03-06-2011, 12:33 AM
As a professor, I think what we're seeing is the outcome of an emphasis on "retention" and "graduation rates." We get hit with that every year because "THE LEGISLATURE IS WATCHING AND IF OUR RETENTION/GRADUATION RATES DOESN'T GO UP THEY WILL CUT OUR FUNDING!!!!!!!!" Heaven forbid they cut our funding, so there is a substantial pressure to give good enough grades to get 'em out. Add to that the fact that enrollments skyrocket in bad economic times. We are bursting at the seems with students, many of whom are not well-prepared for college-level work and yet we are supposed to retain and graduate increasing numbers...
As a father of a recent grad from Vanderbilt, my daughter has told me that it was pretty typical for students to get pretty good grades with moderate effort but it took a lot of work to get very high grades consistently. Maybe the "gentleman's C" has become the "gentleman's B."
Oh, by the way, I discovered earlier tonight that grade distributions for individual faculty members are available at a site called courserank.com. Just wait until that becomes widely recognized among students!
As a father of a recent grad from Vanderbilt, my daughter has told me that it was pretty typical for students to get pretty good grades with moderate effort but it took a lot of work to get very high grades consistently. Maybe the "gentleman's C" has become the "gentleman's B."
Oh, by the way, I discovered earlier tonight that grade distributions for individual faculty members are available at a site called courserank.com. Just wait until that becomes widely recognized among students!