The Academic Planning Committee of the Faculty Senate has proposed that a new faculty awareness program be created to help educate faculty on the issue of grade inflation and their role in the overall grading rubric of the university.

The proposal arose from a perceived problem with grade inflation. Over the last few years the average GPA of students at private universities have risen significantly, Brian Kiteley, a member of the Academic Planning Committee, said, causing the significance of overall GPAs to shrink in the eyes of potential employers.

Some students have also expressed concerns that there is a lack of continuity of grading policies among different professors, according to John McMahon, AUSA senator.

“The Daniels College of Business is being told by prospective employers their graduates’ GPAs are being discounted (and in some cases disregarded).  Other divisions at the university are aware of the issue but see less direct impact,” said Kiteley.

The program proposed by members of the Faculty Senate would educate professors about where the grades they give fall in the overall GPA of the school, and the university grading policies. It would also educate professors about better methods for describing their own grading policies in the course syllabi. 

“The committee proposes an awareness program for faculty, allowing each instructor to see how she or he fits into the overall pattern of the University of Denver’s grading.  We hope that this information allows individual instructors to weigh the purpose of a course with the grades given,” Kitely said.

The committee also suggested that faculty be surveyed to determine what class materials grades are based on. A survey of students on the fairness of grades is another option, Kiteley said.

Kiteley said the committee opposes any program that would regulate or mandate grading.

The current undergraduate bulletin only outlines a basic understanding of the four-point grading scale.  Currently, there is no policy stating how letter grades correlate to the 100-point scale. In one class a score of 93 points out of 100 on an assignment means an A, while in another class a score of  85 points out of 100 is an A. The committee advocates that a policy be established that regulates the 100-point scale and be made available to both faculty and students.

Some AUSA members, however, are somewhat skeptical of the problem in general.

“I, personally, am not fully convinced that there is a problem with ‘grade inflation.’ I agree with Professor Kiteley’s approach to this issue,” McMahon said.

The proposal has been presented to the Faculty Senate twice and also to the AUSA Senate for consideration, but no decisions for have been made.