THOUGH all of us excitedly leave for home when the semester ends, we do not begin enjoying the break until after grades are posted. Until then, we keep checking SIS in the hope that grades are up - even though we had just checked an hour ago.
The stress of worrying about grades never seems to end. Even during the semester, we do the math to see if we have just enough points to make sure we get that A- and not a B+. And often, the fear of doing poorly in a class hinders us from pursuing those courses we have always wanted. Therefore, we should pursue classes in accordance with our interests rather than our resumes by taking a credit/no credit option.
I am not advocating an overhaul of the current grading system but merely proposing that students enroll in more pass/fail classes outside of their major. Universities argue that grades function as an incentive for students to succeed and that only students who are not motivated enough to take a graded class take courses on a pass/fail basis. Indeed, many graduate schools frown upon the pass/fail option; thus, students who take pass/fail courses may be at a disadvantage.
But if a student is not taking a class for major credit, it should not matter to graduate schools and employers whether the elective is graded. On the contrary, some might be impressed that a student has taken the initiative to enroll in classes beyond a familiar discipline, showing the desire and curiosity to learn. A slacker does not usually take an extra class, regardless of whether or not that class is graded.
Yet undergraduate institutions have placed a stigma on pass/fail courses, in some cases by prohibiting them altogether as in the Commerce School. "I agree that CR/NC is a great way for students to explore courses and areas that they might be uncomfortable taking for a grade. However, McIntire does not count CR/NC courses toward the B.S. in Commerce major requirements... Additionally, given limited resources and great demand for Commerce courses, our faculty prefer to have students who want to take the course very seriously and earn a grade," said Rebecca Leonard, associate dean of student services, in an email. Furthermore, in the College, the credit/no credit option is not allowed to fulfill major, minor, competency or area requirements. Such limitations, even in the elective cases where taking pass/fail is allowed, discourage students from embracing this option because they feel it is looked down upon.
Students should try to fight the negative stigma by enrolling in more pass/fail classes, especially as elective courses. In fact, at Stanford Law School in 2007, roughly a third of the freshmen class joined together in enrolling in only pass/fail classes for their first semester. Such action helped bring attention to the disadvantages of the graded system, and the law school eliminated grades the next year. I am not proposing that University students overhaul our grading system, but simply arguing that if more students did enroll in pass/fail classes it would help improve the public perception of them.
A study at the Medical School that compared a graded and a non-graded system showed that students in both systems are successful in comprehending the material taught in class. But the study found that the non-graded system had an extra benefit: Students not only learned, but also were less stressed. "With no statistically significant variations between the two classes, we were able to show that the students under a pass/fail system brought just as much intensity to their studies, but without the associated stress," said Robert Bloodgood, a Medical School professor and leading researcher in the study.
Worrying about grades will probably never completely end until we finish schooling. Yet we have an opportunity to reduce the stress and really explore all the classes the University has to offer by taking credit/no credit courses. While I understand why credit/no credit courses have received such a stigma, the only way to fight back is to enroll in more of them. We can show that taking credit/no credit electives is an opportunity to widen our knowledge, while also developing ourselves for our careers.
Fariha Kabir's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at f.kabir@cavalierdaily.com.
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