University of Virginia Library

Eight Pass-Fails

Opponents of Mr. Kolodziej's motion stated
that students were not required to take eight
pass-fail courses. They claimed eight was not a
large number of pass-fail courses in a system
where students took five courses a semester.
Dante L. Germino, professor of Government
and Foreign Affairs, argued for retention of
eight pass-fail courses, asserting that such a
system was in accord with the committee
proposal's "basic assumption to shift
responsibility to the student."

Mr. Kolodziej's motion was defeated by a
vote of 110 to 69.

A second motion arose out of discussion of
how a pass-fail course was to be computed in a
student's grade point average. Under the
proposal of the committee, a student failing a
pass-fail course would receive no degree credit
for the course but would not have the "F"
averaged into his grade point average.

Paul T. David, professor of Government and
Foreign Affairs, presented a motion which
stated that pass-fail courses "graded F shall be
computed in the grade point average as course
attempted and failed; courses graded P shall not
affect the GPA." Faculty members arguing
against the motion by Mr. David stated that one
of the intents of pass-fail courses was to
encourage a student to take courses in areas
other than those in which he felt most familiar
and safe. Failing a pass-fail course, they argued,
should not damage his grade-point average.
They said the fact that a student would not
receive credit toward his degree for failing such
a course was enough punishment.

Mr. David's motion was defeated by a vote
of 89-68.