When Dr. Ken Perkins, interim vice president for academic affairs, arrived at Longwood during the mid-1980s, there was conversation about having the pluses and minuses a student earns in a course actually count toward the overall grade point average (GPA) of that course. However, there was no real action taken on the matter. The talks continued off and on sporadically until 2010 when the talking moved to a motion to make the years of discussion a reality.
The Faculty Senate passed a motion on April 8, 2010 to count the pluses and minuses a student earns in a class toward the calculation of the GPA. The change did not take effect until classes began on August 22, 2011. According to Chair of the Faculty Senate and Associate Professor of History, Dr. Larissa Smith Fergeson, "The idea was for there to be a year for everyone to understand it before it went into effect."
Under the new system, a student earning a B- or B+ will have 1/3 of the GPA either deducted or added, respectively, to the overall GPA. In other words, if you receive a B, your GPA will remain at 3.0. For a B-, you will receive a 2.7 and for a B+, a score of 3.3 is awarded. This is with every letter grade with the exception of A and F, whereas an A is recognized as a 4.0 and F as a 0. The one-third scale is a standard used by the majority of universities utilizing this grading method.
The decision itself was a product of the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee, which reports to the Education Policy Committee (EPC). The EPC acts to approve all policies dealing with academics. This was then brought before the Faculty Senate for the 2010 vote. It also had to be approved by the Board of Visitors during a summer meeting.
"Traditionally, you could say you could graduate with a C average," said Perkins. You still can. But if you make all Cs, with the exception of one C-, you may have trouble graduating."
Dean of the Cook-Cole College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Charles Ross, who arrived at Longwood in 1992, said every institution he'd been at previously had the plus-minus system in place and he always wondered why Longwood had pluses and minuses but never counted them toward the GPA.
While some students may prefer the program, faculty members are not mandated to use it. "I sent out an e-mail to faculty reminding them about it," said Perkins. He received one e-mail asking if the system was mandatory. "The answer to that is if you don't want to give a minus or a plus, you don't have to. But if you give [the student] a minus or plus, it will be a different quantitative value."
Perkins said, "It's the decision of the faculty member to put the plus or the minus. That decision in the past has only had, I guess you could say, a psychological effect." He said students could say they earned an "adorned" A or B.
Ross said statistically, he believes the system will balance out. Still, there may be an effect on students outside of the academic classroom. "There are some places around campus where there are GPA requirements for getting in various programs, schools, or fraternities where somebody may be upset because they didn't get in because of a minus," he added.
The Banner system, the university's relational database, is now programmed to notice the change. Furthermore, the Registrar's office is well aware of the policy.
"Though it didn't effect your GPA in the past, the minus and pluses stayed on the transcript forever," Perkins noted. "So an employer or graduate school looking at your transcripts might notice them."
Ross added, "Now if you're getting a B plus, you're getting more bang for your buck because it helps your GPA."
Fergeson described the process as a "thorough study of not only what other Virginia schools do in terms of GPA, but also with peer schools." Elon University, King's College, University of Tampa, Westfield College and Monmouth University were some of the sister institutions looked after for rationalizing the proposal.
"I hope it will compel students to work harder during the semester and be rewarded in doing so," said Fergeson.
Dr. David Coles, chair of the History, Political Science, and Philosophy Department and associate professor of history, said he hopes it will inspire students to work harder during finals week epically. He said the change is not "something that's beyond the norms."
"I think there are faculty on both sides of the issue. That's why it's not mandatory," said Fergeson. She said, "The most important message to students is for them to be aware of the change and be aware as to how each faculty member chooses to use this policy. Now, at the beginning of the semester, is the time to be clear about faculty expectations."
