The Cavalier daily :: Wednesday, December 16, 1970 :: University of Virginia Library

Last spring, the College Faculty had
assigned a .3 grade point credit to all
pluses and minuses. This would moan,
for example, that a B+ would count as
3.3 in a student's grade point average.

Irby Cauthen, Dean of the College,
stated that the Faculty may have rushed
through the decision on pluses and
minuses last year so as to get what some
considered "more important matters" in
curriculum reform.

Mr. Cauthen stated that he felt that
the assignment of grade point credit to pluses
and minuses "moved directly against the spirit
of the new, flexible curriculum."

He continued that the assignment of such
credit "made grades too important" to the
student.

William Harbaugh of the history department
stated that he felt the assignment of grade point
credit to pluses and minuses reduced the
emphasis on grades.

Mr. Harbaugh added that it was a "painful
decision to make and receive a lower grade" if a
student was between two full letter grades. He
indicated that the adding of numerical value to
pluses and minuses would remove this pain.

Arthur Stocker of the Classics Department
said that he was under the impression that the
decision to give pluses and minuses was a
teacher's option.

If this was true, he said, "there would be a
statistical flaw in the computing of grades" for
different students depending upon which
instructors they had.

Mr. Stocker added that he did not think that
the giving of pluses and minuses should be
optional.

Doug Bain, a fourth year student, told the
Faculty that the students were generally
opposed to the assignment of credit to pluses
and minuses.

Dante Germino of the Government
Department stated that he felt that the whole
grading system needed fundamental reform. Mr.
Germino said that he hoped in future years the
Faculty would catch up with the consciousness
of the more serious students and go towards a
non-grading system.

Following the vote, Mr. Cauthen said that
the decision would become effective
immediately and that no numerical credit
would be given to pluses and minuses this
semester.

The faculty also decided by voice vote to
allow two degree credit hours for service
physical education courses on a pass-fail basis.
The courses would count, however, as part of
the hours a student could take outside of the
College.

On the outcome of another note, however,
no physical education courses offered in the
Education School would be allowed to be
applied for degree credit by a College student.

Fred Diehl of the Biology department stated
that what the Faculty had done on physical
education was ironic. He stated that at the last
Faculty meeting, a few Faculty members had
said that they felt that the physical education
courses offered in the Education School were
"qualitatively inferior" to courses offered in
the College.

Mr. Diehl said that the Faculty was allowing
service physical education courses but not
professional physical education to be applied
towards a college degree.

William Abbot of the History department
stated that unless credit was given to the service
physical education courses, the program would
not be able to be continued.

One faculty member stated that the
intention of the resolutions would be to end all
degree credit in the College for all physical
education, health, and recreation courses
offered in the Education School.

Following a brief discussion with the
members of the committee that had proposed
the resolution, Mr. Cauthen agreed that the
intention of the motion was to eliminate
College degree credit for the three types of
courses mentioned and that it would be
interpreted as such by his office.

Finally, the Faculty reduced the number of
degree credit hours outside of the College a
College student can apply towards his degree.
The Faculty decided to reduce the number of
hours from 15 to 12.

This reduction will only apply to classes
entering the University on or after September
1971.