New Grading Scale in Effect
By Jan Travers
A new plus/minus grading
system for undergraduate students is in
effect at Penn State University, effective
this semester.
The system, according to
Robert Graham, associate provost and
associate dean, was adopted after student
groups, particularly at University Park,
campaigned for it over the past few
years.
According to Carol Cartwright,
dean for undergraduate programs and vice
provost of the university, students
initated further interest in the plus/minus
system after it was voted down by the
University Senate. The University
Senate has representatives from all the
Commonwealth Campuses, as well as
University Park, according to their
populations.
Intercom, an internal university
publication, said in its September 24,
1987 issue the grading change was
adopted in April, 1985 along with a plan
to implement it in 1987.
Graham, who said he is
personally opposed to the system, sees
no substantial changes. "The system is
a guideline. How an instructor uses
them [guidelines] is up to him or her."
Funds for Club Activities
Allocated by
Finance Committee
By Bernie Mixon
So far this semester there have
been many fun club-sponsored activities
such as the pajama party sponsored by
SUBOG. Has it occurred to you where
the money has come from to fund these
activities? Ronda Graby, SGA treasurer
and chairperson for the finance
committee provided some insight
recently on where the money originates.
The SGA has in its possession
a general FAA (Funds Available for
Allocation) account. Within this
account lies the University Park
approriations to be disbursed among all
the various clubs on campus. These
funds are sent in two separate
disbursements. Also, throughout the
year the SGA receives monies from
parking tickets and vending machines.
The FAA account also includes carried
over monies from the previous year.
The finance committee, which
is made up of Graby, Mike McClure,
Nick Roslevege and Luke Hess
determines how much of an allocation is
to be made to the various clubs. The
guidelines which go into consideration
when making such a decision are: 1)
How many people in the student
population will be affected, 2)How many
people are in the club, and 3) Has this
club been willing in the past to generate
its own monetary resources by utilizing
fund raisers.
In the beginning of the school
year a club is designated with two
different accounts. The first account is
called the restricted account. In this
account lies the portion of money
Under the new system, the
letter grades and the numeric equiv
alency is as follows: A 4.0, A- 3.67,
B+ 3.33, B 3.0, B- 2.67, C+ 2.33, C
2.0, D 1.0, FO. The grading
percentages are at the discretion of each
instructor.
Upon adoption, the Graduate
Council was given the chance to adopt
the same system but chose to continue
using single letter grades. Therefore, in
classes with both graduates and
undergraduates, two grading systems will
be used.
According to Graham, the
grading system is intended to allow finer
distinctions of individual proficiency.
Capital Times Meeting
12:00
Thursday, Oct. 29
in Room W-129
designated to the club by SGA. The
other account is called the unrestricted
account. In this account self-generated
income of the club is kept.
In order for any club to receive
money out of its accounts for club
usage, a purchase order must be acquired.
A club officer must see Cyndi Morris in
the Student Activities Office in room
212 , Olmsted. The club then can pay
its bills either by having a member pay
for the activity out of pocket and
obtaining a receipt for reimbursement or
by having the company bill the
university upon receipt of the purchase
order.
Presently there are additional
funds available for the student clubs on
campus. If you or your club has any
questions or concerns, please contact
Ronda Graby in the SGA office. Graby
insists that the "finance committee is
eager to address club concerns."
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How the New Grading
System Affects You
By Rose Kline
The new plus/minus grading
system has made it almost impossible to
get a 4.00. The new system hurts people
who get As. If you ever got an A in a
course, you usually got what, 90 or
92%? Now, under the new system,
you're not going to get 4.00 for all your
Analysis
As--you .are going to get 3.67. So, in
order to get a cumulative 4.00, you
would have to get over a 97% in all your
courses. Very few students have been
able to get over 97% qualifying them for
an A.
How does the plus/minus sys
tem hurt you the most? It hurts when
you're competing for jobs against
graduates from other schools using our
old A B C D F system. When you apply
for a job, even though you may have had
a 4.00 had you been on the old scale,
now you could have a 3.67, even with
all As. Even though the employer
knows Penn State is on the plus/minus
grading system, it's not going to matter,
because the bottom line is that a big
corporation that receives thousands of
To: Students of Penn State Harrisburg
From: Keystone Service Systems, Inc.
Keystone Service Systems is currently recruiting people to work
weekends and/or early morning and evening hours in the Greater
Harrisburg Area.
Keystone provides homes and support services to individuals
who are experiencing handicapping conditions. Due to their disabili
ties, the individuals are not able to live independently. The role of the
support worker is to provide guidance, assistance, training and supervi
sion in all aspects of the individual's life.
This is an excellent opportunity for students to acquire practical
experience in implementation of learning objectives and behavioral
management plans; to plan and offer basic instruction in recreation and
leisure time activities; to acquire experience working in human service
field providing supportive living environments. Keystone Service
Systems, Inc. operates 24 hours a day, and the hours of work available
are varied. Work schedules currently available are:
Monday-Friday early morning and afternoons
Saturday and Sunday various hours.
Hourly rate is $5.50.
People interested in regular part-time employment qualify for
part-time benefits. People interested in pursuing employment opportu
nities should contact Arthur Sullivan, at Keystone Service Systems, Inc.
at 907 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102, or call (717) 232-7509.
Please refer to this announcement when calling.
See our ad in the CPC Annual at
the Career Placement Center.
applications a year, won't even give you
a shot if you don't have a 3.50. Even
then, they still have a lot of people to
choose from.
Students like myself who are
graduating this year will not benefit
from the new plus/minus system. What
happened to all my 77s and 87s for
which I received 2.00 or 3.00 instead of
2.33 or 3.33?
The new plus/minus grading
system can benefit lower-level students.
The new system is A A- B+ B B- C+ C
D F. There is no C- or D+ or D-. If your
grades tend to be in the high 80s, low
90s, you are hurt because you are losing
.33 points for each low A and low B
under the new system. If you get a B-,
you receive a 2.67 instead of a 3.00. If
you get a solid C OR a C-, you receive a
2.00.
Melissa Lutzko, President of
the Academic Assembly at University
Park, said the new grading system is not
mandatory. The new system applies only
to undergraduates, Lutzko said. Lutzko
explained this makes it difficult for
teachers to grade their classes in which
both graduate and undergraduate students
are enrolled. Lutzko said some teachers
were asking individual classes which
grading system they waanted, with the
majority ruling.
AA/EOE