West Oregon University Will No Longer Give D- and F Grades
Jose Nino
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Western Oregon University leaders recently announced their plan to get rid of D- and F grades for students. They cited “GPA fixation” as the main reason to justify this change in grading standards.
These grades will be replaced with “no credit” in an attempt to support student success and encourage undergrads with sketchy grades to continue their academic ventures despite their shortcomings, they stated.
In February, the public university announced in a news release that the changes would go into effect in the fall.
“Students not earning a passing grade will be required to repeat the course and demonstrate proficiency. Our goal is to ensure that students who have met the core competencies and learning objectives graduate and provide every student an opportunity to be successful at Western Oregon University,” Vice President of Academic Affairs Jose Coll stated in email correspondence with The College Fix.
Coll, who assumed the role as provost in June 2023, announced in the press release that “GPAs will now be a true reflection of student success and course mastery; failures will no longer mask the demonstrated abilities of our students when they pass courses.”
The news release also highlighted that “the institutional academic grading regulation will reflect a grade range of A through D; the letter grades of D- and F will be replaced with No Credit (NC) for undergraduate students.”
“The difference is that the grade of NC will not negatively impact student GPAs.”
This move came during a time when figures from the school demonstrated that 65% of freshmen who drop out of WOU have received at least one “F,” according to a report by Inside Higher Ed.
Western Oregon University claims that students receiving “no credit” are much more likely to continue their studies than those who flunk their classes. This has led some critics to accuse the school of letting “grade inflation” occur, per a report by Inside Higher Ed.
The rise of degree inflation is just another sign of academia’s deterioration. The whole point of higher education is to cultivate elite talent and prepare them for the real world, not coddle them.
Until educational leaders get this into their heads, we will not see any notable progress being made in the educational realm. As a result, the US will continue to underperform as a world power.
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