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CEPC Green Sheet 06/07-07

At the April faculty meeting CEPC will move the approval of changes to the "Grade and Marking System" section of the College Catalog.

Proposed changes to the Catalog: The "Grade and Marking System" section of the College Catalog will be as seen below. In addition, each category, such as "Deep Understanding" will link to a list of grade benchmarks and achievement levels (listed on pp. 2-3 of this motion).

Grade and Marking System

The list below gives a general idea of what is expected of students in order to earn a particular grade. Each professor has his or her own grading system, but the descriptions and links below may be a helpful guide to students, faculty, graduate schools, and employers of St. Olaf College graduates.

Deep Understanding ............Outstanding.............A/A+.............4.0
...............................................Excellent..................A-.................3.7

Clear Understanding.............Very Good................B+................3.3
...............................................Good........................B..................3.0
...............................................Generally Good........B-.................2.7

Basic Understanding............Satisfactory..............C+................2.3
..............................................Sufficient..................C..................2.0
..............................................Marginal...................C-.................1.7

Limited Understanding.........Poor.........................D+................1.3
..............................................Very Poor.................D...................1.0
..............................................Extremely Poor.........D-.................0.7

Inadequate Course Work....Failure.......................F..................0.0

For P/N courses..................Meets expectations...P.................no grade points
.............................................Fails expectations.....N.................no credit

For S/U courses.................C- or higher................S.................no grade points
............................................D+ or lower................U.................no credit

Withdrawals.......................With passing grade...WP...............no credit
............................................With failing grade......WF...............no credit

Incomplete............................................................I..................no credit

Audits.................................Successful audit..........AU...............no credit
...........................................Unsuccessful audit......UA...............no credit

Grade Benchmarks/Achievement Levels  

Deep understanding (A level):

The grade of A recognizes exceptional performance that exceeds course expectations. Such work consistently demonstrates:

• Thorough, deep, and mature understanding.
• Genuine comprehension, insight, and synthesis.
• Significant mastery of challenging topics and issues.
• Extensive familiarity with relevant literature and previous work.
• Highly developed communication skills.
• Thorough preparation and extensive, thoughtful class participation.
• Integration of knowledge, concepts, and principles across disciplines.
• Originality of analysis and interpretation.
• Technical competence in skills and procedures.
• Precision of ideas and clarity of expression.
• Thinking that is independent, creative, and focused.
• Understanding of nuance and subtlety.
• Consistent coherence in argument and discussion.

Students who receive the grade of A consistently demonstrate the ability to:

• Analyze arguments using specific examples and original sources.
• Think logically, draw inferences, and make predictions in complicated situations.
• Communicate reasoning clearly and concisely.
• Think abstractly.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses in arguments, policies, and practices.
• Integrate information to draw well-founded conclusions.
• Connect course content to issues of other courses and world affairs.
• Use models appropriately; recognize their strengths and accommodate their inherent limitations.
• Foresee and evaluate consequences of proposed policies and actions.
• Use technology creatively and effectively.

Clear understanding (B level):  

The grade of B recognizes work that has fully met course expectations. Such work typically demonstrates:

• Clear understanding without much originality.
• Competent grasp of course materials and subject matter.
• Familiarity with relevant literature.
• Competence in communication skills.
• Regular preparation for and participation in class.
• Integration of course knowledge, concepts and procedures.
• Some evidence of critical and creative thought.
• Clear connections between inferences and evidence.
• Care in the use of evidence and quotations with only occasional thinness in argument, detail, or precision.

Students who receive the grade of B usually demonstrate the ability to:

• Extend ideas by connecting with personal experiences, reading, or world events.
• Analyze data in various forms and from varied sources.
• Utilize information to explain events, draw conclusions, and apply results.
• Present comprehensive answers in a clear and logically correct style.
• Understand and compare various models.
• Distinguish inputs from outputs, and causes from effects.
• Recognize consequences of complex interactions.
• Use technology effectively.

Basic understanding (C level):

The grade of C recognizes work that is minimally sufficient to prepare for continued study in the field. Such work demonstrates:

• Adequate grasp of course concepts.
• Partial mastery of knowledge and skills required for understanding.
• Incomplete familiarity with relevant readings or references.
• Writing that lists facts rather than a develops well-reasoned arguments.
• Frequent neglect of important information.
• Partial appreciation of the meaning or implications of a question.
• Answers that are insufficiently developed.
• Minimally complete assignments with many areas for improvement.

Students who receive the grade of C generally demonstrate the ability to:

• Assimilate and communicate simple knowledge and procedures.
• Extend ideas by making simple inferences.
• Make connections among and draw conclusions from course concepts.
• Interpret simple information provided in various formats.
• Organize and display data in tables and graphs.
• Use technology competently.

Limited understanding (D level):

The grade of D indicates a lack of readiness to continue in the field. Such work typically demonstrates:

• Minimal understanding of the subject matter.
• Poorly developed communication skills.
• Inability to apply subject matter understanding in other contexts.
• Little evidence of critical or creative thinking.
• Lack of apparent seriousness.
• Frequent carelessness in fulfilling assignments.

Inadequate understanding (F):

The grade of F indicates that course work is insufficient to merit academic credit. Students who receive an F typically demonstrate:

• Inadequate understanding of subject matter.
• Inadequate or inconsistent preparation.
• Frequent failure to complete assignments in a timely manner.
• Little evidence of critical thought.
• Very poor communication skills.
• Frequent misunderstanding of facts or references.
• Little or no analysis.
• Confused or incomprehensible writing.
• Little or no work offering evidence that course objectives have been met.

Comment on the motion:

A parallel set of grading benchmarks for performance studies, dance technique, and studio art courses in the Fine Arts curriculum will be brought to the faculty for a vote at a future date.

Rationale for the motion:

The College Catalog is the public face of our academic program. As such, the Registrar and CEPC make every effort to update it as needed, and to include information that can be valuable to our own community as well as to visitors, parents, graduate and professional schools, and employers.

The current grade descriptions on p. 45 of the College Catalog are out of date. For example, the grade of B+ is listed as an “excellent” grade, but, in fact, has become the average course grade at St. Olaf. This motion updates the grade descriptions and connects grade levels to certain achievement benchmarks. The accurate information will benefit St. Olaf students and faculty, as well as external organizations – such as graduate schools – that need to know what our grading system is.

Different achievement levels in performance and artistic activities are not fully reflected in the proposed benchmarks. Rather than delay the motion until a parallel set of benchmarks is written, a group of Fine Arts faculty will propose a supplement to this motion that will be voted on at a later date.