Freshman Ashton Kotas was one grade away from a perfect 4.0 GPA her first semester at Doane College.
She received one A minus that affected her overall grade point average.
Unlike some surrounding colleges, Doane’s grading policy deducts points from GPA due to minuses, but does not award credit for an A plus.
“What’s the point of trying for an A plus if it doesn’t affect my GPA?” Kotas said.
She said she thought one of the major concerns of maintaining a high GPA is for scholarships.
“I have to keep a 3.5 (for scholarships) and A minuses will affect my GPA a lot more than it may affect others. When you have to keep a certain grade, it can really make a difference,” Kotas said.
She said she thought Doane should adopt a system like Hastings College. Hastings did not factor pluses or minuses toward grade point average, but recorded them on transcripts.
The University of Nebraska Wesleyan had a grading policy similar to Doane College. The grade of an A and A plus counted as a 4.0 GPA and an A minus was recorded as a 3.67. Creighton University had a straight letter grade of A, but counted pluses and minuses in grades of a B or lower.
Les Manns, interim vice president of Academic Affairs, said he thought there was too wide of a grade range by awarding one letter grade to students without using pluses or minuses.
Manns said the current grading policy had been in place as long as he had been at Doane.
“To me an A plus is just for incredibly phenomenal work,” Manns said. “I could count the number of A pluses I’ve given on my hands.”
He said he thought that grades may or may not be a good reflection of how much the students learn.
“The longer you’re out of school, the less meaningful they (grades) are,” Manns said.
Denise Ellis of the Registrar office said she thought grades were more important early after college. Ultimately, she said excellent interview skills trump GPA. Also, personality and qualifications were more important job finding factors for students right out of college.
Kotas said she thought that although other factors were involved with finding a job after college, a 4.0 would still be nice to show future employers.
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Edited by Sarah
Her first semester at Doane, freshman Ashton Kotas had hopes of earning a 4.0 GPA.
But with one A-minus grade, Kotas' hopes fell short.
Unlike some surrounding colleges, Doane’s grading policy, according to its Web site, deducts points from GPA because of minuses, but does not award credit for an A plus.
“What’s the point of trying for an A-plus if it doesn’t affect my GPA?” Kotas said.
She said she thought one of the major concerns of maintaining a high GPA was for scholarships.
“I have to keep a 3.5 (for scholarships) and A-minuses will affect my GPA a lot more than it may affect others," she said. "When you have to keep a certain grade, it can really make a difference.”
She said she thought Doane should adopt a system like Hastings College. Hastings does not factor pluses or minuses toward grade point average, but recorded them on transcripts.
The University of Nebraska Wesleyan has a grading policy similar to Doane College. The grade of an A and A-plus counted as a 4.0 GPA and an A-minus was recorded as a 3.67. Creighton University had a straight letter grade of A, but counted pluses and minuses in grades of a B or lower.
Les Manns, interim vice president of Academic Affairs, said he thought there was too wide of a grade range by awarding one letter grade to students without using pluses or minuses.
Manns said the current grading policy had been in place as long as he had been at Doane.
“To me an A-plus is just for incredibly phenomenal work,” Manns said. “I could count the number of A-pluses I’ve given on my hands.”
He said he thought that grades may or may not be a good reflection of how much the students learn.
“The longer you’re out of school, the less meaningful they (grades) are,” Manns said.
Registrar Denise Ellis said she thought grades were more important early after college. Ultimately, she said excellent interview skills trump GPA. Also, personality and qualifications were more important job finding factors for students right out of college.
Kotas said she thought that although other factors were involved with finding a job after college, a 4.0 would still be nice to show future employers.
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