The Missouri S&T Faculty Senate has motioned to "adopt a plus-minus (+/-) grading policy for undergraduate and graduate courses similar to that used by the University of Missouri–Columbia" (1)

We, the undersigned students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, agree that this motion is not beneficial to the student body.

Below are some of the difficulties students may face with the new system:

The proposed grading system needlessly creates a much tougher academic environment for all students; those striving for a 4.0 and those struggling to pass.

those struggling to pass. Potentially having to retake a class with a grade that would have qualified as a passing grade one semester ago due to exception (iii) in the motion stating that C- grades will not qualify "as part of the ‘C range’ for the purpose of meeting ‘C or better’ course prerequisites" (2)

Potentially losing out on financial aid as "All entering freshmen merit-based awards require the student to...maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA for renewal." (2)

Students may be denied the opportunity of participating in Registered Student Organizations (RSO) due to many RSO GPA requirements.

A course's difficulty may remain consistent, while a student's grades in the same course could likely change depending on the professor. The lack of percentage based values corresponding to plus-minus ranges in the current motion, combining with the motion stating that "faculty may adopt a variant of the campus grading system" (1) creates an immense variety in a course's grading.

Please sign this petition with your S&T email. Additionally, please attend the forum about this at St. Pat's Ballroom on Wednesday, Oct 10th at 5:30 PM.

Sources:

1. Missouri S&T Faculty Senate. Minutes of the Faculty Senate Meeting: Volume XI, Number 10. 14 June 2018.

2. Missouri S&T. "Missouri S&T - Freshman Scholarships". Sfa.Mst.Edu, 2018. Accessed 9 Oct 2018.