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Taking the grade

Professors should emphasize learning and application in the classroom, not simply test scores

I would love a 4.0. Who wouldn't. After all, graduating from college with a perfect grade-point average places you on the fast track for success; a track filled with large salaries, high-powered jobs, dream vacations, et cetera. Well, supposedly. As a result, students tend to focus more on GPA-boosting and grade protecting rather than actually learning and applying material. This practice needs to change. The University needs to start implementing a curriculum that emphasizes knowledge and the application of information rather than simply making the grade.

What if we all got A's? In every class. Always. Statistically, we'd be the nation's brightest college students. Imagine it - 16,000 perfect GPAs. Okay, well obviously that doesn't make much sense. Or does it? A perfect example is my Solutions Chemistry class. It is comprised of roughly 100 people, give or take, and 90 percent will get an A. And this isn't an "easy" class. In our first lab, the professor demanded a precision of one part per thousand. That's a .001 error for a three-week lab. But surprisingly, most people got that. Why?

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In this episode of On Record, Allison McVey, University Judiciary Committee Chair and fourth-year College student, discusses the Committee’s 70th anniversary, an unusually heavy caseload this past Fall semester and the responsibilities that come with student-led adjudication. From navigating serious health and safety cases to training new members and launching a new endowment, McVey explains how the UJC continues to adapt while remaining grounded in the University's core values of respect, safety and freedom.