Miami Hurricane, October 8, 2009

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The Miami Vol. 87, Issue 13 | Oct. 8 - Oct. 11, 2009 HURRICANE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI IN CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA, SINCE 1929
Inflation a problem at universities nationwide
Grade inflation is a major concern in universi-ties
nationwide, including the University of
Miami.
A Doonesbury cartoon by Garry Trudeau says
it all: it depicts a student expressing his dismay at
being denied admission to law school because his
inflated GPA only hurt him in the long run.
“It’s not my fault I didn’t deserve all those A’s,”
he says in the strip.
According to Dean of the Graduate School
Terri A. Scandura, UM has consistently addressed
grade inflation since the 1980s.
“The causes of grade inflation appear complex,”
she said. “There are many factors that may contrib-ute
[such] as students [being] concerned about their
average GPA for entrance into graduate school.”
Stuart Rojstaczer, a professor at Duke Univer-sity,
wrote an opinion column titled “Where All
Grades Are Above Average” for The Washington Post
in 2003. “The last time I gave a C was more than
two years ago. The C, once commonly accepted, is
now the equivalent of the mark of Cain on a college
transcript,” he wrote.
Professor Sigman Splichal of the School of
Communication described the current perception
of being average as an “anathema” or something
that is detested.
BY ADAM WEINSTEIN | CONTRIBUTING NEWS WRITER MISSING THE MARK
OBAMA FALLS FLAT WHEN IT COMES TO
OLYMPICS LOBBYING PAGE 7
SWITCHING IT UP
FAMILIAR GROVE FACE OPENS NEW
BAR PAGE 9
SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
CANES CANNOT BECOME
COMPLACENT THIS WEEKEND PAGE 11
SEE GRADES, PAGE 4
Grade
expectations
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRITTNEY BOMNIN