I am writing in response to your editorial concerning the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese (“The Cost of Inflation,” 2/26/2009) in order to correct some inaccuracies in the piece.
We found that we had a disparity between the numerical grading scales used in Spanish 100-200 and 300-400 level courses. As Director of Undergraduate Studies in Spanish, I contacted the College Dean’s office and asked if there was a numerical scale used by the College of Arts and Sciences. I was informed that the College had no such scale and that each department is free to make up its own numerical grading scale.
At a departmental retreat in the fall of 2008, the Spanish faculty of the department examined the matter of the numerical grading scale and agreed to adopt a new grading scale, uniform for all Spanish courses. The new grading scale was not imposed on the faculty as your editorial implies; the faculty chose to adopt it after careful consideration.
In conclusion, the Spanish faculty consulted the Office of the Dean of Students, was given the go ahead and we met and agreed on a numerical grading scale for all our courses. We did not make a “unilateral decision” as you state in your editorial.
None of this affects the College scale that converts an “A” to 4 points, etc. That scale is University policy and appears in the Undergraduate Record, and our program, of course, abides by that scale.
We hope this clarification helps you better understand the deliberative process by which we arrived at the numerical grading scale that is now in force.
Read More
BAKER, FRIDLEY, LIEU: We should re-examine Inclusive Access textbooks on Grounds
By Susannah Baker , Chloe Fridley and Brighton Lieu | April 11, 2025This appearance gives a fooling impression that Inclusive Access is the cheapest, best option for students, when in reality, the program is misleading in cost, accessibility and privacy.
OBITUARY: John Thomas Casteen III passes away at 81
By Elizabeth Ingeborg Casteen and John T. Casteen IV | March 19, 2025Casteen may be best remembered as the founder of AccessUVA, a scholarship program to support undergraduate students whose qualifications were excellent, but whose families would be hard pressed to afford college tuition.
LETTER: A letter to the U.Va. community from the A.N.G.E.L.S. Society
By A.N.G.E.L.S. Society | March 18, 2025Each student, employee, faculty member and University and Charlottesville community member deserves to feel safe, a feeling that has been uprooted in the past few weeks.
