The +/- grading decision, that initiated at CSM, is still in the works. One semester later, Skyline College is still dealing with the same dilemma and so far, no decision has been made.

Ray Hernandez, the Academic Senate President, said “It’s a hard decision to make because it affects three different colleges.” According to Hernandez, before a decision is made, all three colleges CSM, Cañada College, and Skyline College, should come to an equal agreement.

So far, CSM and Cañada College support this new grading system. “We are the only school opposing to this grading system,” said Hernandez.

This is a very serious decision because students will be strongly affected by it. If this decision is passed, it could affect students positively and negatively.

Students that stand academically high in their classes will benefit from this grading system because it will recognize, in detail, their effort.

On the other hand, for students that are academically less successful, it will be harder to maintain a good G.P.A.

If the grading system changes, the way G.P.A is calculated will also change. As of now, there are five grading points. If changed, there will be about nine grading points. This will either raise or lower the students’ G.P.A.

This has caused some controversy among the students of Skyline College.

“The new grading system will cause more students to stress out,” said Antonio Dillon.

Through voting and discussions, it was found that most of Skyline’s faculty does not support this grading system. “Grades do not motivate students, it is only a way of rating them,” said Hernandez.

He truly believes that there are more efficient ways of working with students. Hernandez believes the Sloac Program is one of those ways. It is a program used by teachers, to help the improvement of assessments in school.

“Sloac is more beneficial to students, than the grading system,” said Hernandez.

The ASSC Governing Council, which represents the students at Skyline College, did not support this system either.

Some students are afraid of the consequences related to transferring to a university, because they are afraid this system will affect their G.P.A.

“It will make it harder for students to transfer,” said Matt Fochtman.

According to Hernandez, most universities have the plus and minus system, and the ones that do not have it, will automatically change grades upon transferring. In other words, if a student receives a B+, the university will automatically change it to a solid B.

Once again, a decision has not been made and there is not a time set for this decision. The next step is to get back to the students of the three colleges and then make a decision.

Ray Hernandez strongly advices students to voice their opinion through the ASSC Governing Council.