Grade Inflation Shows Decline

No.21 Grade inflation Bidwell fears threat t IOn shows decline to academic freedom By Steve Futrell During the seven-year period ~ Managing Editor you need to have a tenure decision By"Debbie Owens percentage of F's in the three depart Assistant Editor mechanism with explicit, sharply ments continued at approximately two · defined criteria," he said. "To make sure per cent. Miles 0. Bidwell, assistant professor of economics, said this week he fears the diversity is present, there should not be While several WF professors have In- the departments ,of accounting, political factors involved. 11 cited evidence of grade inflation at the anthropology and sociology, the grade threat to academic freedom presented by his department's refusal to recommend Bidwell has appealed his decision to university, statistics provided by the distributions have leveled off with the A's the faculty senate's grievance registrar's office fail to support ·this and B's . dropping slightly and the his receiving tenure. "For one to have a good school and a . committee, which has never been used claim. percentage of F's continuing unchanged. good intellectual experience for the before. Because of that, Bidwell is A study of the grade distribution from In the biology department, . the uncertain about his chances for a . 1968-76 .shows that the· academic percentage of A's has ·dropped slightly students, it is imperative there be a substantial diversity of views, 11 he said, favorable decision . phenomenon that has sent national grade while the percentage of B's has "The procedure has never been used point averages soaring is no longer a increased. The percentage of D's and F's and that diversity might be disappearing. before," he said, "and it looks . substantial problem at Wake Forest. has remained stable. reasonable. But that's the problem-what Although the years from 1968-73 The overall WF grade point average Bidwell, who founded the local Sierra Club and is an outspoken critic of Duke looks good on paper might not always showed a marked rise in the percentage fell slightly from 2. 72 in the spring of 1972 function the best in an actual situation." of A's and B's in several university to 2.63 last fall, indicating the recent Power, was informed it\ early Feoruary that the tenured professors of his He refused to discuss the details of the departments, this grade point increase grade stabilization. case· until the grievance procedure is failed to continue through the 1975-76 The fall grade point average for the department had voted to refuse him a recommendation for receiving tenure. completed. academic year. · undergraduate student body at Duke Also refusing to discuss the case were The departments of anthropology, University was 2.92 and 2.67 at UNC Tenure, the right to remain at the university until retirement or failure to J .Van Wagstaff, chairman of the economics and biology showed the most Chapel Hill. economics department, and Provost marked increase in the number of A's While claiming grade inflation still fulfill professional responsibilities, is granted to professors after a process of Edwin G. Wilson. Dean of the College from 1968-73. The percentage of A's exists at Wake Forest, most professors Thomas E. Mullen is out of the country. jumped from 19 per cent to 40 per cent in agree it never reached the high level of approval and recommendation con anthropology, from 12.5 per cent to 20 per other universities. cerning the continuance of one's stay So far no written reasons for the cent in economics and from ·12 per cent to ''ThiS situation puts WF students in here. refusal have been given to Bidwell, 23 per cent in biology. difficult circumstances when applying to After a department's tenured though private conversations have hinted The percentage of B's remained steady graduate schools," said James professors make a recommendation, it is a few. Again, Bidwell refused to while the percentage of C's, D's and F's Steintrager, professor of politics, noting then reviewed by the provost, the dean of elaborate. dropped in all three departments. the strong competition for admission to the college and the president in a step-by Bidwell, who received his doctorate During the same time period, the these schools. -- step process. The final arbiter of the from Columbia University, came here in percentage of A!s remained at Assistant Dean of the College Toby decision is the Board of Trustees. 1972 and was active in the "Save the New approximately 15 per cent in the Hale' said that the "Wake Forest name . Three criteria serve as the basis for a River" campaign. He testified before a department of accounting and 10 per ·holds true to a certain extent. decision. A professor is judged on his House subcommittee last year in cent in the departments of English and "In the long run, to concentrate on teaching ability, scholarly publication opposition to ·a large nuclear power politics. But the percentage of B's ·grades only is self-defeating without also and community and campus service. station planned by Duke Power Co. on the increased significantly while the concentrating on the academic process," Bidwell believes that he fulfille~ all Yadkin River. percentage of C's, D's .and F's dropped h ·d three criteria and that other factors were The decision for tenure generally is not li btl e sa1 . _ taken into consideration, but he refused made until late March, but Bidwell was s g Y· . Hale said grade point averages may John Earle, professor of sociology, get a student his first job or into law to speculate on what the factors might notified of his decision much earlier. said, "The pendulum will· soon swing in school, but "after that first job people are be. When he was given the letter, he said, the other direction. People are more assessed, not by their college transcripts, "Tenure on the one hand is needed," "I was surprised. I didn't expect the conscious of this grade iilflation and, the but by the quality of Ute work performed. Staff photo by Bill Ray Bidwell said. "But on the other hand, you decision to made until next year." have the problem of loading up the school Bidwell said he has hired William G. chance of grades becoming meaningless. "Many people point to the Vietnam era' Mountain iri the sun I with deadwood. Pfefferkorn, a local attorney, to h "W~~re going to find a tightening up," as a time when grade inflation had its A student scales a wooden mountain for his ROTC mountaineering course "In order to have academic freedom, investigate his legal position. e sal · . birth," Hale said. "Unacceptable grades • ~ .Recent !f_ade ~str1b~~on statistics were a ticket to Vietnam." show the hghterung up already has Earle said he views grade inflation. s e • • occurred at Wake.Forest. "part of a larger .permissiveness t l ... .. II .. .. .. .. t .. M. .iJ1!flcin \~~~:a~?t~ct~~b~~~~?:~~·.~~~~re:·. I 'I'"C'I~\z···e dep~ents. studied, mdicatm., that creeping permissiveness " . e·r-s'?'-· .. c::r·,l . o·. ·n a c 0-. grade Inflation has leveled off at the D s h k · · t f 0 00 university. · ~ . c ~ er, assoc1a e pro essor By Kay KilUan award, and MRC President Ap_gelo Monaco said he feels that Sliirley's never been abused. The percentage of A's remained ofp~li~lcs,dc~ted pressur~s from the job StaffWriter Monacohasreceivedanumberofcritical letter was politically motivated and that Scales' letter went on to say that relatively stable in the department of ~ar e ~ t ~0~ paren as .~uses for letters and phone calls since the award Shirley just wanted to embarrass Scales. Monaco has apologized for the English at approximately 11.5 per cent, m~~ease s u en concern WI tp"ades. The appearance of HusUer magazine was _Presented to Flynt. He said he admired Scales more than embarrassment caused by this action in the department of politics at 12 per Also, P,er~aps unc~nsclously, publisher. Larry Flynt at Wake Forest Sa1d Monaco, "One woman who called anybody alive right now and that he is and that Monaco had said the award was cent and in the department of economics d~partments which were losmg students Feb. 28 elicted much negative response me concluded that I was a rapist- "proud of the fact that he has not meant to be half-humorous. Scales also at 21 per cent. tned to ~?ld on to them or attract ~ew from persons outside the university commie." condemned us." emphasized the importance of Privette's The percentage of B's remained stable students,, he gave . as .a poSSible community. He continued, "One guy !aid that if I Scales wrote a reply to Shirley's letter speech. at 35 per cent, 39 per cent and 27 per cent, explanatw~ for grade ~tlOn. Flynt was the recipient of the Men's ventured into Kernersville he'd kill me." dated March 3, to the editor of the Monaco said Privette and Flynt were respectively. See Grade inflation page 2 Residence Council's "Man of the Year" Mon<~co received two calls from people Biblical Recorder. In this letter, he said two of the nicest people he's ever met, in the community who liked the lecture Flynt was not the guest of the university adding that it was a shame the people series and enjoyed meeting Flynt and but of a student group, without the who complained didn't meet Flynt. Administrators m~st approve MRC ''Alumnus of the Year" Coy knowledge of faculty or staff.

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