Grade Inflation

Statement on Undergraduate Grading Practice–approved by the Faculty Council, May 2007

Individual faculty members are urged to decrease the percentage of A grades awarded by shooting for 33% As (this includes both As and A minuses) in a typical class, large enough to produce the expected bell shaped curve.

The goal is not to force a perfect bell shaped curve on any class and the goal is not to lower GPAs by increasing the number of Fs, Ds, or even Cs.

Rather the goal is:

To differentiate student performance in such a way that truly excellent performance is recognized and awarded with As, and

To put the top of the grading curve of typical classes in the B or B- range.