Oakland University Senate
Thursday, 12 January 1984
3:10 p.m.
128, 129, 130 Oakland Center
AGENDA
Respectfully submitted by Keith R. Kleckner for the Steering Committee.
A. Old Business:
1. Motion from the Committee on General Education to establish a new University-wide General Education program (Ms. Tripp; Ms. Gerulaitis):
MOVED that all undergraduate students be required to complete at least 32 credits in General Education with at least one course taken in each of eight field categories; and that the following stipulations apply:
a. that the field categories be specified as:
1. Arts
2. Literature
3. Language
4. Western Civilization
5. International Studies
6. Social Science
7. Mathematics, Logic, and Computer Science
8. Natural Science and Technology;
b. that each field category contain a limited number of courses, to be approved by the University Committee on General Education;
c. that the 32 credits of General Education be considered a minimum credit requirement which academic units may increase for their own students:
d. that this requirement be binding on all incoming students starting in the fall semester of 1985; except e. that students from Michigan community colleges who enroll there before the fall of 1984 and enroll at Oakland University before the fall of 1986 with more than 30 accepted transfer credits be allowed to choose to meet the earlier General Education requirement as presented in the 1984-85 Undergraduate Catalog.
Second Reading: Debatable, amendable, and eligible for final vote at this meeting.
2. Concurrent motion from the Steering Committee to modify graduation requirements (Ms. Boulos, Mr. Copenhaver):
MOVED that the requirement that every student must present at least eight credits of genuinely free electives as a condition for graduation be repealed.
Second Reading: Debatable, amendable, and eligible for final vote at this meeting.
B. New Business:
1. Motion from the University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction and the Academic Standing and Honors Committee to revise the undergraduate grading system (Mr. Evarts):
MOVED that for undergraduate students:
a. the grade N be eliminated for numerically-graded courses and replaced by the grade 0.0, which grade will carry no credit, will enter into the grade point average, and will appear on the academic transcript;
b. the grade N be eliminated for S/N graded-courses and replaced by the grade U (unsatisfactory), which grade will carry no credit or numerical equivalent and will appear on the academic transcript;
c. the grades WS and WN be eliminated;
d. the P grade, if not removed within a calendar year of its assignment, be changed to a numeric grade of 0.0;
e. the period for granting the W (withdrawal without assessment of progress) grade be extended to nine weeks in fourteen-week courses and to five weeks in seven-week courses;
f. in the case of severe hardship beyond the control of a student which occurs after the cut-off date for use of the W grade and which prevents the student from completing course requirements, the I (incomplete) grade be utilized;
g. completion of work to remove an I grade is to be accomplished during the first four weeks of the next semester (Fall or Winter) for which a student registers, unless an extension is requested by the student and approved by the instructor and the dean of the appropriate School or College. The I shall be changed to a grade of 0.0 at the end of that semester if the work has not been completed. If more than three terms intervene before the student next registers at Oakland University, the I shall be changed to a grade of. 0.0; and h. the effective date for implementing these changes shall be September 1, 1984.
First Reading: Debatable, amendable, but not eligible for final vote at this meeting.
General Comment: The essence of this motion is to attach a grade point weighting of 0.0 to all situations in which a student completes a course unsuccessfully. All grades not specifically mentioned in the motion (numeric grades, S, R, Z) retain their current usages.
The present N grade given for failing performance by a student in class has a null effect upon the grade point average and only becomes a factor in student evaluation when a student has accumulated a sufficient number of N grades to cast doubt upon progress toward graduation. The Academic Standing and Honors Committee and UCUI advance legislation to drop the N and to return the 0.0 as a no credit grade for several reasons.
First, the N grade does not truly reflect student performance, and its use presents a false picture of student progress in some cases. The effect is to delude the student into misconstruing his or her progress and to misrepresent student performance to prospective employers and faculty with access to student records.
Second, the use of the N grade both complicates and Impedes the work of advisors and committees within the University whose concern is the assessment of student academic standing. For Instance, the N grade has forced the development of the Academic Progress Index to measure successful progress toward graduation. Frequently, students who otherwise demonstrate apparently satisfactory GPA' s can be seen to be in academic difficulty warranting probation or separation from the University on the basis of the number of credits attempted against those which have been successfully completed. Though ultimately efficient, the API is complicated and difficult to explain to students. A return to figuring 0.0 grades for courses receiving no credit would more simply accomplish the goal of reflecting academic deficiency.
Finally, the adjustment of the grading system toward clarity and truth in representing student standing should be attractive to students Interested in credentials from a university which maintains quality by embracing a reasonably stringent and realistic system of evaluation.
Additional Comments (keyed to segments of the motion):
a. This action would modify the existing Senate-approved numerical conversions for certain external purposes (3.6-4.0 =A, 3.0-3.5=B, 2.0-2.9=C, 1.0-1.9=D) by adding 0.0= F (failure).
b. This eliminates all vestiges of the N grade on transcripts and reinstates the S/U grading option with the same meanings it held prior to institution of N grades.
c. This action, along with that of "a", will cause a student's grade-point average (GPA) for future work to equal his or her academic progress index (APS) for that same work, allowing elimination of the latter measure.
d. P grades currently revert to N on this same schedule.
e. The W grade cut-off points are currently seven weeks and 3-1/2 weeks respectively.
f. Presently, the I grade can be given under this same condition of hardship, but only after the thirteenth week of the course. WS/WN grading fills the gap between the end of the W grade period and the beginning of the thirteenth week. Elimination of the latter grades requires that the W-grade and/or I-grade periods be extended. This motion does both, to some degree.
g. The only change from current practice here is to cause the I grade to revert to 0.0 rather than N.
h. The academic standing of a student who enters the University in Fall, 1984, or thereafter will be determined purely on the basis of Grade Point Average (equivalent to the current Academic Progress Index). The academic standing of any other student will be determined by utilizing his or her cumulative Academic Progress Index for work completed prior to Fall, 1984, and Grade Point Average thereafter. (Note: For all work done In Fall, 1984, or later under the terms of this legislation, GPA = API.)
C. Good and Welfare:
Private Resolutions
D. Information Items: