18 August 2009

"FD" - a grade worse than "F"

It used to be that the worst grade you could receive in school was an F, and that was bad enough.

But B.C.'s Simon Fraser University is taking punishment to a whole new level, introducing a grade of FD -- meaning failure with dishonesty -- the worst possible grade a student can receive...

"We now have to be concerned about cheating during exams with high-tech devices and the inappropriate use of internet sources and downloading, including online companies offering services to students that promote academic dishonesty."

"It's more than a fail, it's a failure with a particular reason that is publicly announced that may well be seen by potential employers."

Further explanation, discussion, and comment thread at CTV, British Columbia.

1 comment:

  1. When I attended Princeton University's Graduate College in the 1960's, the grading system worked somewhat similar to what I had I experienced at Rutgers in the late 1950's. To whit, A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4, and F=5. The grade was multiplied by the number of credits for the course such that for a three credit course with a grade of B or 2, the cummulative score would be six. The lower one's cummulative score the better [a 1.0 cummulative average would be best]. Princeton, however, had an additional twist: there were possible grades of 6 and 7, seven being an egregious failure. So effort in the failure or lack thereof could really kill one's average. Princeton changed its grading system in 2004.

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