Faculty's Grading Resolution Confuses All Involved-Administrators Included

The only sure thing about the Faculty's resolution on grading is its confusion. Yesterday, three administrators tried to dispel some of the uncertainty.

Robert M. Shenton, Registrar of the College released yesterday a correction to an earlier sheet detailing the options open to students and instructors under the resolution.

The correction now states that any student has a right to be graded pass-fail on the basis of the work he has already done in a course. The fact sheet had implied that while professors would automatically give letter grades for work already done, pass-fail grades could be refused "at the discretion of the instructor."

"There are still a lot of things to which the answers are just not clear yet," Edward T. Wilcox, director of General Education, said yesterday. "The resolution represents a very genuine attempt to accommodate an almost infinite variety of aspirations and options. The resolution is almost bound to be confusing."

NEWS ANALYSIS

Wilcox said yesterday that pass-fail Gen Ed requirements, although this has not previously been allowed.

The resolution states that instructor must notify by May 15 students who will fail their courses if they accept a grade only based on previous work. Archie C. Epps, assistant dean of the College said yesterday that notification is "the instructor's responsibility."

Unfair

"Presumably if the date goes by and the student discovers later that he had a fail, it would be fair for the instructor to arrange some sort of compensation," Epps added.

Students and Faculty may differ about what the resolution means, Epps said. Students who feel that the resolution is not being fairly applied should leave "a brief description of the problem" with their senior tutors, he added.

The senior tutor will then pass the complaint on to Dean Dunlop's office, which will attempt to reach a settlement. Epps said, "although it goes against the nature of an academic enterprise to intervene in a course."

Any student seeking a postponement of an exam must file a petition with his senior tutor, Radcliffe dean. or freshman dean before May 19. "Almost any non-frivolous reason will be accepted on the petitions," Wilcox said.

The Paper Shaft

Though the resolution provides that makeup exams should be granted. it makes no provision requiring professors to postpone or lessen paper requirements. Professors "may grant extensions on written work until the end of the Full term." However, a professor requiring all reading papers to be on time would not be violating the technical language of the resolution.

Many departments which do not allow pass-fail courses to count for concentration may relax the rule for the strike. The English and Government Departments met yesterday. and both decided to accept grades of pass-fail and credit in their courses. Other departments will meet in the next few days.