Millersville University, Faculty Senate

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TO:	FACULTY SENATE
FROM:	ACADEMIC POLICIES COMMITTEE
DATE:	22 APRIL 1997
RE:	REVISION OF GOVERNANCE MANUAL DUE TO IMPLEMENTATION OF PLUS/MINUS GRADING SYSTEM

Millersville's conversion to a plus/minus grading system precipitates a number of changes to those Governance Manual provisions which contain letter grade references. The Academic Policies Committee proposes the following package of motions in order to bring the GM in line with the new grading system.

These motions do not address provisions related to the Honors Program or Graduate Studies as they involve additional issues beyond the mandate of APC.

MOTION #1:

Any reference to a letter grade "average" in the GM be converted to its numerical equivalent (with the exception of final exam exemption, see Motion #2).

This motion impacts the GM provisions below in the following manner:

Transfer Applicants, P. 52, #1

FROM:
"Evidence of general scholarship as shown by an official transcript on which the applicant has maintained an overall academic average of "C" or better...Applicants with less than a "C" average may be considered for probationary admission if they have been out of school for at least one semester and meet freshman admissions criteria."

TO:
"Evidence of general scholarship as shown by an official transcript on which the applicant has maintained an overall academic average of 2.00 or better...Applicants with less than a 2.00 average may be considered for probationary admission if they have been out of school for at least one semester and meet freshman admissions criteria.

Part-Time Non-Degree Students, P. 53

FROM:
"After part-time non-degree students have completed at least 15 credits in at least two subject areas with an average of "C" or better, they may apply for degree-seeking status."

TO:
"After part-time non-degree students have completed at least 15 credits in at least two subject areas with an average of 2.00 or better, they may apply for degree-seeking status."

Undergraduate Credit Courses, P. 74, #1

FROM:
Upon completing 15 credits with a "C" average or better, students may apply for degree status and continue studies on either a full or part-time basis."

TO:
"Upon completing 15 credits with a 2.00 or better, students may apply for degree status and continue studies on either a full or part-time basis."

Rationale:

Using the numerical equivalent rather than a letter grade average is more explicitly clear.

MOTION #2:

Replace the current GM policy on final exam exemptions:

"The final examination policy of the University shall permit a faculty member to excuse a student from the final exam providing the student has attained superior achievement (an "A" average) prior to the final exam."

With the following:

"The final examination policy of the University shall permit a faculty member to excuse a student from the final exam providing the student has attained excellent achievement (an "A" grade) prior to the final exam."

Rationale:

#1	To be excused from the final, a truly superior achievement of an "A" should be the standard rather than an "A-."
#2	The word "superior" is replaced with "excellent" in order to make the wording more consistent with the grade descriptions on P. 93.

MOTION #3

The terms currently used to describe achievement in relation to each letter grade as outlined on p. 93 of the GM ("Grading and Quality Points System"), remain the same for the new grade ranges, with no further delineation.

The new system would appear as follows:

A	Excellent
A-
B+
B	Good
B-
C+
C	Acceptable
C-
D+
D	Poor
D-
F	Fail

Rationale:

In a survey of just under 100 colleges and universities which have a plus/minus system, nearly all make no further distinctions than those that appear above.

MOTION #4

Any reference to a letter grade minima be changed to the minus version of that grade (with the exception of minimum earned credit section on p. 93 under "Grading and Quality Point System").

The following GM provisions would be impacted:

Proficiency Policies and Placement, P. 54, #A3

FROM:
"Students placed in a developmental mathematics course must satisfactorily complete it with a grade of C or above prior to taking any mathematics course at the 100 level or higher or any QARC course."

TO:
"Students placed in a developmental mathematics course must satisfactorily complete it with a grade of C- or above prior to taking any mathematics course at the 100 level or higher or any QARC course."

Proficiency Policies and Placement, P. 54, #B1a

FROM:
"All entering undergraduate students who have not completed ENGL 110: English Composition or the equivalent, earning a C grade or higher are required to take an English composition placement diagnostic test."

TO:
"All entering undergraduate students who have not completed ENGL 110: English Composition or the equivalent, earning a C- grade or higher are required to take an English composition placement diagnostic test."

Proficiency Policies and Placement, P. 54, #B3

FROM:
"Students placed in the developmental English composition course must satisfactorily complete the course with a grade of C or above prior to taking any English course at the 100 level or higher or any (W) course."

TO:
"Students placed in the developmental English composition course must satisfactorily complete the course with a grade of C- or above prior to taking any English course at the 100 level or higher or any (W) course."

Pass-Fail Courses, P. 85, #G10

FROM:
"The minimum grade a student must earn in order to be awarded a "pass" grade is "D."

TO:
The minimum grade a student must earn in order to be awarded a "pass" grade is "D-."

Transfer of Credit, P. 97, #2

FROM:
"Transfer students who are holders of an associate degree awarded by a publicly supported two-year community college in Pennsyvlania can expect to receive full credit for all work successfully completed except for remedial or developmental courses or for Millersville equivalent competencies in which a grade of "C" or higher is not achieved."

TO:
"Transfer students who are holders of an associate degree awarded by a publicly supported two-year community college in Pennsylvania can expect to receive full credit for all work successfully completed except for remedial or developmental courses or for Millersville equivalent competencies in which a grade of "C-" or higher is not achieved."

Transfer of Credit, P. 97, #3

FROM:
"A student who has completed as many as three years of study at another four-year institution can expect to receive credit for all courses in which a final grade of "C" or higher was earned."

TO:
"A student who has completed as many as three years of study at another four-year institution can expect to receive credit for all courses in which a final grade of "C-" or higher was earned."

Completion of the Major, amendment to GM

FROM:
"Departments have the right to establish a competency level (minimum of "C" grade) for courses in the major and required-related courses.

TO:
"Departments have the right to establish a competency level (minimum of "C-" grade) for courses in the major and required-related courses."

Academic Amnesty, amendment to GM

FROM:
"Students may use courses taken in the period before amnesty was granted to fulfill general education or major requirements, only if a grade of C or higher was received in the course."

TO:
"Students may use courses taken in the period before amnesty was granted to fulfill general education or major requirements, only if a grade of C- or higher was received in the course."

Rationale:

#1	With further differentiation within each letter grade, the minimum for any given letter grade (with the exception of "F") is now in the minus form.
#2	This proposal is consistent with the term descriptions provided for in Motion #3. (For example, a "C-" still falls in the "acceptable" range.)
#3	Through a survey of nearly 100 colleges and universities with a plus/minus system, a significant majority stated their minimum requirements in the minus form.

MOTION #5:

"A student has the privilege of repeating at Millersville courses for which he/she had previously received a grade at Millersville. Ordinarily this only applies to courses in which grades of D, F, WP, WF, I, Z or U have been received. A student could, with advisor approval, elect to repeat a course in which an earlier grade of B or C was earned."

With the following:

"A student has the privilege of repeating at Millersville courses for which he/she had previously received a grade at Millersville. Ordinarily this only applies to courses in which grades of D+, D, D-, F, WP, WF, I, Z or U have been received. A student could, with advisor approval, elect to repeat a course in which an earlier grade of B+, B, B-, C+, C, C- was earned."

Rationale:

The proposal merely changes the current wording in order to reflect the new plus/minus system.

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