Raise your grade point average (GPA) without lifting a finger? It sounds too good to be true, but it could be a possibility for Monmouth College Students. The Academic Affairs Committee of the Associated Students of Monmouth College (ASMC) has reviewed Monmouth’s GPA system and will soon make a proposal to the administration in regards to making revisions to the system.

This all began with the claim that under our current system an A- and a B+ do not balance out to a 3.5, as the system was designed to, but, instead, falls short at 3.45. It may not seem like much, but it has the potential to add up over time.

However, according to the 2007-2008 Monmouth College Course Catalog, an A- is equal to 3.667 while a B+ is equal to a 3.333. When added together and divided by two, this does equal out to 3.5. This does not make this a non-issue however.

For instance, if a student at Monmouth earns a 90% in a class and thus an A-, and another student at another college, which does not uses the same plus and minus system as MC, also earns a 90% in the same class, registering  an A for the course; then the GPA of the Monmouth College student will be lower.

When schools and employers look at the students’ transcripts, an MC student’s grades could look worse than those of a student, say from Knox, even though they received the same grades. Such reasons are why the ASMC and the faculty may reevaluate Monmouth’s current GPA system.

Some questions must be answered: are Monmouth College students losing a competitive edge when going out for internships and graduate school? Does the plus and minus system affect the perceived quality of a Monmouth College student?

Jane Jakoubek, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty, suggested that it may not, “In the real world grades are far less important than most students believe. Grades do not matter as much as experience, character and the ability to deliver.”

Ben Sauer, treasurer for the Academic Affairs Committee revealed several possible ways the system could be revised. First of all, Monmouth does not give an A+, but does give an A-, which results in a lower GPA than that of such colleges who use a system similar that that of Knox College.

A suggested possibility is adopting a flat 4, 3, 2, 1 scale, which may solve the problem, or perhaps adding an A+ for students who put forth the extra effort. Where it goes from here is now dependent on the faculty,  who must approve any change in the system.

To further address these questions, junior Paige Halpin, who serves as the vice president of the student body and as the student representative to the faculty curriculum committee, was asked to bring this issue to the docket for the next meeting of the committee.

In a meeting, Jakoubek suggested that Halpin bring this issue to the attention of those on the curriculum committee.

It is uncertain whether or not the new system will be retroactive, or if it will only affect future MC students. No decisions have been made yet, but Jakoubek suggested that the best way for the issue to be discussed is to get the student conversation into the curriculum committee.

According to Jakoubek, “The change would have to be approved by the faculty,” she went on to comment that, “any change would be made effective the following year,” and that “it would be rare for a policy to be made retroactive but the faculty does have the ability to do that.”

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