In March 2013, Faculty Senate passed a motion to change the grading policy in the Faculty Manual: “That Drake University extends to all instructors the ability to assign plus/minus grade modifiers in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs beginning with the Fall 2016 semester.” In order to prepare for the approaching implementation of the plus/minus grading policy, common questions about the new policy will be featured each week for the next several weeks. You can also access a full set of resources on the Student Records website.
Q: Will all courses at Drake use the +/- system?
A: All instructors will have the option to incorporate + and – grades into their grading scales beginning with fall 2016 courses.
Q: Are all instructors required to offer + and – grades?
A: No. Instructors control the grading scheme of their courses, and some schemes may not include + or – grades.
—Melissa Sturm-Smith, Associate Provost for Academic Excellence and Student Success
During my 40 years of teaching, each semester I faced four often difficult decisions: A. B. C. D. F. Under the new system, I count that to be 13 such decisions. For essay exam especially, what would distinguish the difference between, for example, an A- score and a B+ score?