The system of covered grades for first-semester freshmen has been a landmark Hopkins policy since the 1970s. Last June, it came under fire in a proposition by the Homewood Academic Council. In the last seven months, the fallout of the proposal has settled upon the undergraduate community, provoking discussion among students and administrators alike.
The Council's meeting on June 8 opened, according to the minutes available on the Council's website, with the approval of a proposal which motions to "eliminate the current covered grades policy for first-semester freshmen," effective July 14, 2014. If approved by President Ronald Daniels, freshmen entering in the Class of 2018 will be assessed on the normal grading scale.
The present policy only awards first semester freshman an S for Satisfactory (a C-minus or above), or a U for Unsatisfactory. Students do receive letter grades — available on ISIS — but official records do not show it.
The system has always been contentious; the decision of last June marks the culmination of almost a decade of on-again, off-again deliberation. Statistics provided by the Office of the Registrar offer insight into both sides of the debate, depicting an upwardly mobile performance between undergraduate classes.
The data show discrepancies between both classes and disciplines when comparing grade point average (GPA) and academic honors in the Fall 2011 semester. This indicates that students' academic performance generally improves the longer they are at Hopkins. Last semester, the average GPA of the Class of 2015 was 3.18; the Class of 2014 averaged a 3.31; the Class of 2013, a 3.34; the Class of 2012, a 3.43.
32 percent (414 students) of the freshman class qualified for Dean's List; 41 percent (500 students) of sophomores, 38 percent of juniors (495 students, excluding those who studied abroad), and 43 percent of seniors (526 students) also received a GPA of 3.5 or above.
These data, according to Homewood's Dean of Enrollment and Academic Services William Conley, show expected trends.
"It's not abnormal that the Class of 2015 has the lowest GPA, if even by a slight margin," Dean Conley, who provided the statistics, asserted.
He refered to the "inevitable learning curve" students encounter at the beginning of college, which is affected by academic, social and personal factors. The challenges of living independently, many argue, take a toll on study habits. Students, reinforced by humor sites like ThisIsHopkins and the Johns Hopkins Memes page on Facebook, often complain about grade deflation at Hopkins. Conley said he sees grade deflation as a standby excuse for poor performance, though, rather than a significant problem.
"If you're applying to medical school from here with a 3.2, it's the same as a 3.2 from Harvard or virtually anywhere else," he said. "The numbers show it."
He does recognize a "deflation" of sorts among the first semester GPAs of the Class of 2015, but one that is largely self-imposed: a direct consequence of the students' academic behavior.
"We see a lot of ‘aspirational registration' — students are taking classes they might not otherwise, because there's little risk. I like to think that they're doing it to be intellectually stimulated," Conley said. "I also think that students aren't applying the study skills their first semester that they would otherwise."
Many current freshmen have explored tough classes under the covered grades system.
"I was able to try out classes I didn't think I'd do well in out of sheer curiosity, since there wasn't any risk," freshman Rachel Kalina said. "I took Arabic, even though I'm really bad at learning languages."
However, there hardly exists a consensus among Hopkins's academic administrators. Dr. Steven David, Vice-Dean for Undergraduate Education, supports covered grades. Conley, however, does not.
"I have responsibility for the integrity of the transcript, and the interpretation of the transcript," he explained. "If you and I are in the same year applying to the same medical school, and have GPAs so similar that an admissions decision between us comes down to the freshman fall grades, or the grade that one student decided to cover as an upperclassman, it leaves a lot to speculation."
He went on to cite other rallying points against covered grades: the fact that many freshman courses, especially in the natural and quantitative sciences, are sequential over the course of the year; the apparent invitation to snub work for a night of partying; and that the policy contracts what he calls "the Hopkins Way," the idea that Hopkins students get recognition for doing great things.
"This is a place that seeks to recognize and reward those who do well . . . we don't have many underachievers to begin with here," he said. "Even though a first-semester freshman can make the Dean's List, it's hard to distinguish those who succeed from, well, everyone else."
The movement to abolish covered grades has brought one question to everyone's minds: do first-semester freshmen receive lower grades because they know they will be covered, or because of the very factors that led to the creation of covered grades in the first place?
This debate has persisted since November, when The News-Letter first highlighted the Academic Council's June decision. Most discussion has proven informal, but the Student Government Association (SGA) has sought to establish a forum for deliberation that will ideally offer some structure.
"We are working in tandem with the administration to discuss to positives and negatives of removing the covered grades policy and, if the University should choose to go forward with this decision, establishing supplementary policies to ensure a smooth transition into freshman year," Junior Class President Alexandra Larsen, Chair of the SGA Academic Affairs Committee, said.
However, some point out that disposing of the policy may also wipe out an essential alluring trait for prospective students.
"Hey, it's why I came here," freshman Spencer Perl said.
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