With final exams starting next week, St. Lawrence University students are focused on their final grades for the semester. This can be challenging because professors use different grading scales, as SLU is one of many liberal arts schools that does not have a standardized grading scale.
Associate Registrar Darrcy Waugh explained that SLU does have a 4.0 grading scale, but it is up to individual faculty members how to apply it to their class grades. “Grading approaches vary amongst different class structures, making it hard to standardize,” says Waugh.
Robin Lock, a professor in SLU’s Statistics Department, agrees that SLU’s lack of standardization is important since there is a range in course grading standards. “I think it’s important for the scale to be flexible because what counts as points and how those are allotted is very different amongst classes,” states Lock.
Lock feels it is most important that a course’s grading scale is made clear to students in both the syllabus and through assignments. “I believe that giving a lot of assignments helps students not only get a chance to improve their grades but also helps them get a feel for the grading scale and what is expected of them,” adds Lock.
Cordelia Sherwood ‘26, a Math and Computer Science major at SLU, is frustrated with the lack of standardization of the grade scale. “It’s not conducive or fair when scholarships are on the line to have so much depending on what classes you take,” says Sherwood.
Sherwood is frustrated that the percentage grade cut-off for 4.0s varies so heavily from class to class, sometimes within the same department. “I had one class where a 92 percent was a 4.0 and another where a 97 percent was a 3.75 in the same department, which is just so confusing and frustrating,” says Sherwood.
Steve Burchell ‘27, a first-year at SLU, does not find the lack of standardization to be a problem. “I haven’t had much trouble with it, to be honest, if anything, I find it nice because I feel like it makes people less stressed about grades and more focused on learning material that interests them,” states Burchell.
Burchell thinks that since most professors make it clear on their syllabi what their grading scale and expectations are, it does not create too much confusion. However, he does feel that there should be more discussion amongst faculty about general grade expectations. “I think some oversight by a committee or something would be beneficial,” says Burchell.
Billy Keniston, a professor in both the African and History Departments at SLU, feels that SLU’s lack of a standardized grading system gives professors more freedom in developing their courses. “I think there is a basic appreciation for the idea that the professors can develop the courses the way that makes sense to them,” adds Keniston.
However, Keniston does feel that he would like a better understanding of what is going on in other classes in terms of grading. “I would like to know what the university or faculty as a whole believe is the normal range of grades that are happening in classes,” says Keniston.
Overall, it seems that having freedom in grading leaves room for differences amongst classes, but it can also cause confusion when similar classes are being graded differently. Many people seem to feel that more communication amongst faculty within departments about grades would help minimize that confusion.