Toby Uecker

After hearing a report on grading procedures earlier in the year, the Students’ Association Senate again visited grading policy at their Monday meeting, but made no recommendation.

Senators failed to pass a resolution to support a change in the current grading system, by a vote of 16-9.

The resolution was proposed by Jill Spindler Kratochvil, senator for the College of Graduate Studies, and asked SA senators to urge the South Dakota Board of Regents to explore alternative grading systems, such as pass/fail, and to support a move to such a system.

“I think it will reward the people who work hard,” Kratochvil said, citing instances of inconsistency and subjectivity in the current grading system.

Kratochvil, who both teaches and takes classes at SDSU, also emphasized the importance of taking emphasis off letter grades.

“I think it’s important we evaluate and not just assign a letter grade to someone,” she said.

Kratochvil’s proposal included recommendation of an accompanying written summary of student performance with each grade.

Other senators questioned both the necessity of the new system and the amount of extra effort it would require of professors.

“We can change this, but it won’t really solve the problem we’re looking at,” said SA senator Nicole Christopherson.