In the near future, Baker University professors may be required to submit midterm grades to not only freshmen, but to all students.
Junior Ryan Boyer, the only student representative on the Academic Standards and Enrollment Committee, said the committee discussed the topic of this new requirement and compiled a survey that was distributed to every professor on campus.
Looking at the results, Boyer said professors overwhelmingly supported the idea of giving midterm grades to all students.
Associate Professor of French Erin Joyce said she is in support of the proposal, as she said it would not be any more work than it is now, and she wants to help students out as much as possible.
“I’m for it because I keep track of all the grades anyway, so it’s not going to be any extra work for me,” Joyce said. “The sooner we can officially notify students the better because it helps students get the help they need.”
The discussion was brought up because of policies known as academic caution and academic probation. If students have lower than a 2.0 GPA, they can be given these statuses, listed in order of severity. If students are unaware of their class performance, it can dig a deep hole, Boyer said.
“It takes students forever to get out of that hole,” Boyer said. “With midterm grades (submitted to everyone), it can help students get out of this … it’s like a wake-up call to them.”
Joyce said if professors were not in favor of the midterm requirement, it was because they thought after one year of college experience students could figure their own grades. She said professors could still send the grades as a more accurate account of the students’ grades as an additional source of information.
“I think there’s value in students keeping track of their grades, but I think if (professors) have them figured anyway, it’s not going to be that much more work,” Joyce said.
Sophomore Aaron Plattner said he is in support of the new proposed requirement, and he said freshmen should not be the only class supplied with midterm grades.
“I think all students should be able to see where they stand at the midterm,” Plattner said. “I think (professors) feel once you’re past a freshman, you can keep track of your own grades. Once you get to college, though, a freshman is the same as a junior maturity level.”
Sophomore Greg Rogers was also in favor of the idea, as he said college grades are harder to access.
“In college, grades aren’t nearly as accessible as in high school,” Rogers said. “I think we should be able to have (mid-term grades) because I can say to myself, ‘You need to kick it in high-gear.’ I think it’d help out any student.”
Professor of English Lucy Price said she supports the idea, but she doesn’t know if it would be completely accurate if not a lot of graded work had been turned in midway through the semester.
“I would support (the new plan),” Price said. “The only issue I have is that at midterms, if professors only have a few grades, there’s not a big base.”
Price said professors may have to better organize their classes and assignments to create a larger base so the grade is more accurate.
She said early notification of an accurate grade is beneficial to students, as opposed to only grades at the end of a term.
“I think it’s a bad idea to let (students) hang on and think they’ll come out OK when, really, they’re clearly not succeeding,” she said.
The proposal was presented to faculty senate Tuesday and was passed, which means it is more likely to become reality next year.