1. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
Queensborough Community College
FACULTY MEETING
NOVEMBER 9, 2016

2. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
12:00- 2pm Medical Arts Room M-136
12:00-12:30 Reception- Luncheon-Medical Arts Well
12:35 Welcome- Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC
12:40 President Diane Bova Call
12:45 FEC Reports
Treasurer
Secretary
Elections
12:50 TOPIC: “ALL ABOUT GRADES”
12:55 National Studies of Grade Distribution-Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC
1:00 NYC DOE DATA- Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC
1:05 CUNY Data on Grade Distribution – Elizabeth Lackner, Director for Institutional Research and Assessment
1:15 Data on QCC Grade Distribution— Elizabeth Lackner, Director for Institutional Research and Assessment
1:20 Grades and Attendance Reports what is the connection? Ann Tullio, Office of the Registrar
1:25 WN, WU, and F Grades: What are the issues? — Ann Tullio, Office of the Registrar
1:30 QCC Grade Appeal Process—What are the issues?- -Julian Stark, QCC Academic Freedom Committee
1:35 Q&A –Sandra Palmer, Interim Vice President, Academic Affairs
Glenn Burdi, Dean for Academic Operations
1:40 QCC Faculty Members Issues
1:50 New Business
2:00 Adjournment

3. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
12:35 Welcome- Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC
12:40 President Diane Bova Call
12:45 FEC Reports
Treasurer-David Humphries
Secretary-Wilma Fletcher-Anthony
Elections-Alicia Sinclair
Arrangements- Jenny Maan Lin
Webmaster-Anthony Kolios
Parliamentarian- Edmund Clingan

4. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
“ALL ABOUT GRADES”

5. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
National Studies of Grade Distribution
Where All Grades Are Above Average, Washington Post, 2003, here.
Grade inflation gone wild , Christian Science Monitor, 2009, here.
A History of College Grade Inflation
New York Times Economix about grade inflation, 2011, here.
Numerous Articles on Grade Inflation in LA TIMES , , here
Is the Sky Falling? Grade Inflation and the Signaling Power of Grades-Evangeleen Pattison, Eric Grodsky, Chandra Muller, 2013, Educational Researcher, here

6. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
National Studies of Grade Distribution
Grading in American Colleges and Universities by Stuart Rojstaczer & Christopher Healy — March 04,
Where A Is Ordinary: The Evolution of American College and University Grading, 1940–2009
by Stuart Rojstaczer & Christopher Healy—
Basic Website devoted to the issue
Stuart Rojstaczer, a former Duke University Professor,
Christopher Healy, a Furman University Professor

7. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
National Studies of Grade Distribution
Findings/Results:
Contemporary data indicate that, on average across a wide range of schools, A’s represent 43% of all letter
grades, an increase of 28 percentage points since 1960 and 12 percentage points since D’s and F’s total
typically less than 10% of all letter grades. Private colleges and universities give, on average, significantly more A’s and B’s combined than public institutions with equal student selectivity. Southern schools grade more harshly than those in other regions, and science and engineering-focused schools grade more stringently than those emphasizing the liberal arts. At schools with modest selectivity, grading is as generous as it was in the mid-1980s at highly selective schools. These prestigious schools have, in turn, continued to ramp up their grades. It is likely that at many selective and
highly selective schools, undergraduate GPAs are now so saturated at the high end that they have little use as a motivator of students and as an evaluation tool for graduate and professional schools and employers.
Conclusions/Recommendations:
As a result of instructors gradually lowering their standards, A has become the most common grade on American college campuses. Without regulation, or at least strong grading guidelines, grades at American institutions of higher learning likely will continue to have less and less meaning.---Where A Is Ordinary: The Evolution of American College and University Grading, 1940–2009
by Stuart Rojstaczer & Christopher Healy—

8. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
National Studies of Grade Distribution

9. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
National Studies of Grade Distribution

10. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
National Studies of Grade Distribution

11. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
National Studies of Grade Distribution
ON GRADE INFLATION by Richard C. Schiming Minnesota State University,
Introduction Causes of Grade Inflation Implications Potential Solutions Bibliography

12. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
National Studies of Grade Distribution
ON GRADE INFLATION by Richard C. Schiming Minnesota State University, Potential Solutions Certainly one obvious solution to the current debate is for an institution to have a serious discussion about the whole nature of grades and grading. Some discussion about grade expectations for our students would help faculty determine their own grading policy. Still other institutions have experimented with alterations to their traditional forms of grading in the hope on conveying more accurately the nature of student performance. Some of these changes include:
The use of a more finely tuned grading scale. The use of just five categories of grades (A-F) has, in the minds of some, contributed to overall grade inflation. Faculty are more likely to move a borderline student up to the next higher grade with such a system. The use of the plus and minus grading system can address this inflationary tendency as well as more accurately measure relative student performance.
The use of the overall class grade in the transcript. A number of universities in recent years have attempted to provide some perspective on the grades achieved by individual students by annotating the typical transcript. One variation is to note along with the individual grade, the mean or median grade for the class and the number of students in the class. Another variation is to use a grading system whereby the grade for the class is composed of two parts. The first number would be the student's grade in the class and the second would be the overall grade for the class. Thus the grade and the transcript would look like this: 3.0/2.7. This student earned a B in a class where the overall average grade was 2.7.

13. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
QCC Grade Distribution and What Challenges Our Students Present
How well prepared are our students for college work?

14. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
NYC DOE DATA- Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC

15. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
NYC DOE DATA- Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC
CUNY VC Vita Rabinowitz cites CUNY statistics in October 2016 at the UFS Plenary:
“At CUNY 57% of all college freshmen and over 80% of all community college freshmen—20,000 students a year-- are assessed as needing remediation in one or more of three areas: reading, writing, and mathematics—over 75% of them in mathematics.
Further, she indicated that “We will work even more closely with the DOE to identify early students who may not meet CUNY standards of college readiness in the three areas and intervene early—in high school-- to bring them to college readiness.”

16. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
NYC DOE DATA- Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC
According to CUNY Chancellor James Milliken, a “significant number” of NYC public high school graduates who enroll at City University are not prepared for college. Milliken said, “The vast majority of the students who graduate from NYC high schools and go to college come to CUNY … close to 40,000” and that “The majority of students who come to our community colleges need some remedial education in math or language.” In 2014, CUNY Chancellor James Milliken called the lack of college readiness – and the subsequent need for remediation – the system’s “biggest core issue.” [Politico, 6/13/2016]

17. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
NYC DOE DATA- Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC
A factor in the low rate of DOE graduates prepared for College:
Grade Inflation in New York City

18. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
NYC DOE DATA- Philip Pecorino, Chairperson, FEC
Grade Inflation in New York City
City fixes grades for failing high school students by Susan Edelman June 28,2015
Grade Inflation in New York City by Gary North July 4,
Pro-charter group claims NYC schools are inflating grades by Ben Chapman November 24,
STUDY: Massive grade inflation in New York City schools December 24, 2015 Heartland Institute
StudentsFirstNY’s Report Exposes College Readiness Crisis at NYC High Schools Posted by StudentsFirstNY on June 28,

19. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
Grades at CUNY Community Colleges and at QCC
Presenter: Elisabeth Lackner, Director of QCC Institutional Research and Assessment
Special Thanks to:
David Crook
University Dean For Institutional Research and Assessment
The City University of New York

20. CUNY Central Office of Institutional Research
CUNY Grades Data
CUNY Central Office of Institutional Research

21. CUNY-wide Community College Final Course Grades
(excl. QCC Grades)
FALL TERMS
Data source: CUNY Office of Institutional Research
Data was formatted by QCC OIRA

22. CUNY-wide Community College Final Course Grades
(excl. QCC Grades)
SPRING TERMS
Data source: CUNY Office of Institutional Research
Data was formatted by QCC OIRA

23. Director of Institutional Research and Assessment
QCC Grades Data
Elisabeth Lackner
Director of Institutional Research and Assessment

24. Final course grades by FALL semester
The college-wide grade distribution is very stable at Queensborough. In the past seven years, semester grades showed the following pattern: about 30 percent of students received As, roughly 40 percent received grades between B+ and C, and 27 to 30 percent received grades below a C.

25. Final course grades by SPRING semester
The college-wide grade distribution is very stable at Queensborough. In the past seven years, semester grades showed the following pattern: about 30 percent of students received As, roughly 40 percent received grades between B+ and C, and 27 to 30 percent received grades below a C.

26. Remedial Course PASS rates

27. Regular credit Course PASS rates

28. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
Data on QCC Grade Distribution
— Elizabeth Lackner, Director for Institutional Research and Assessment
Queensborough Community College,
E. Grades, Academic Standing, Retention and Graduation
The college-wide grade distribution is very stable at Queensborough. In the past seven years, semester grades showed the following pattern: about 30 percent of students received As, roughly 40 percent received grades between B+ and C, and 27 to 30 percent received grades below a C. Students do better in freshmen composition courses than in gateway mathematics courses. This might be a reflection of incoming students' stronger remedial needs in mathematics.

29. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
QCC Grade policy
Upon completion of their courses, students receive final grades. A final grade is a letter grade that carries with it a numerical value, as outlined below. These grades and their point values are used to calculate a student’s grade-point average (GPA).
CUNY UINIFORM POLICY

30. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
Grades and Attendance Reports what is the connection?
Ann Tullio, Office of the Registrar
WN grades and Commencement of Attendance
Reason: Instructors need to verify student enrollment to comply with Federal Financial Aid regulations.
Faculty receive an notification that the Attendance rosters are available in CUNYfirst (with directions to verify attendance)
After the 1st week of classes during a regular semester, Faculty are asked to verify attendance (if a student has ever attended or participated in an online class at least one time)
By the end of the 3rd week of the semester, Attendance Verification Rosters are due
When a faculty member indicates that a student has never attended, a WN grade is assigned to the student in the class.
A WN grade does not affect a student’s GPA – it just indicates that the student is a “No Show” A WN grade could affect a student’s financial aid. On a case by case basis, a student’s financial aid is reviewed and recalculated if necessary
A student’s potential for future financial aid should not affected by a WN grade.

31. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
Grades and Attendance Reports what is the connection?
Ann Tullio, Office of the Registrar
CUNY Directive Commencement of Attendance
Instructors will need to verify student enrollment. This is to comply with federal financial aid regulations and to assist our students in obtaining their financial aid.
Faculty must verify that students have attended class at least one time. This request is not asking if a student has good attendance or how a student is doing in class. It is simply verifying that from the start of classes to the date enrollment verification is certified by the instructor, the student has attended one class (or is actively participating in the course e.g. by submitting assignments, attending a required study group, academic conference or tutorial)
Faculty will receive an notification when, the ‘Verification of Attendance Rosters’ will be available on CUNYfirst. Faculty members should log on to their CUNYfirst account to review these rosters. Go to your ‘Faculty Center’ and look for the ‘coa tab.’ Be sure the term is set to Spring 2016.

32. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
Grades and Attendance Reports what is the connection?
Ann Tullio, Office of the Registrar
Directions -
The default for all students on these rosters is “Yes, attended”
If any students has not attended, faculty should click the ”No, never attended” radio button for those students.
Finally, faculty should click the “Submit” – Submit completed roster to Registrar’s Office for each roster. The roster will then be recorded as completed on CUNYfirst.
If a student comes to class for the first time after the never attended has been submitted and the faculty member agrees to allow student to participate in class, a ‘WN Reversal form’ will need to be completed and returned to Registrar’s office to have the WN grade removed from the student’s record. These forms can be obtained in your academic department office.
If you have questions about a student’s attendance, you can me at or one of the Associate Registrars for an answer to your questions.
If you are having technical problems with the system you can call the IT HELPdesk at

33. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
WN, WU, and F Grades: What are the issues?
— Ann Tullio, Office of the Registrar
Official definitions –
WU-Unofficial Withdrawal Assigned for excessive absences, signifying that the course was not completed. WU grade is calculated in GPA as an ‘F’ grade
F-Assigned to students with failing work in class
INC-Assigned to students who are doing work of passing quality in a course and who have been granted additional time by the instructor to complete coursework. Course work must be completed by the end of the semester immediately following the semester in which the INC grade was assigned. If not completed the INC grade automatically converts to an FIN grade and computed into the GPA as an ‘F’ grade.
FIN-Failure to complete the work for a course in which the INC grade was originally assigned.

34. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
WN, WU, and F Grades: What are the issues?
— Ann Tullio, Office of the Registrar
One issue as reported at the Enrollment Management Council Meeting  Tuesday, October 11, AM – 11 AM 205 E. 42nd Street, Kibbee Boardroom, 7th floor
Lehman College (as reported at last EMC) is facing a federal audit issue. A mistake on the part of one faculty member regarding a WU grade has led to a complete review of WU and F grades (where students receive a mixture of the two grades for a given semester). Dean Murphy asked if colleges routinely look for such problematic grading patterns. The issue is departures as evidenced by the grading from retention policies and federal financial aid requirements. However, contrary to some rumors, Lehman is not interviewing faculty but rather has appealed to the faculty for help.—reported by Michael Barnhardt, KBCC, UFS member EMC

35. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
QCC Grade Appeal Process—What are the issues?
- -Julian Stark, QCC Academic Freedom Committee
Students are entitled to request a change in their grades.  
Here is the current description of the process here at QCC.
Students with questions about a grade should first discuss the reasons for the grade with the course instructor. If their concerns are not resolved, then students are advised to consult with the chairperson of the department. A formal request for an appeal of a course grade can be submitted in writing along with copies of all relevant coursework to the departmental chairperson. A committee of three faculty members (other than the course instructor) will review the student's work and make a determination about the appropriate grade The decision of the departmental appeals committee is final. The committee must ask for and receive and consider all relevant information from both the student and the instructor. The final decision must be communicated to both the student and the instructor.

36. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
QCC Grade Appeal Process—What are the issues?
- -Julian Stark, QCC Academic Freedom Committee
The department appeals committee is charged with rendering its own academic judgment as to the most appropriate grade.  That grade may be any grade available for use in CUNY.  The student who requests and submits to the grade appeal process is subject to the grade being changed to any other grade the departmental grade think is most appropriate be it higher or lower than the grade being appealed.
Faculty need to know that the meeting of the departmental appeals committee is exclusive to its members when deliberating and reaching its own best academic judgment.  Faculty need to insure that there are no outside parties attempting to influence the deliberations and judgments of the faculty involved.

37. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
Q&A re Grades and Grading
–Sandra Palmer, Interim Vice President, Academic Affairs
Glenn Burdi, Dean for Academic Operations

38. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
QCC Faculty Members Issues
Any New Business ?

39. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
ADJOURNMENT

40. QCC Faculty Meeting November 9,2016
END OF PROGRAM