TL20050207_001 "Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Monday, 2/07/05 Fair offers look at study abroad 5 Caret maps out TU's two paths 5 Rec services adds exercise incentives 6 mtvU programs go beyond videos Departments Opinion News 5 Paw Prints 6 Campus Calendar. 8 Arts 13 Sound Bites ....13 Entertainment Briefs 14 Sports 20 In This Corner. 20 Face-Off. 19 Classifieds 16 C minus policy debate continues SGA to introduce proposal eliminating current grading system during Monday Senate meeting Brian Stelter Kristi Funderburk The Towerlight Eleven months after the Student Government Association first introduced a resolution involving the C minus grade, the University Senate will consider a motion this afternoon to end the C minus debate and maintain the current plus/minus grading policy. The Senate Executive Committee will present the motion """"after careful consideration and deliberation, and on the advice of the Academic Standards Committee,"""" according to the meeting agenda. Unsatisfied with the motion, SGA representatives have posted fliers and sent e-mails encouraging students to attend the Senate meeting to protest the grading policy. The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. in University Union Rooms 314-316. """"The SGA believes that our current grading system is unsatisfactory to many students and faculty alike,"""" a message on the Daily Digest said last week. SGA representatives hope to introduce a motion to change the plus/minus system at today's meeting. When the Senate approved a consistent plus/minus grading system last March, it was seen as a victory for the SGA, which had identified the issue as its biggest academic goal of the year. But their second motion, to eliminate the C minus grade, has become entangled in debate and committee consideration. """"The Senate may see this as the only workable way to get off the dime at this point,"""" Provost James Brennan said. """"Often times when people really can't agree, after talking and talking and talking it through, one solution is just not to change it. I think that's where some of the thinking is."""" University Senate Chairperson Tim Sullivan said everyone involved wants the grading system to be fair, equitable and appropriate. """"This is clearly a topic of great concern to a number of constituents, which of course the reason this debate has continued on now for as long as it has,"""" he said. Sullivan said he is confident the Senate will be able to reach some sort of resolution that addresses the concerns of all sides. SGA Vice President Darcy Accardi said students would try to introduce an alternative at the meeting. The SGA hopes to present the benefits of the University of Maryland College Park's """"compromise"""" grading policy. At College Park, """"An A minus is a 4.0, and a B plus is still a 3.0,"""" Accardi said. She explained several advantages of the system, including students and professors would have an easier time keeping track of grades. Additionally, Accardi said if a student applies to graduate school, any plusses or minuses they received will still show up on their transcript, and grades will still be reconfigured for applicants from different undergraduate schools. Finally, in the case of scholarships, there would be no differentiation between the minus grade and the straight grade in a pass/fail situation. """"It solves a lot of the inadequacies and the problems with the plus/minus system, but it also gives the teachers...a way to differentiate students in the same grade range,"""" Accardi said. Accardi said a student in the honors college could be removed from or maintain their scholarship based on whether their performance was a straight or a plus/minus grade. See SGA, page 9 Paws celebrates Super Bowl with pre-game festivities Lisa Johnson/The Towerhght Kim Patterson (center), a freshman accounting major, watches the Super Bowl pre-game show with her boyfriend Bobby Miller and freshman forensic chemistry major Kati Fox in Paws Sunday evening. Free appetizers were offered to students watching the game on a large projection screen. Today High 55 Low 37 Tuesday High 52 Low 38 Wednesday High 52 Low 34 Thursday High 44 Low 26 Friday High 38 Low 24"
