798 for rese sup to Leigh Leventis Trustees must concern itself with law school admissions. The Board has the right, according to state "Another professor had his students place only the social security number on the examination and exam was then graded without knowledge of the names of the students. This professor then matched up the names with the social security numbers and in this manner turned in a grade sheet to the Admissions Office which recorded the grades on a master sheet." "The third professor employed a device that had been used in previous years by having each student place his name and social security number on the cover sheet KOUT 5-7 pm 11 for $185 e Cob, oil 8 O/eo, r Lemonade ARNABY BY E >f Carolina or family the new season :,15-7:00 pm rson ~rvat ions old trici law, to administer the University in any manner it sees fit. Legally, then, the Board could admit anyone it sees fit. But, the Board fails to see that without ac creditation a law school is nothing. Accredidation policies clearly state that the only body allowed to admit law students is the law school admissions com mittee. And, no one else. In analyzing this situation, one must question what prompted the Board to act in such a manner. In a which was then removed from the examination. Again, the examination was graded without knowledge of the individual student and after the grading process was completed, the tear off sheet was used to match the grades with the individual students which he then recorded on the master sheet." "None of the three SPAT professors knew the identity of any student whose examination paper was being graded until after the grading process had been com pleted," Foster said. "While there is no law ,school rule requiring faculty members to grade examination papers anonymously, all examinations in the 1975 SPAT Program were graded anonymously and in accordance with the existing Law Center policy and practice." PROTECT' FAST - SIMPLE - EA CONTAINS IDENTIF NO PERMANENT NoI0 ACSLI TA A STPIUGR I AIYCNELDI I O ER A U ISNIHRPOSNU I TI EPOAIYBI COGIG SCRPO I.0 0 92 PLAEIUH I' NoI0 $ N . 00 10 (2 SACTSLK EA A. I E~AS MT. CONCLEDOSI i ISNIHRPOSNU, society that is becoming more and more competitive how can a body of intelligent men, some of whom are lawyers, lower the standards of the state's only law school? Was it purely politics which prompted this action? Do the rumors of grade discrimination during the SPAT program have validity? If politics is the cause of the reduction of standards, and the Board bowed to the whims of these politicians, the Board should reverse such a foolish decision. If, in fact, a faculty member or members of the law school were guilty of unprofessional or unethical in grading conduct, this, too, must be brought out. In such situations, no one wins. The Board looks bad in the public eye; the University is subject to local, statewide and possible nationwide criticism. Furthermore, the ones who suffer most are the 14 students who have been readmitted. A resolution passed by the faculty states that the students will not be evaluated and certified. Thereafter, branding the 14 students with the Board's decision. This heated debate could have been easily avoided if the Board had followed the law school's Academic Standing Committee's decision to readmit the 14 to next summer's SPAT program. With the Board's past actions, one can only wonder what they have planned next for the law school and the university. fOURSELF! sY-TO-USE CATION DYE DAMAGE No. 1200 I AIT AND. IAD EOOLSRYTA r PERANENLY HAMFUL IlG ASSSEZN N SPECIALT ILMl,S .220 IH OLOIG ACH_____-___3___FOR__ I5 50EAH 5IO ANLN SADe .i.