Yeshiva College's Attempt to Deflate YC Grades Slowed By Hesitancy of Other Schools

Yeshiva College students are used to the idea of grade inflation hanging over their heads. Rumors fly about teachers being told to limit the number of A grades per course, or risk penalties. This student apprehension, in fact, does have some basis. Dean Srolovitz first outlined grade inflation as an issue to be addressed when he took over as Dean of Yeshiva College in 2006. He then followed up on the subject by forming a Grading Task Force in December 2007, headed by Dr. Stretter. Following Dr. Streeter’s departure a year later, Dr. Paula Geyh was appointed head of the task force, and anti-grade inflation activity remains confined to the sphere of theory.

That is not to say that the committee has not made headway. In Spring 2008, the Task Force presented its findings to the YC faculty, who enthusiastically approved it with “overwhelming majorities” on most issues, according to Dean Srolovitz. The holdup came when Dean Srolovitz presented the policy at a meeting of the undergraduate Deans and University Provost Dr. Morton Lowengrub in May 2008. At the meeting, Dean Srolovitz discovered that there was not  enough widespread support among the undergraduate schools to pursue the subject at the time, and Dr. Lowengrub suggested that YC put its plans on hold until an undergraduate-wide policy could be developed.

While Yeshiva College has waited for its sister schools to make a decision, it has plowed ahead with planning the implementation. The Task Force, Dean Srolovitz said, began laying plans for a series of town hall meetings and a special issue of The Commentator meant to “deal with people’s concerns with how this change would affect their future.” Those plans, of course, have not been implemented.

Nevertheless, one aspect of the revised grading policy has made it into reality: the new withdrawal drop date. This change, implemented in Fall of 2008, was the Task Force’s brainchild.

There is no certainty, however, as to when the new legislation will actually be implemented, or even if it will be exactly what the Task Force formulated. Dean Srolovitz noted that the final product is dependent on what conclusion the other colleges reach, and what compromises are struck, to create a single university-wide policy.

When the other colleges will reach their decisions, however, remains unknown. According to a recent article in The Observer, Stern first created its own Grading Task Force in January 2009. As reported in that article, “The committee will eventually report its plans for grade deflation to the Dean's Office.” Even once a decision is reached, Dean Srolovitz himself was unclear as to who exactly would have to approve it. While this could just be an issue of getting each of the undergraduate college’s faculties to approve it, the guidelines could also be considered a university-level policy, in which case “I’m not exactly sure what the approval chain has to be,” the Dean said. In his own personal opinion, however, he thought that Winter 2009 is the earliest it would be implemented.

Dean Srolovitz downplayed the impact Dr. Geyh’s sabbatical next semester will have on the committee. He said that the committee was ad-hoc, and would find a way to adjust to working without her.  Others speculated that the committee’s work was largely complete, and a new committee

Despite all of the potential pitfalls, the Dean emphasized that YC has taken a careful approach to grade deflation. For instance, he noted that the “grading policy that the faculty voted on is similar to those introduced by several other institutions.” Dean Srolovitz further stated that since others had undertaken a similar move, there is data on the impacts of the move and knowledge about how to mitigate them. Additionally, the Task Force will be charged with planning the switch, as well as communicating with the general public and other offices, such as the Career Development Center, to ensure that graduate schools and the like understand the new grading policies.