Skyline’s Academic Senate voted to consider using plus/minus grading as a result of combined pressure from Canada and CSM, as well as recent survey findings, in a meeting April 25. After Skyline’s District Academic Senate has agreed to use the survey findings as evidence to support plus/minus grading, the plus/minus grading debate will then go to the District Academic Senate. The District Academic Senate will then recommend the use of plus/minus grading to the Board of Trustees. The trustees will decide whether or not to implement plus/minus grading throughout the three community colleges, CSM, Canada, and Skyline. According to the District Academic Senate President, Patty Dilko, the recommendation is significant to the Board of Trustees’ final decision. “Although they [Board of Trustees] have the final decision, I think our recommendations are taken very seriously,” Dilko said. “The board relies primarily on our recommendation and trusts our conclusions.” Meaning that if the District Academic Senate votes to recommend plus/minus grading, then their recommendation will more than likely be granted. The plus/minus grading survey that was distributed to all faculty members at Skyline, Canada, and CSM generated over 200 responses, with 70% of faculty in support of plus/minus grading, and 30% opposed to it. Skyline’s faculty, however, was closely split in the decision with 29 voting for plus/minus grading and 24 voting against plus/minus grading. With the decision almost tied, Skyline’s Academic Senate had mixed feelings about allowing the survey to be used as evidence in support of plus/minus grading. “This is a survey, not a vote” said Evan Leach, professor of mathematics, and an Academic Senate member. “We shouldn’t be presenting this as the voice of the faculty because they were not properly informed.” Leach, who strongly opposes plus/minus grading is adamant that plus/minus grading will not help the students. “It has been shown in several studies, that GPA’s do go down,” Leach said. “The greatest effect is seen on students with close to 4.0 GPA’s. This is a matter of fact, not opinion.” However, Dilko calls the notion that plus/minus grading is bad for students “absolutely wrong.” “Those who think that plus/minus grading is bad for students need to go back and research,” Dilko said. “Plus/minus grading not only helps professors accurately assess a student’s knowledge of the subject, but most colleges use this grading system anyway. This is not a polarizing issue…” Although some members of Skyline’s Academic Senate are strongly opposed to plus/minus grading, like Leach, they also feel tired of having to repeatedly defend their opposition to the subject. “I don’t want to have this discussion every single year,” Leach said. “Are they just not going to accept defeat?” Both Canada and CSM have favored plus/minus grading in the past, as well as currently, with Skyline being the “odd man out” according to James Wong, professor of history and Academic Senate member, who openly supports plus/minus grading. Although Skyline’s Academic Senate is supporting the survey findings, there is still the question of policy. Some faculty members feel that CSM and Canada are breaking policy by repeatedly bringing up the issue of plus/minus grading, after Skyline has repeatedly rejected it. “All three colleges agreed that if one college doesn’t want to do something, then the other colleges can’t gang up and make them do it,” said former Academic Senate president, and current member Nick Kapp. “We [Skyline] shouldn’t be bullied into it.” According to the District Academic Senate President, Patty Dilko, the belief that there is any kind of pressure and intimidation tactics are ‘unfounded.’ “The faculty should read our bylaws carefully,” Dilko said. “There has been plenty of opportunity to deliberate on this issue and we need to make a decision.” As for the survey being used as evidence, Dilko says that there are many ways to gather information, and that the survey “clearly shows an overwhelming majority in support” of plus/minus grading. “There are always going to be people who disagree,” Dilko said. “Alliances shift; it is impossible to get 100%, but 70% is pretty good.” As Skyline’s Academic Senate prepares to go to the District Academic Meeting on May 12 to argue for more research and study, they are also prepared to be the minority. “I feel strongly that plus/minus grading necessarily lowers student GPA’s,” Leach said. “We owe it to our students to demonstrate that it is helpful to them, and if we can’t then we should not go forward.” However Dilko is confident in the findings and the support for plus/minus grading. “There is a consesus,” Dilko said. “The survey speaks for itself, we will now be moving forward and making our recommendation to the Board of Trustees.” If you would like to comment on this story, please visit our website at www.theskylineview.com. What is plus/minus grading?

According to Carla Campillo, Academic Senate President, plus/minus grading is the implementation of A-, B+, B-, C+, C-. There are no A+ in plus/minus grading, nor are there such things as D+, D-, F+, F-. Currently, Skyline College does not use plus/minus grading therefore, when you receive a 92% in the class, it translates to an A. Whereas with plus/minus grading, it would translate to an A-.