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.
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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