<p>how is this school in terms of grade deflation?</p>
<p>the average gpa is slightly above 3.2.</p>
<p>The grading is more difficult than our peer schools. There was an article in the paper about it.</p>
<p>From the Hustler:</p>
<p>Are Vandy GPAs making the grade?
At 2005 commencement, Vanderbilt undergraduate seniors had a lower grade point average than students at many other top 20 universities, leading some to suspect that grade deflation is occurring.</p>
<p>Vanderbilts average undergraduate GPA is 3.2. The University of Notre Dame, which tied with Vanderbilt for 18th in this years U.S. News & World Report rankings, has average GPA of 3.4. Emory University, ranked 19th, has an average of 3.33.</p>
<p>Many large pubic universities also have higher average GPAs than Vanderbilt. The University of Florida, with an undergraduate enrollment of more than 33,000 has an average of 3.25.</p>
<p>Provost Nicholas Zeppos attributes the differences in GPA not to grade deflation at Vanderbilt, but rather, a lack of grade inflation.</p>
<p>The sense of rigor, small classes and interactions with the professor creates a sense of accountability and expectations that has not led to the rampant grade inflation weve read about at other universities, Zeppos said. I guess Harvard would be the one thats gotten in the paper the most.</p>
<p>Harvard does not officially release GPA statistics, but according to internal documents cited by the Harvard Crimson student newspaper, the average GPA was 3.425. This is on par with other elite private schools such as Duke, Dartmouth and Columbia, according to GPA statistics released in previous years.</p>
<p>Many private universities, including Harvard and Yale, have policies in place that prevent the release of official GPA information to the public. These policies prevent comparing Vanderbilts average GPA to that of all other schools.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt students have expressed concern about how graduating from a school with a lower average GPA may affect their future careers.</p>
<p>Its a secret that everyone knows, said junior Brian McGee. After I graduate, Im going into the real world applying for grad school or a job. For someone coming from a same ranked university, their resume will definitely rise to the top of the stack because of grade inflation.</p>
<p>Zeppos acknowledged this concern, but said that graduate schools are usually aware of this difference in GPAs across institutions.</p>
<p>Zeppos summarized the debate about grade inflation across higher academic institutions.</p>
<p>As students get better, should grades go up?</p>
<p>Richard Pitt, assistant professor of sociology, believes that a colleges curriculum will not be adjusted solely on the basis of improved SAT scores or caliber of an incoming freshman class. If we did, would we change our teaching format or assessment tools to accommodate these better prepared students? Of course not, he said.</p>
<p>Zeppos has a similar view about grading and student potential. If your kids are smarter, the work is more demanding, he said. Zeppos said that while there is not an overarching grading policy in place at Vanderbilt, consistency and fairness in grading is promoted.</p>
<p>There is a core autonomy that a faculty member has to evaluate students, Zeppos said. Any sort of policies that come from other faculty members, a dean, much less the provost or the chancellor have to take into account that the professors going to feel a certain professional autonomy to give grades.</p>
<p>Paul Dokecki, professor of human and organizational development, explains how his department deals with grading.</p>
<p>Professors in the HOD program are being asked to adhere to the following principle: Reserve A for excellence. Performance that is good, but not excellent, should be recognized with a B so that our truly excellent students are not cheated. Fewer than 50% of the grades in a given course should be A or A-.</p>