Making the Dean's list

To make the Dean’s List reflect the academic rigor of the University, changes in the system are in order.

Despite administrators’ efforts to do this by raising the GPA requirement, 36 percent of students still made the cut.

The change to a 3.5 GPA for a minimum of 12 hours, implemented in 2010, was part of a five-year plan. But the administration should consider adjusting these parameters before 2015.

When the administration revisits this matter, it must focus on reclaiming the honor that was once associated with inclusion on the Dean’s List.

If UNC wants to retain its prestige as a top public university, it must place a premium both on maintaining academic excellence and recognizing students who attain this excellence.

If the methods of teaching and the caliber of students at UNC are improving, the administration must change the level of achievement needed to accurately reflect what designates excelling at this school.

There are several ways this could be accomplished. The GPA threshold could be raised another notch, to 3.6.

Alternatively, the Dean’s List could be composed of the top 10 percent of students in each department. This would likely better recognize students’ achievement in especially rigorous majors where a B average still indicates impressive academic performance.

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Bruce Carney said UNC administrators considered using a this method but decided against it.

Carney believes the most effective way to return prestige to the Dean’s List is to set a higher GPA requirement and stick to it, rather than experimenting with various formulas each year.

In this process, it is important that high-achieving students who genuinely deserve A’s aren’t punished by professors trying to combat grade inflation.

With the new contextual grading policy that will apply to the incoming 2012 class and beyond, both the transcript and grading trends by departments will be more transparent, hopefully resulting in fair grading.

But a one-size-fits-all approach to fixing grade inflation (i.e., mandating grade distribution quotas) would constrain many “easy” professors who simply attract talented students and motivate them to perform well in class. If an entire class is deserving of A’s, they should be awarded them.

At the same time, students who excelled in more difficult classes but still ended up with lower-than-average GPAs (perhaps too low to qualify for the Dean’s List) will benefit from the added context.

And when professors receive a report comparing grades awarded by them and others teaching the same course, grade inflation might be undermined.

Complexities of grade inflation aside, however, UNC must focus on restoring prestige to the Dean’s List before the value of this honor is diluted irreparably.