Spring Break
Future of covered grades in question
Tour guides told to de-emphasize school's policy of first semester covered grades
Issue date: 9/18/08
Hopkins has recently taken steps to de-emphasize the covered grades policy amidst a new round of debates among administration and faculty members regarding the continued viability of the policy.
Guides conducting walking tours of campus have been instructed by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions not to prominently feature the school's covered grades policy in their introduction of the school, but have not been barred from discussing the policy with tour participants.
"Because there is ongoing discussion and controversy about the policy, I'm very reluctant to have it. Let's make sure we don't make it a leading point in our conversation with prospective students," said William Conley, dean of enrollment and academic services.
"What they were told is that it's not really something we want to lead on. It shouldn't be a selling point for Hopkins to have covered grades. It's an interesting academic policy," John Bader, associate dean for academic advising, said.
"I think that [the covered grade policy] is something that will be discontinued," said Shannon Miller, a member of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Members of the administration of the University have asserted that academic policies such as covered grades are regularly discussed, and that there is nothing particularly salient about this controversial topic.
Students and faculty have repeatedly brought the issue to the administration's attention.
The Admissions Office annually reviews its print and electronic media. While it has determined that the covered grades policy is not a feature that differentiates it from peer institutions, information about the covered grades policy remains in Admissions literature.
"This particular controversy is very controversial and raises a lot of concerns held by a lot of people, especially the faculty, which is why it keeps coming back as an issue to talk about," Bader said.
Bader expressed concern that the covered grades policy would send the wrong message to prospective students, representing Hopkins as a difficult school that warranted a first semester without letter grades.
Guides conducting walking tours of campus have been instructed by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions not to prominently feature the school's covered grades policy in their introduction of the school, but have not been barred from discussing the policy with tour participants.
"Because there is ongoing discussion and controversy about the policy, I'm very reluctant to have it. Let's make sure we don't make it a leading point in our conversation with prospective students," said William Conley, dean of enrollment and academic services.
"What they were told is that it's not really something we want to lead on. It shouldn't be a selling point for Hopkins to have covered grades. It's an interesting academic policy," John Bader, associate dean for academic advising, said.
"I think that [the covered grade policy] is something that will be discontinued," said Shannon Miller, a member of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Members of the administration of the University have asserted that academic policies such as covered grades are regularly discussed, and that there is nothing particularly salient about this controversial topic.
Students and faculty have repeatedly brought the issue to the administration's attention.
The Admissions Office annually reviews its print and electronic media. While it has determined that the covered grades policy is not a feature that differentiates it from peer institutions, information about the covered grades policy remains in Admissions literature.
"This particular controversy is very controversial and raises a lot of concerns held by a lot of people, especially the faculty, which is why it keeps coming back as an issue to talk about," Bader said.
Bader expressed concern that the covered grades policy would send the wrong message to prospective students, representing Hopkins as a difficult school that warranted a first semester without letter grades.
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elle
posted 9/20/08 @ 11:10 AM EST
I think that the covered grade policy is quite wonderful. Among high school students, Hopkins is correctly known to be quite challenging, academically. (Continued…)
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