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Volume 1 No. 1
DEAN McCALLUS Welcome to the New Grading System
Three Decades at PSU
by Gene Maylock
Penn State student Joseph
L. McCallus had no idea of
his commitment to Penn
State when he started his
college career back in 1955
at the Hazleton campus of
Penn State.
The Dean, father of a
four-month-old son, entered
the Penn State University
system as a freshman in the
spring of 1955, completed
two years at Hazleton,
transferred to University
Park, and graduated in 1958
with a B.S. in Business
Administration.
After graduation, McCallus
accepted a position 'as
assistant manager of the
Hetzel Union Building--the
HUB at State College and
after three years returned
to the Hazleton area in
1961 as- Dean of Student
Affairs of y the local
campus. Having ties with
many friends and acquain
tances at University Park
and still wanting to con
tinue his education, Dean
McCallus enrolled in a mas
ter's program, earning his
M.S. of Business Adminis
tration in 1966.
Dean McCallut, looking back
three decades, readily ad
mits that the best years of
his life have been spent at
Penn State.
"I'd never change it for
anything' else," McCallus
said. "I've seen students,
friends, and relatives go
through Penn State for
bigger and better things in
life. There are many doc
tors, lawyers, teachers,
clergy, accountants, and
other professionals, out
there because of Penn
State."
It is not strange that the
Dean's four sons selected
Penn State for their
college. Three of the four
have gone on
_for advanced
degrees.
McCallus, in his quest for
knowledge, and his drive to
do a better job, notes that
life is a never-ending
learning process and-a col
lege campus provides the
best opportunity to learn.
The Dean's responsibilities
include admissions,
recruiting, financial aid,
placement, student organi
zations, resident life,
veterans affairs, health
services, and career devel
opment.
He .is assisted by Dr.
Joseph Marchetti (Coordi
nator of Residential Life),
Mrs. Maureen Gaffney
(Health Services), Mr. Cy
Falatko (Recreation Hall
Coordinator), Bruce Young
(Student Recreation), and
Pat Zubritsky and Joanne
Pritulsky (Office of Stu
dent Programs and Ser
vices).
The Pennsylvania State University
by Matthew Harris
In a landmark decision in
this part of the state, the
Pennsylvania State
University Senate Committee
voted in favor of a bill
that would alter the
grading system for
undergraduate courses from
the current system of (A)
Excellent, (B) Good, (C)
Fair, (D) Poor, and (F)
Failure, to a system
consisting of "+" and "-"
along with the letter
grade. This new procedure
will begin during the fall
semester of 1987.
The Senate feels that a
revised grading system will
provide an incentive for
students to improve their
academic performance and
will be an equitable and
more precise evaluation of
a student's academic
achievement.
Through the years, this
topic has been a major
concern to the University.
However, it remained on the
"back burner" until the
Spring semester of 1984
when two independent
surveys were conducted
among faculty and students.
The results of these
surveys showed an
overwhelming majority in
favor of the change.
Students felt that if the
"+" and " -" system was
going to be installed, then
there should be grades
consisting of C-, D+, and
D-. This recommendation was
turned down by the Senate
Committee which, in turn,
discussed and finalized the
new system. The grades will
lan
October 14,1985
be as follows:
In contrast to the
students' suggestions, the
committee voted in favor of
a grade of A+ that would be
equivalent to a grade of
4. 33. This caused
disagreement among the
Senators, one of them whom
was Dr. Donald Rung, who
stated that producing the
A+ "would have very serious
ramifications on the
legislation written on 4.00
honors and other things."
Others in the committee who
disagreed with the charge
did so on the grounds that
it would cause grade
inflation. Keep in mind,
though, that this entire
scenario is only tentative.
At the time of this
meeting, only 111 members
voted. There is an
approximate total of 205
Senators in the University
Faculty Senate and 94 of
them were absent on the day
this vote took place. This
one loophole and what
results from it can change
the course of history of
Penn State for many years
to come. In fact, it has
been decided that a new
vote will take place on
October 8, 1985.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 8)
= 4.00
= 3.67
= 3.33
= 3.00
= 2.67
= 2.33
= 2.00
= 1.00
= 0.00