Published: April 30, 2009

Although some students feel that grading practices at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) are too harsh, the Grade Analysis for FCLC Fall 2008 revealed that the college’s mean Grade Point Average (GPA) is above what the Undergraduate Faculty Handbook defines as the “average level of performance,” a C+. At 3.17, the average GPA at FCLC is between a B and a B+.

At the last College Council Meeting on April 15, the Rev. Robert R. Grimes, S.J., dean of FCLC, announced some of the results of the latest grade analysis from the fall 2008 semester. Grimes said that this college-wide grade analysis of each professor and department is conducted every semester. These analyses are considered over a few semesters, and trends in departments and in the grading practices of particular teachers are noted.

Grimes said that there was more than one class with 10 students or more in which every student received an A, and that there was also one class of 34 students in which the highest grade was a B-. Grimes said that both of these instances represent poor grading practices, and that this is “not only an academic issue, but also an issue of justice.”

Leonard Nissim, departmental advisor of mathematics, said that he does not remember the college average ever being a C+ in his 30 years teaching at FCLC.

Grimes said that the average grade of the college is important in terms of both the educational quality of the institution, as well as its reputation. He said that graduate schools pay attention to the grading trends of a school and take this into consideration when looking at applications. If the grades of a particular school are too high overall, it can affect a student’s chances of being accepted.

“There is a great deal of opinion and personality in grading,” Grimes said. “Some people can’t criticize, others are too critical.” He also mentioned that some professors think that if they don’t give the whole class A’s that students will complain. He cited the Web site ratemyprofessors.com as a potential outlet for their anger.

“It’s pretty rare that a whole class gets an A unless the [professor’s] expectations are too low,” Grimes said. As far as his grading practices as a former professor, Grimes said that he considers an A a “wow” grade.

“If I don’t say wow, it’s not an A,” he said.

Nissim said that as a professor of an objective subject, he can always give a concrete answer for why he made the grading decisions that he did. When making tests, he said that he expects an average grade of a 77 to an 88. Eighty percent of his tests are made up of “routine and somewhat challenging” problems, and the other 20 percent is “very challenging.” Nissim said that by making his tests in this way, the average students will get C’s and B’s, and only the excellent students will get A’s.

“Students who really deserve an A should get it,” he said.

Grimes said he has noticed that some of the most popular professors at FCLC are the toughest and, therefore, the hardest graders.

“If a class is too easy, you probably aren’t learning anything,” he said. “The expectation is that you are growing and that your ability for critical thinking improves, that you are thinking in a much more sophisticated way than earlier in your college career.”

Ashley Louszko, FCLC ’11, said that one of her professors told her class that the average grade was supposed to be a C+ and that many professors grade in a way that attempts to achieve that average.

“I don’t think that professors should be grading in ways that may be too harsh, just so they can uphold the University’s policy,” she said. “Then again, I also understand that some sort of an average needs to be in place for Fordham to maintain its reputable academic standing.”

Peter Muller, FCLC ’10, said that he had one unpleasant experience with grading at FCLC. He said that an adjunct professor made it clear to his class on the first day that no A’s would be given for the class, and Muller said that this proved to be the case at the end of the course.

“In my opinion, an A is doing above average work compared to the rest of the class. It’s not fair when the highest grade is a class is an 88 and that student still gets a B+,” Muller said. “However, my professors usually take this into account when giving out grades,” he said.

Patrick Comey, FCLC ’10, said that he has had a great experience with grading at FCLC. He said he thinks that professors “grade perfectly, as a group.” Comey said that he has found that an A requires above average effort, while average effort yields a C, as the Handbook dictates.

Lauren Evangelista, FCLC ’10, said that as an Honors student, she feels that professors “definitely hold your work to a higher standard than work submitted from their non-Honors courses.” She said that she worked very hard to get a B in her Honors courses, and then, with less effort, got A’s in her core courses.

“Despite a C being dubbed the average grade, I think a large majority of students… find a C to be below their own standards. I think students want to think more highly of their own intellectual capabilities and achievements,” she said.

Brandi D’Esposito, FCLC ’11, said that she thinks “many teachers at Fordham are too fast to give the ‘average,’ yet somewhat extreme C+. Because it is considered average, teachers don’t realize how much that grade negatively affects and discourages students.”

Evangelista said that she takes grading practices into account when registering for classes. “I don’t seek out lenience or an easy grade,” she said, “but I do look for professors who can take the time to help students and make sure that they understand the material.”

Hillary Fisk, FCLC ’12, said, “I have friends who base their entire schedules not on times [of classes], but on who is the easier teacher for the subject they need.”

Grimes said, “Some students feel that since they pay [to attend FCLC] that if they go to every class, they should get an A.”

Kathryn Burke, FCLC ’10, mentioned that in one class she was brought down by half a grade because of her participation points. Burke said that she had attended every class, but because she did not speak often, the professor gave her a C for participation.

“I come to class to hear the professor speak and to learn what the person with the Ph.D has to say, not what other students might surmise about a subject when they haven’t done any of the work and are just bullshitting stuff to get participation points,” she said.

Despite the various implications of grades for the University and students, Grimes said that the point of attending college is to get an education, not a diploma.

“Grades are just markers,” he said, “Ultimately it is all about the education, not the grades.